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Tuesday 30 September 2014

Flat Holm erratic hunt -- a grand day out (1)


 Danger -- geologist at work.  Sid hunting for clues on Coal Beach.

Yesterday, I had a very jolly day on the island of Flat Holm, in the company of geologists Sid Howells and Chris Lee, hunting for erratics.  Grateful thanks to Linda Burnell and her colleagues from the Flat Holm Society for facilitating the visit and looking after us so well.    And thanks too to Sid and Chris, who were able to identify many things with which I was unfamiliar.  We were blessed with a calm sea for both crossings from Cardiff Bay in a RIB powered by almost 500 HP of motor power -- and the crossings took about 10 mins each way.  The return journey was in the dark -- a slightly spooky experience when travelling at 30 knots or so.  Very exciting......

On the island, we were  blessed by bright calm conditions and by a lack of sea gulls.  There is a very dense gull colony here, but luckily the breeding season is long gone, and the birds had departed.  In the early summer protective clothing is required. 

Lots of interesting things were discovered on the island.  Sid and Chris will be getting second and third opinions on many tentative sample identifications, but already we have some preliminary conclusions about where the main erratic sources may be.  More of that anon......






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