COLLECTION OF COLOURED SANDS FROM ALUM BAY, ISLE OF WIGHT

The coloured sands of Alum Bay are world famous. These sands were collected in the 1970s before restrictions on collecting were imposed.

The six sand samples have been repackaged in plastic boxes and are presented in a lidded card gift box.
 
The colours of the Alum Bay sands are entirely natural and are mostly due to various compounds of iron.  The sands in the cliffs here are part of the Bracklesham Beds and were laid down on an ancient sea floor about 40 million years ago.  Subsequent pressure imposed on the Earth’s crust by the formation of the Alps has pushed the entire sequence of rocks into a vertical position, thus enabling visitors to walk along the beach and therefore forwards or backwards in time.

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