More flint, plus chalk

On my mini-vacation I decided to go to Brighton to see a bit of the ocean. I had one day of sunshine and one day of constant rain, so I wandered the beach and then when it was raining visited some museums. I had the chance to see the chalk and flint geology of the coast and then find out about it. I found out that flint is almost pure silica and is believed to be formed from the decomposition and recrystallization of a certain kind of sea sponge. The flint in Brighton is found in its familiar irregular nodules but also in the form of pebbles that have lost their white and translucent colours from constant washing in the sea.

There is also chalk, in which large quantities of flint stones are embedded. Chalk is a very soft rock. Even just handling pieces left a milky white residue on my hands. The flints appear in the clay soil at Grymsdyke Farm because the chalk that once surrounded them was worn away by weathering, leaving the very fine particles that make clay. The harder flint remained intact. Underneath the clay the chalk still remains.

In Brighton, the chalk is out in the open in the form of cliffs and low formations where bits of the cliff have fallen.

The low formations are ideal for tide pools. Most of the rocks are covered in a crunchy fuzz of seaweed and mussels. Sometimes, though, there are rounded pieces of bright white chalk, with random perfect holes:

As for architecture, there are a lot of rows of townhouses. Some are brick and flint- besides using knapped flint, they also make use of the rounded beach pebbles:

 A lot of them, though, are covered with a layer of brightly painted render. I was also taking note of whimsical chimney caps, for possible inspiration.

And some people have cars to match their houses?