Lackford Lakes EarthCache
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Owned by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, “Lackford Lakes lie beside the River Lark... and is a wonderfully diverse reserve with meadows, woodland, reed beds and streams.” but it wasn't always so.
Over the last two million years the climate of Britain has varied tremendously with periods of temperate climate interrupted by repeated advances and retreats of glaciers and ice sheets. Collectively these periods have become known as the Ice Age and the actions of the ice sheets have been instrumental in forming the landscape we see today.
20 000 years ago Suffolk' s climate was akin to the Artic. 100 000 years before that and it was more like the South of France! It was during the Ice Age that the Lark Valley was formed and the sand and gravel deposits were moved and left.
Deposits from the Ice Age (or Quaternary) are widespread in Suffolk, comprising a large spread of boulder clay,"till", over most of the county and glacial gravels in the east.
The gravels were deposited around 600,000 years ago and represent the floodplain deposits of the former Thames-Medway river system that flowed north-eastwards across Suffolk from the London basin. These deposits are known as the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels.
Around 450,000 years ago during a severe cold phase known as the Anglian Glaciation, an ice sheet occupied almost the whole of the county. As the ice advanced it eroded the ground over which it passed, the eroded material was then deposited at the base of the ice to form a sheet of till. The till of Suffolk contains numerous fragments of chalk and flint, plucked from the underlying rock by the moving ice. Associated with the till are sands and gravels deposited by meltwater streams issuing from the ice front.
In 1968 a commercial quarry was opened to extract the accumulated aggregates from the land. The RMC quarry operated for over 30 years and provided 3.5 million tonnes of sand and gravel for local use. Looking at the site now, it is hard to believe that not so very long ago, it was a noisy, dirty and industrious place of business.
Lackford Lakes Wildlife Reserve consists of a series of lakes created by flooding the former sand and gravel pits in the valley of the River Lark. The lakes are set within a mosaic of sandy acid grassland, marshy grassland, scrub, wet and dry woodlands, ditches, bare ground and steep sandy banks. The lakes and surrounding habitat support a diverse and abundant community of breeding and overwintering birds, and a high number of dragonfly species.
The landscape you see before you here today was formed by both nature and man. Without the Ice Age, we would not have the valley. Without the quarrying, we would not have the lakes.
The Suffolk Wildlife Trust holds events and courses year round at the site – their family activity days held frequently are a great day out for young and old alike. There is also an active 'Under 5's' group held weekly during term time.
More information about courses and activity days can be found here:
(visit link)
Lackford Lakes has been classified as an SSSI - Site of Special Scientific Interest which is a site of national importance identified by English Nature for its ecological or geological value.
IMPORTANT CACHE INFORMATION:
The listed co-ordinates are not the cache location – they are for the car park. (There is a £1 donation/charge for this)
The cache at Lackford Lakes is an 'Earth cache'; there is no physical container to find or logbook to sign, just the wonderful walks and sounds to enjoy. (You'll need to bring your listening ears and observant eyes.) Please be considerate of fellow visitors to the site (both human and wild - many have travelled miles to be here) and do not stray from the marked pathways. If the path you have chosen to take is barred by a gate or another structure – do not proceed, turn around and choose another trail. What you are looking for can be found on another one. (Trails are sometimes closed by the Warden to protect the environment beyond.)
There are wheelchair accessible trails to assist those in need.
Please note that dogs are NOT permitted on the reserve.
To claim the cache and log your find you must answer 1 of the questions below. Email your answer to cabaretjones (click on the name above and then select 'Send message') Please note that all parts of a question must be answered. You may log your find without waiting for confirmation from me - but claims without an accompanying email will be deleted.
Question 1
a) On the path to Bess' Hide there is an information panel which states the many types of fossils that were found during the excavations. Name 2 of them.
b) How is the landscape described and what is the condition of the sub-soil?
Question 2
a) One of the trails in the reserve passes by a stream which has a reddish tinge to it, indicating significant levels of iron in the vicinity. What are the co-ordinates for the point where you can see the stream?
b) Describe the bed of the stream (eg; sandy, gravel, other description)
Question 3
a) Now forming part of the landscape, what evidence can you find which indicates that Lackford Lakes was formerly an industrial site?
b) Staying on the path and using yourself or geocaching companion, estimate the height of any of the large sandy banks.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)