Hull Geological Society
Geology field guides and walks
Disclaimer – details
about parking and facilities may have changes since the author last visited
these sites.
Note all sites are best visited on a falling tide. For some the tide is critical either to view the site or to avoid getting stranded. You are recommended to wear a hard hat when examining cliffs.
Summary -
Conservation status - SSSI
Parking – Cliff top at Reighton; Reighton Sands
holiday park – permission needed & may be a fee; Speeton village
Facilities – none; toilets might be accessible at
holiday park.
Access – grotty disused and slumped road from
Reighton cliff top; steep tarmacked road from holiday camp; steep grassy path
from Speeton village.
Walking distance – about 1km each way
Beach - sandy or pebbly; sometimes slippery mud
exposed.
Hazards – keep away from mudflows; keep a close
eye on the tide, you can get stranded.
Escape routes – steep grassy path to Speeton
village from Speeton Beck; climb the cliffs the other side of Speeton beck to
the holiday village. Climb above high tide and sit it out.
Safety and PPE – hard hat and sensible clothes.
Wear wellies if it has been wet.
Geological highlights – Kimmeridge shale. The
unique Lower Cretaceous Speeton Clay including fossil shrimps and uncoiled
ammonites; coprolite bed; belemnite biostratigraphy. The Red Chalk Formation.
The Ferriby Chalk Formation. The Black Band Member. The Speeton Shall Bed.
Glacial boulder clay and erratics.
Lots to see but very prone to slumping causing
exposures to change.
If you want to see the Red Chalk and you have
started from Reighton it is best to head to Speeton Beck first and then work
your way back (going down the Speeton Clay sequence.
Other interests there or nearby – wreck of ship on
beach boiler exposed at low tide.
Extension – from Red Hole to the Black Band
exposure. Very difficult going over large boulders. Wear boots with good ankle
support. Tide is critical (you have only got a few hours) and there are no
escape routes. There is a wrecked submarine to be seen half way.
Speeton Clay zonal belemnites
avaoid the mudflows at Speeton
Copyright - Mike Horne and Hull Geological Society 2022
Registered Educational Charity No. 229147