Freya’s Dinosaur Bone Discovery at Compton Bay
Famed for its huge dinosaur footprints at low tide, Compton Beach on the Isle of Wight is something of a fossil hunter’s pilgrimage seeing thousands of amateur and professional geologists every year. So, it’s perhaps not surprising that Rockwatcher Freya, who was holidaying with her family, found a dinosaur bone fossil on her recent visit given that the Isle of Wight – or Dinosaur Island as it’s become affectionately known – is home...
Live preparation of a probable new species of Ichthyosaur
Dr Steve Etches, a familiar figure for Rockwatchers visiting Dorset or attending our residential fieldtrip, will be preparing a rare Ichthyosaur in his glass walled workshop at his museum. Visitors will be able to go along and watch him working on the fossil and also watch him from above via the live feed on a large television screen. It’s a rare chance to witness live the painstaking preparation of...
Nothe Gardens Landslide, then and now
Week 10 is the final in our current Dig Deeper series where Alan Holiday shares a visually dramatic account of a major landslide that took place in the 1980s in Nothe Gardens, in Weymouth. A popular area for residents and holiday makers, Nothe Gardens is located on the southside of Weymouth Harbour along the Jurassic Coastline in Dorset. Alan shows us the huge impact the landslide had on the area, though luckily spared nearby Nothe...
Coastal Protection at Swanage
Week 6 of our Dig Deeper series is the third in the series by geology expert, Alan Holiday on the topic of coastal defences, with its focus on Coastal Protection at Swanage. Situated to the East of Purbeck and South of Poole and therefore part of England’s beautiful Jurassic Coastline, Swanage Bay tells its own geological story with its characteristic chalk and limestone rock types along with sandstone and clay. Alan shows how the...
Book the Annual Residential Fieldtrip and Get First Year of Rockwatch Membership for Free!
Over time our residential fieldtrip to Dorset has become something of an annual pilgrimage for Rockwatchers. It’s a time when members come together with the Rockwatch Team and fellow experts and have a full daily programme in the summer exploring some of the most precious geological sites that Dorset’s Jurassic Coastline has to offer and a number of fun evening activities. These are not just any old geological sites, but as...