Field Trip to Fairlight Cove, 16 June 2001

Here are some instructions for the S260 field trip to Fairlight Cove. We should meet near a pub called "The Smuggler" on Pett Level Road (TQ893134) at Pett Level, on the coast about 6 km northeast of Hastings.

Low tide is at about 1:00 p.m.  We will meet at The Smuggler from 12:00 noon onward, have lunch, and set out for the beach at about 12:45 p.m.  We shall return to Pett Level at about 3:30 p.m.

It is vital always to set out on a falling tide to visit Fairlight Cove!  Our time of return will be determined by the rising tide. It is safe to remain on the foreshore for about two hours after low tide before starting back.

From the Reading area the most direct way to drive to Hastings is around the M25 and down the A21. Please note that the A21 is dual carriageway for only part of the way. The road is prone to traffic queues where the dual carriageway reduces to two lanes about 10 km south of the M25. Traffic queues are also a common occurrence farther south caused by road works. Take this into account when planning your journey. The field trip is governed by the tide, and cannot wait for stragglers!

To reach Pett Level, take the A259 northeast from Hastings. From the waterfront in Hastings town centre, the A259 climbs a long steep hill. After about 2 km you will come to a stone church on the left with a turret-like steeple, and two roads coming in together on the right opposite the church (there is also a zebra crossing immediately before the turn, in front of the church). Turn right, taking the left fork, and follow this road for about 5 km. The road follows the line of hills just back of the coast; it is quite narrow and very winding in places. The road goes down a steep hill at Fairlight Village and then on to Pett Level. As you enter Pett Level there is a store on the left called "The Market Stores" and a public loo opposite. The road bends sharply left, and "The Smuggler" is about 100 metres after the bend, on the right.

You should bring a hard hat (mandatory) and walking boots with a good grip, and be prepared for bad weather or strong sun.  Also bring a small field notebook and pen or pencil, the hand lens and grain size scale from S260, and something to drink.  A compass-clinometer would be very useful if you have one. Bring a camera if you wish because the geology at Fairlight is spectacular!  Geological hammers are not required.

Our walk will take us from Pett Level southwest on the shingle beach to Fairlight Cove and beyond, a roundtrip distance of about 4 km. We shall look at structural geology, sedimentary geology, palaeoenvironmental indicators, fossils, and modern depositional and erosional processes. The rocks are exposed both in the cliffs and on the foreshore. We should finish about 3 hours after we start.

Safety is of paramount importance on this walk. The cliffs are unstable, and we shall venture close to them at only a single locality where they are low. The greatest practical risk is of slipping down on the boulders and strata exposed on the foreshore where we will be walking. High tide covers the entire foreshore up to the cliffs and leaves many rocks exceedingly slippery. It would be easy to break a limb or fracture a skull! We will stop to admire the geology, and keep our eyes on the ground while we walk.

Suggested Reading:  Before the field trip it would be a good idea to have a look at Block 4, Surface Processes, especially Section 12.3, Vertical Successions of Facies and Graphic Logs, and Section 13.2, Fluvial Channel Styles and their Typical Sedimentary Successions.

1. Read the rubric of a question carefully. Make sure you understand exactly what is being asked.

2. Answer the question asked, not what you would like the question to be. More marks are lost from failure to address the actual question than from any other cause.

3. Before you write, PLAN! Structure your answer. For essays, include an opening, present a logical progression of arguments, and end with a conclusion.

4. Use facts and arguments that bear on the question. Resist the temptation to use the "shotgun approach" (everything I know about ...).

5. When you finish, REVIEW!  Ask yourself:  Have I omitted relevant points/arguments? Have I included irrelevant material?

6. Distinguish fact from possibility.

7. Back up arguments with clear assertions based on agreed facts.

8. Use the scientific terminology introduced in the course. The tutor may be looking for the appropriate use of terminology in the correct context.

8. Don’t leave important points or steps in an argument to be inferred – SPELL THEM OUT!

9. Would diagrams help? Tutors are often instructed to award marks for the appropriate use of diagrams to support an answer.

10. If you include any material from outside the course in your answer, please give a clear reference to the source (e.g. state the book title, author and date; the OU course code and page reference; the journal title and date with the title of the paper and the author; the name of the Internet site).  However, questions can normally be answered perfectly well on the basis of the course materials alone.

11. Reading around the course is strongly to be encouraged!  By all means use appropriate material from outside the course in TMAs.  But be careful that such material is relevant to your answer.  Remember that the use of outside material in a TMA, including material gleaned from the Internet, does not in itself earn marks.

12. Pay attention to any word limits. These are guidelines to be treated with respect, though not slavishly followed unless the rubric of the question says so!  Within reason, use the space you need to answer the question, but remember that word limits are an indication of how long a full answer should be.  If you are far over a word limit, look at your answer again and consider whether it needs to be redrafted.  The tutor will not hold you precisely to X number of words, but gross violations of word limits may lose marks.

13. Show your working for any mathematical calculations.

14. Make sure you have answered ALL the questions on the TMA.  Many marks are lost by students overlooking Q3aiii, or failing to turn over the page where another question lurks!

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