Alderton’s Buckanay Farm Pit preserves shell-rich Red Crag with striking cross-bedding formed by ancient tidal sandwaves. Its marine shells and sedimentary structures make it scientifically important. This is a private inland pit: arrange permission and the practical details of a visit before travelling.
FIND FREQUENCY: ♦♦♦♦♦ – Shells are documented, but collecting depends on the material and permission available for an agreed visit.
CHILDREN: ♦ – Not an unsupervised family collecting site; follow the organiser’s age and safety conditions.
ACCESS: ♦♦ – Prior permission is required to enter the pit; agree parking, approach and collecting in advance.
TYPE: – Private inland sand pit and geological SSSI.
DIRECTIONS
♦ Arrange permission before travelling. From the A12 take the A1152 towards Melton, crossing the railway and Wilford Bridge. Continue on the signed route towards Alderton and take the right turn into the village.
♦ In Alderton turn left into Hollesley Road, then right into Buckanay Lane and follow the lane towards Buckanay Farm. Use the parking place and final approach agreed with the landowner; do not arrive expecting public visitor parking.
♦ The pit is about 1.5 km north-east of the village at TM 356 424. It can be viewed from the public footpath along the farm track, but do not leave that route to enter the pit without permission. Original locality reference: 52.02853°N, 1.43554°E.
FOSSIL HUNTING
Alderton is principally a shelly Red Crag locality. The coarse shell-rich layers contain broken valves alongside complete bivalves and gastropods; shark teeth and small fish remains are much less dependable finds. Published records include Neptunea, Nucella, Haustator, Arctica, Spisula and Cerastoderma.
These are documented genera, not a promise that every visit will produce them. The alternation of shell-rich and finer sandy layers is worth recording, because a bag of mixed material loses much of its scientific value. Search only loose material and areas approved for the visit, staying clear of the face. Any sampling or sieving must be agreed in advance; do not strip shell beds or take large quantities for garden use.
The original local account distinguishes lower beds with shells reported as Aloides, Glycymeris and Venerupis, and upper beds with Mya and Cerastoderma; it also records worm tubes in the shelly horizons. These are the historical names and broad bed positions used by that account, not a revised identification of each specimen or a direct match to the measured GCR units below. Keep permitted finds from different levels separate.
A chronological record of geological research and significant discoveries at Alderton (Buckanay Farm Pit).
1880 – Pit shown on the Ordnance Survey
The historical map recorded a sand pit at Buckanay, documenting the excavation before its modern sedimentological studies.
1911 – Claimed implements and a provenance warning
Reid Moir reported supposed human flint implements from Buckanay material. The later GCR assessment considered a genuine Red Crag origin extremely unlikely, even if the objects were human-made; the claim is not evidence of people living in the Red Crag sea.
1982 – Borehole constrains the full Red Crag thickness
Hollyer and Allender reported the adjacent borehole proving the buried London Clay contact.
1988 – Modern stratigraphical investigation
Zalasiewicz and colleagues described the site in the modern programme of research on Suffolk’s Crag deposits.
1988 – Geological SSSI notified
Buckanay Farm Pit was notified on 14 October 1988 for its fossiliferous Red Crag and exceptionally clear shallowing-upward megaripple sequence.
1999 – GCR synthesis
Balson highlighted Buckanay’s value for reconstructing tidal sandwave deposition and sediment transport.
References
Balson 1999: Buckanay Farm, GCR volume 15, pp. 297–298
BGS Woodbridge and Felixstowe sheet explanation: Red Crag framework
GeoSuffolk: public-footpath viewing at Buckanay
Natural England: SSSI management and consent
Natural England: Buckanay Farm Pit SSSI citation, notified 14 October 1988
GEOLOGY
Alderton’s Buckanay Farm Pit preserves the Red Crag Formation, a shelly marine sand belonging to the Crag Group. Its striking sloping layers were built as underwater sandwaves migrated under tidal currents. These inclined layers, or foresets, dip mainly west-south-west in the large set described on the western face, recording the direction in which sediment travelled. Alternating finer and coarser laminae in the lower sands preserve repeated changes in the currents rather than a succession of separately named beds.
Shell abundance and preservation change through the sand. The lower exposed sands described in the published section were relatively shell-poor, whereas the lower part of the large overlying set contained abundant complete and broken shells. Its upper part had lost shell carbonate through later dissolution. Consequently, a less shelly patch need not represent a sea with fewer animals: both the original sorting of sediment and later alteration affect what survives. A thin flint-pebble concentration beneath the large set marks an internal surface within the Crag, rather than the bottom of the formation.
The upward reduction in sandwave size has been interpreted as evidence of shallowing. The wider Red Crag Formation spans the latest Pliocene and earliest Pleistocene, but that regional range does not supply a precise age for each local layer. Much older London Clay lies beneath the sands. Its contact was proved in a nearby borehole, not in the documented collecting face; the underground record and the exposed pit must therefore be kept separate when reconstructing the site’s history.
Detailed stratigraphy and geological evidence at Alderton (Buckanay Farm Pit).
CRAG GROUP
The Red Crag at this inland pit records an early phase of marine deposition in the Crag succession.
Red Crag Formation
The GCR account recorded about 7.5 m of exposure; these are historical measured observations, not a statement of today’s available face height. Natural England’s notification interprets the upward reduction in megaripple amplitude here as evidence of shallowing. Its wider Red Crag reconstruction includes deepening to about 60 m and later shallowing to 5–10 m, but explicitly requires several pits and cliff sections to demonstrate that full sequence.
Upper large cross-bedded set
On the western face a set measured 4.8 m thick. Its upper part was decalcified; the lower part retained abundant complete and fragmentary shells. Foresets dip west-south-west, indicating net transport in that direction.
Flint-pebble lag
A thin lag at the base of the large set contained chiefly flint pebbles up to 30 mm across. It marks an internal surface within the Red Crag, not the formation’s basal contact.
Underlying cross-stratified sands
The lower exposed unit was less shelly. Its conspicuous alternating fine and coarse foreset laminae were interpreted as evidence of tidal cyclicity, possibly unequal daily tides. No formal bed names or independent thickness were established for this unit.
Fissures and deformation
White powdery calcite fills vertical fissures. A north-west-face oblique fracture was interpreted as a small reverse fault. These are later structures, not additional sedimentary beds.
THAMES GROUP — BURIED SUBSTRATE
This separate older group lies beneath the Crag succession and is known here from subsurface evidence.
London Clay Formation — borehole evidence only
The adjacent borehole at TM 3559 4232 proved 11.9 m of Red Crag above London Clay, with the contact at −2.8 m OD. The underground thickness and measured face are separate records, not one continuous exposed section.
References
UK Fossils: Alderton, original route and last-inspected year
Balson 1999: Buckanay Farm, GCR volume 15, pp. 297–298
BGS Woodbridge and Felixstowe sheet explanation: Red Crag framework
GeoSuffolk: public-footpath viewing at Buckanay
Natural England: SSSI management and consent
Natural England: Buckanay Farm Pit SSSI citation, notified 14 October 1988
SAFETY
Unconsolidated sandy faces and overhangs can fall without warning. Keep out of the fall zone and never undercut the face, climb the quarry sides or stand at the rim. Vegetation can conceal uneven ground. This is not a suitable unsupervised family collecting site; follow the landowner’s and organiser’s safety rules and leave if a safe approved collecting area is unavailable.
EQUIPMENT
For an agreed visit bring sturdy boots, a hand lens, notebook or camera, tissue and small rigid specimen boxes. A small trowel or sieve is useful only if the landowner and relevant conservation permissions specifically allow that work. A hammer is not needed for loose shells.
CLEANING AND TREATING
Keep each permitted specimen with its locality and bed information. Support fragile shells or bryozoans in tissue inside a rigid box. Allow damp specimens to dry slowly away from heat, then begin with a soft brush. Do not force compacted sand from delicate shell edges. Avoid acids, bleach and varnish. If an exceptionally fragile specimen needs consolidation, seek advice before using a reversible conservation adhesive such as Paraloid B-72; routine coating is unnecessary.
IDENTIFY YOUR FINDS
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FURTHER READING
Buckanay Farm: Geological Conservation Review account
BGS geology of the Woodbridge and Felixstowe district
GeoSuffolk: Suffolk geology and publicly viewable sites
ACCESS RIGHTS
This is private land. Arrange permission from the landowner or operator before entering the pit, including agreement on the approach, parking and any collecting. A public path nearby does not give permission to enter the excavation. Follow the visit organiser’s conditions; permission for a visit is not automatically permission to dig, clear vegetation or take bulk samples. Buckanay Farm Pit, Alderton is a geological SSSI. This designation protects the scientific interest; it does not establish public entry or blanket collecting rights. Any excavation or disturbance must comply with the owner’s conditions and applicable Natural England consent.
It is important to follow our ‘Code of Conduct’ when collecting fossils or visiting any site. Please also read our ‘Terms and Conditions’.
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