Quaternary rivers, tufas and mires of southern England: Description of Geological Conservation Review sites

Southern England contains a wealth of sites, reviewed here, that contain evidence for past deposition in freshwater environments over a period of over 0.5 million years and have been designated as Geological Conservation Review sites for their representativeness of a range of such environments. They include nine sites from two complete terrace sequences (the Solent in Hampshire [Solent Cliffs West, Calshot Cliffs, Hillhead Cliffs, Dunbridge Pit, Wood Green Gravel Pit] and Stour in Kent [Fordwich Pit, Sturry Gravel Pits, Wear Farm Pit, Chislet, Bishopstone to Reculver Cliffs]), alongside a further fluvial gravel site at Aylesford, in the valley of the Medway in Kent. Sites from the Thames catchment, although geographically nearby, are not included, having been previously described by Bridgland (1994). Many of these sites contain abundant Palaeolithic artefacts and some also fossils of multiple groups. A further four sites record fluvial landforms (Mole Gap, Surrey) and ancient ‘high-level gravels’ that may relate to very Early Pleistocene river activity (Upper Common, Mountain Wood, Upper Hale). Tufa and mire sites are relatively rare in this region, making those which are preserved more significant. The tufa sites at Blashenwell Farm and Wateringbury provide context for adjacent archaeological sites and record landscape development in the early and mid Holocene. The mire deposits at Cranes Moor, Mark Ash Wood, Cothill Fen and Rimsmoor together record vegetation history from key regional ecosystems for the entirety of the Holocene.