Seventeen members of the Society for Vertebrate Palaeontology visited the coast for a field trip prior to the Societies annual meeting hosted by Bristol University.
The group consisted of palaeontologists from the South Korea, the USA, Canada, Italy, Germany and Norway. Their interests ranged from marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs and turtles, to dinosaurs and their footprints.
The group spent two days in Swanage and two days in Lyme Regis, visiting the coast at Swanage and Durlston Bays, Kimmeridge, Charmouth, Lyme Regis and Sidmouth.
They also met a number of local collectors along the coast and had the opportunity to examine their collections.
Lyme Regis Museum hosted a reception on one evening and a quarry visit was arranged thanks to local quarryman Trev Haysom. There was also time to walk through Durlston castle, the County Council’s flagship project for the coast and hear plans of how the local geology and fossils will be presented to the public.
Transport was provided by Discover Dorset but the itinerary also enabled the group to take advantage of the local topography for a transport free day, well, nearly free, and to use the X53 between Lyme Regis and Charmouth in order to be able to walk back along the shore.
Accommodation in Swanage was with Harrow House, a residential language school, while in Lyme the group stayed in a number of B&B’s in the centre of town. Local restaurants provided an excellent service. The group was led by myself, Richard Edmonds with additional Paul Ensom acting as an additional expert guide.
Richard Edmonds, Earth Science Manager.
