Pst:QGArchL-5 The Quaternary of the

QRA/INQUA POST-CONGRESS FIELD TRIP 1st – 5th August 2019

Leader: Professor James Scourse Contact: [email protected]

Minimum number of participants: 5; Maximum number of participants: 12

We urge you to finalise your travel arrangements only after the field trip has been confirmed at the end of March 2019. The QRA is not responsible for any costs incurred by participants due to cancellation of non-viable field trips.

Price: £845 not shared accommodation; £760 shared accommodation (includes accommodation, transport, all meals and transport from Exeter airport).

1. DESCRIPTION The Isles of Scilly have been recognised as a classic Pleistocene locality for some 50 years following a seminal paper by Frank Mitchell and Tony Orme who mapped a clear ice limit across the archipelago. The excursion will review the stratigraphic and morphological evidence for this ice limit and review the application of combined dating methods recently used to constrain its age within the context of the BRITICE-CHRONO project. Sequences of glacial, periglacial, littoral, aeolian and full glacial organic sediments will be examined in open coastal cliff sections. Scilly is also exceptional archaeologically, described as the “Isles of the Dead” based on the profusion of burial structures, and the excursion will visit Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and some more recent sites in the context of changing Holocene palaeoenvironments and relative sea level. The wealth of Quaternary geological and archaeological sites alongside great natural beauty – stunning beaches, crystal clear sea, benevolent climate with sub-tropical gardens – make Scilly a beguiling and enchanting place to visit for Quaternarists and accompanying participants alike. Please note that transport will be on foot on all days and will involve quite long treks over sometimes rough terrain; transport to off islands will be by boat taxi.

2. JOINING INSTRUCTIONS

Please note that you will need to buy your own travel insurance to cover you for any accidents, delayed flights, costs of missing the departure rendezvous etc. Arrival The trip starts at noon on Thursday 1st August at Exeter Airport.

Participants should aim to arrive in Exeter either the day before (Wednesday 31st July) or on the morning of Thursday 1st August. The INQUA Congress ends in Dublin on Wednesday 31st July and as at 12th June 2018 there are two Flybe flights to Exeter during the late afternoon/early evening and five flights during the early morning operated by Aer Lingus, Flybe, KLM and British Airways.

3. ITINERARY

Day 1 – arrival (Thursday August 1st)

Participants should make their own way to Exeter Airport (Devon) from Dublin (Flybe have direct flights from Dublin to Exeter) where the party will assemble. The cost of flights to and from Scilly to Exeter are INCLUDED in the fieldtrip cost but NOT the cost of flights from Dublin to Exeter.

Fly from Dublin to Isles of Scilly via Exeter. Arrive at Mincarlo Guest House.

Evening drinks reception and lecture in Isles of Scilly Museum. Dinner in (included in price).

Day 2 - St Mary’s (Friday August 2nd)

Walking tour around island (occasionally rough terrain, c. 10 miles). Sites to be visited: (periglacial slope and aeolian sediments), Carn Morval (full glacial organics with pollen profiles and 14C ages), (Iron Age village), Bar Point (Holocene dune sediments and sea- level change), Innisidgen (entrance graves), (, periglacial and full glacial organic sediments), Higher/ (Holocene vegetation history), Old Town Bay (aeolian sandloess), (extra-glacial granite tor morphology), The Garrison (ploughing blocks and periglacial slope sequences). Dinner in Hugh Town (included in price).

Day 3 - St Martin’s (Saturday August 3rd)

Boat taxi then walking tour around island (rough terrain, c. 10 miles). Sites to be visited: Porth Seal (extra-glacial sequence, raised beach and full glacial organic deposits), Pernagie Bar (partially eroded moraine limit), White Island Bar (partially eroded moraine limit), Chad Girt (reworked glacial deposits, raised beach and slope deposits), Bread and Cheese Cove (Scilly Till stratotype, periglacial slope deposits, full glacial organic deposits), Chapel Down (remanié erratic gravels). Dinner in Hugh Town (included in price).

Day 4 – Tresco (Sunday August 4th)

Boat taxi then walking tour around island (rough terrain, c. 8 miles). Sites to be visited: Gimble Porth (evidence for ice limit), Battery (stacked periglacial and glacio-fluvial sediments, OSL dating), (cosmogenic dating on glacial erratics), Castle Down. Dinner in Hugh Town (included in price).

Day 5 – Departure (Monday August 5th)

Return to Exeter Airport from Scilly where the trip will end. Onward travel from Exeter will be at participants’ own cost.