Programme of Events

The Black Country Geological Society’s indoor meetings are now held at The Lamp Tavern. The room is on the top floor and there is a lift. The address of The Lamp Tavern is 16 High Street, Dudley, DY1 1QT.

Unless otherwise stated, the indoor and Zoom meetings will normally open at 7.30 and lectures commence at 8.00.

Those wishing to attend field or geoconservation meetings please contact our Field Secretary (email address on the Contacts page).

Any non-members wishing to attend our virtual meetings should contact our Meetings Secretary for instructions (email address on the Contacts page).

Other contact details are also available on our Contact us page.

Updated 31 August 2026.

Members please check your email for any last minute changes.

Recordings of some of our virtual talks can be found on our YouTube channel.

Events in September–October 2026

  • 21 September
    Scanning, HBIM and AI adoption : An opportunity for the Black Country Global Geopark

    Scanning, HBIM and AI adoption : An opportunity for the Black Country Global Geopark   8.00 -

    Monday 21 September (Indoor Meeting): 'Scanning, HBIM and AI adoption : An opportunity for the Black Country Global Geopark'. Speaker: Andrew Stott (Head of Knowledge Transfer at the University of Wolverhampton).
    This talk will explore the benefits and practical challenges associated with established and emerging reality-capture technologies, including LiDAR, virtual tours and simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) surveys. It will demonstrate how the National Brownfield Institute (NBI) has integrated these technologies into new Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) workflows. The presentation will also consider how innovations such as artificial intelligence and Gaussian splatting could enhance the creation of detailed, accessible digital twins, opening new opportunities for recording, interpreting and communicating geological and cultural heritage across the geosciences sector and within Global Geoparks like the Black Country.
    Click here for a Google map for The Lamp Tavern.



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  • 27 September
    Wren's Nest 70th Anniversary Walk

    Wren's Nest 70th Anniversary Walk   10.30 - 3.30

    Sunday 27 September 2026 (Field Meeting): Wren's Nest 70th Anniversary Walk. Celebrating 70 years - to the day - since the site became the world's first national nature reserve for geology. Led by Andy Harrison. Meet at the wardens' house in Fossil View, off Wren's Hill Road, DY1 3SB (GR: SO 937 922) at 10.30. The day will involve a walk around the reserve, exploring its heritage, why it was so important and how it came to acquire the prestigious status of a National Geological Nature Reserve, an SSSI, a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a designated UNESCO Global Geopark site. Wear strong shoes, appropriate clothing and bring a packed lunch. Finish around 3.30.
    Click here for a Google map for the wardens' house at the Wren's Nest.



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  • 11 October
    Smestow Valley and Erratics at Wightwick Manor and the Mount Hotel

    Smestow Valley and Erratics at Wightwick Manor and the Mount Hotel   10.30 - 4.00

    Sunday 11 October (Field Meeting): Smestow Valley and Erratics at Wightwick Manor and the Mount Hotel. Led by Andy Harrison and Julie Schroder. (This trip will be an approximate re-run of the BCGS field trip which took place on 14 February. Organised primarily for the Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group, this trip is now a BCGS/WGCG joint event.) Meet at Smestow Valley Local Nature Reserve, Meadow View Terrace, Wolverhampton WV6 8NX (Grid ref: SO 891 999), 10.30. In the morning we will walk around Smestow Valley, examining its geology in the context of the local landscape. Wear suitable outdoor clothing for the weather conditions. Finish this session around 12.30. Either bring a packed lunch or you can purchase lunch locally.

    The afternoon session starts at 1.30 in the car park at Wightwick Manor, Wightwick Bank, Wolverhampton, WV6 8EE, Grid Ref: SO 868982. (NB: The post code is misleading: the grid ref. shows the car entrance from the Bridgnorth Road, A454.) Meet by the ticket office in the car park where we will be admitted (without charge) as a group. Please be there on time! We will visit the recently cleaned array of glacial erratic boulders, and other glacial erratics around the property, and learn something of their geological and social history. Drive on to the Mount Hotel, Mount Rd, Tettenhall Wood, Wolverhampton WV6 8HL. Grid ref: SO 874989. Meet in the hotel car park at 2.45 – 3.00 (depending on exit time from Wightwick Manor). Here we have permission from the hotel to visit the erratics from Charles Benjamin Mander's late 19th century 'bouldery'. We will examine their varied geology and learn about their connection with the Wightwick Manor erratics. Finish 3.30 – 4.00. NB. If we are unable to visit the Mount due to a private function, there will be an erratic-themed alternative.
    Click here for a Google map for Smestow Valley LNR.
    Click here for a Google map for Wightwick Manor.
    Click here for a Google map for The Mount Hotel.



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  • 19 October
    'The Ediacaran Biota of Charnwood Forest: the behind the scenes story'.

    'The Ediacaran Biota of Charnwood Forest: the behind the scenes story'.   8.00 -

    Monday 19 October (Indoor Meeting): 'The Ediacaran Biota of Charnwood Forest: the behind the scenes story'. Speaker: Dr. Mike Howe (Chief Curator and Head of the National Geological Repository at the British Geological Survey). There are several speakers talking on the results of the work and the implications for the origins of multicellular organisms, but I believe that original discovery of the fossils around 1849 and their subsequent erroneous discrediting, plus the pivotal role played by a local society – Section C, LLPS (Leicester Literary & Philosophical Society) – in reinvigorating Ediacaran research in the UK, makes an equally interesting story.
    Click here for a Google map for The Lamp Tavern.



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