Geological change takes thousands, no millions of years –right. Well yes, but no, actually. Look what has happened over the last three months, the wettest quarter for a hundred years; and then, today, in early July, a month’s rainfall in a day and the evidence of change is apparent all around. This evening (6th July), after the deluge, I took a walk to Martley Rock—the lanes were streaming, the sound of running water everywhere, silt washing over the roads, gravels too. Martley Rock site as flooded as it has ever been; trench edges slumping; good quality topsoil washed into the drains. And that’s in a few hours in one day. Stunning what can take place in an hour or two, never mind a century or a million years–today’s local landslides, stream banks washed away and trees brought down become tomorrow’s canyons, deltas and lakes. Right there on the road, wash away was being sorted by size—first the pebbles and gravel, then the larger sand and so on right down to mud. All you need to turn these into the sorts of rocks we are familiar with is a load more on top, massive pressure and a million or more years. Our lifetimes are so very, very short in geological timescales, but even we can catch a glimpse of these processes in action at times like these.
Three Counties show, 15th, 16th and 17th June 2012. Is June the wettest on record? Many at the show felt it was going that way but fortunately the Sunday was brighter and breezier, drying out and no cars stuck. Thanks Harriet, Chas, Ingrid, Dave and Bryan for taking turns to ‘look after the shop’ where we were fortunate to meet most interesting people. Take the young lady from Ombersley, in line for a geology first at Birmingham with a boyfriend doing a PhD in palaeontology (can’t even spell it), who discovered and named a new species of extinct turtle—he will be happy to come and talk to us, so we have him on the list. Then there was the farming family from Feckenham, teenage son inextricable from geology exhibits and who, when horses have to be buried (are you following this?), dig down seven feet or so until they hit fossilised trees! I can assure you that the staff on the stand from Earth Heritage Trust sat (or stood) bolt upright at this totally unexpected revelation, vowing to send field geologists down there asap. What a find that would be!
We were most happy to renew our acquaintance with Claire from Gloucester EHT, and of course our friends from Worcester—Natalie, Eve, Tom. Our stand was better than the rush job of last year and each of us thought of ideas to improve it further. Next show is at Martley, Saturday August 18th and if you have time, come along.
We stayed with our plans to hold a field trip in May, on 26th and so pleased we did—a very special time together, led by Donnie (Prof. Donnie Hutton), around three local (to Martley) geology sites. The weather was wonderful (seems long time ago as I write this; actually, it IS a long time ago) and for a number of us the day was made extra special by the sight of a beautiful red kite floating along the Nubbins outcrop for 15 or 20 minutes whilst we gathered at Martley Hall in the morning. I have said elsewhere that for twenty years I have scanned the skies in vain and never seen a kite here (other have) until 26th May.
Here is Ian’s contribution (thanks Ian)
Penny Hill, Martley–first, the group drove to examine the Silurian ‘Wenlock’ limestone ridge which forms Penny Hill just north of the village. Accompanied by the landowner, Trevor Nott, and family, we were able to see how the stone which forms the hill is sheared off to the East along the East Malvern Fault. To the east, the wide rift valley of the Worcester Basin, later backfilled with riverine Triassic Bromsgrove sandstone and overlying marl deposits in a dramatic demonstration of the borderline between “old” and “young” Britain and the power of erosion.
The Wenlock limestone is rich in fossils (bioclastic) and formed in shallow coastal waters 423-428 million years ago south of the equator. At this time, most of proto-Britain was part of the micro continent Avalonia, drifting towards the modern day North American landmass of Laurentia through the closing of the Iapetus Ocean.
Iapetus Ocean and Avalonia
The resulting collision attached a piece of Laurentia to the north of us, forming the northern half of Scotland, and may have produced the Malvern fault system during the Caledonian orogeny (mountain building period), setting off the formation of the rift valley of the Severn.
The fossils – no dinosaurs of course, they came hundreds of millions of years later–are predominantly small seabed dwelling creatures; corals, brachiopods (shellfish),
Silurian Fossils
stromatoporoids, crinoids and trilobites, although none of the latter were seen. They are embedded in a grey-blue flaggy limestone with alternating stone, thin mudstone interbed layers and evidence of volcanic eruptions in the form of weathered ash (bentonite) layers. Currently these layers throughout the whole of the country’s Wenlock distribution, are being microscopically investigated by Dr David Ray. We hope he will become a visiting speaker to TVGS.
Fast forwarding 125 million years to the echoes of the mountain building caused by the distant collision of Africa and Eurasia (the Variscan orogeny), our land mass was now drifting through the lush green equatorial region during the carboniferous era, laying down coal deposits across the Midlands, including small patches in Martley. It was probably these tectonic forces which pushed up the previously flat Welsh Marches limestone of which Penny and Abberley Hills are an important part, to form the folded landscape we see today. Note: the profile of Penny Hill has now been recreated following quarrying and refuse landfill. The refuse was capped with clay, extracted mainly from Cob House Fisheries to leave behind many new fishing pools, allowing the controlled capture of biogenic methane. This is used as a fuel for electrical generators on site at Penny Hill to produce electricity for the National Grid, enough for a significant proportion of the energy demand of Martley Parish. Here a few pictures from Penny Hill
After a thorough look around Penny Hill, completing the circuit from the north, around the west, then east and back to our start, we drive over to Brockhill Court where we made our acquaintance with Sir Anthony Winnington, who was doing a bit of gardening, and who most graciously allowed us to see the fascinating geology that exists on his land, adjacent to the house.
Here is Bryan’s report (thanks Bryan)
Brockhill Dyke, Shelsley Beauchamp, where a teschenite dyke is exposed in an old pit. Little remains of the dyke except high up in the eastern end of the pit. However, good fresh specimens of the rock were obtained after a stiff scramble halfway up the face. Sodium rich, it belongs to the syeno-gabbro suite of rocks. It’s mineral composition is very similar to gabbro but the inclusion of an alkaline mineral, (either nepheline or analcite – in this case analcite) distinguishes it from gabbro. Plagioclase feldspar, clinopyroxene, analacite (easily distinguishable), minor amphibolites and biotite make up this medium- grained basic rock. The dyke extends east-west for about 1200 metres and is exposed in small pits on the western side of the Teme. The river itself runs along the line of the dyke until it finds a way through, just below Brockhill Court. Emplaced in the Downton Series of red marls and sandstones it is about ten metres wide and dips almost vertically. No in situ examination of the margins was possible but the Droitwich Memoire has it that narrow doleritic edges to the dyke can be seen. Loose specimens were found of what may have been a fine grained rock from the chilled margin of the dyke. Excellent examples of spheroidal (onion) weathering can be found in the debris of the pit and on the exposed face.
The country rock, marls, silts and sandstones, were ‘baked’ by the hot (1600 degrees C?) magma. The sandstones and are now hornfels, a very hard, metamorphic rock. During the baking some layers of the purple marls were sufficiently plastic to allow the escape of volatile gases and the development of vesicles and tubes which were later lined with calcite, chlorite and analcite. Extreme baking produced vitrified black specimens with conchoidal fracturing. Good examples of all of these rocks can be found in the garden walls of the nearby Brockhill Court.
An explanation of the cause of the Brockhill dyke was given by our very knowledgeable guide, Prof Donny Hutton. The dyke is one of a suite of dykes emplaced in late Carboniferous times (300 Ma) during the Variscan Orogeny. Similar dykes with similar E-W orientation can be found inNorthern Englandand the Midland Valley of Scotland. Variscan subduction with consequent loading and downbending of the lithosphere induced ‘flexural bulging’ with uplift and tensional fracturing of the crust. Low degrees of adiabatic melting produced buoyant syeno-gabbros which rose and pushed into the fractures. Some pictures:
Parking at Brockhill Court
Donny and his Clipboard
Lunch Break
Samples showing Gas Vents
Wall at Brocklhill with excellent examples of all the rocks types
Donny also gave us a very useful rule of thumb for distinguishing between sandstones, siltstones and mudstones. If we can, with the naked eye, see individual crystals and can feel them, then it’s a sandstone; if we can’t see the crystals but can feel them, then it’s a siltstone; and if we can neither see nor feel the crystals, then it’s a mudstone or shale.
Southstone Rock, Teme Valley–to round off the day, a sensational walk up the western slope of the Teme valley to see what is reputed to be the largest tufa deposit in the country, known as Southstone Rock and still, visibly, growing. Originally the site of a hermitage and a homestead, there is no habitation there now (to see an aerial photo before trees, check out Cliff Barnards book, A Tale of Two Villages, ISBN: 0952657503), but the sacred spring keeps working, gushing fulsomely out of the base of the Bishops Frome limestone, laden with calcium carbonate that precipitates in the cooler air. The moss, Palustriella Commutata, seems to enjoy ‘taking the water’ and grows abundantly, being petrified in the process thus creating an easy to work, warm, light but durable building material. This has been quarried for centuries, witness Shelsley Walsh church and nearby cottage, the Lion at Clifton and many other premises, but peculiarly it is difficult to see evidence of this at the site itself. EHT have produced an excellent leaflet ‘Southstone Rock’ Geology and Landscape Trail Guide and these are freely available from EHT (01905 885184).
Here is Ingrid’s report on this part of the day (thanks Ingrid)
On Saturday 26th May (one of the last days of summer 2012) TVGS arrived at the final stop of the Teme Valley Tour. Several of us had never been here and, as promised by those in the know, it certainly proved to be one of the best kept secret places in the area.
After some manoeuvring we somehow managed to fit all the cars safely into a lay by at the side of the road opposite the track up to Southstone Rock. A short trek along a lush and overgrown path and a steep climb steeply upwards. Round a bend and across a rickety bridge and there it was! Best described as a cross between Gormenghast, pumice stone and Lord of the Rings this great white edifice towered above us. The newbies amongst us sunk onto the nearest rock in the shade underneath to catch our breath. We rapidly moved when Donny informed us that it was a little fragile with a tendency to move chunks of itself downwards into the stream below, and no, not pumice at all but the miraculous Tufa rock. Literally a ‘living rock’ and this is one of the best examples in the country. Moving smartly from under the overhang in case of falling boulders, we climbed upwards through a series of secret paths and labyrinthine ways to reach the top.
This was a significant area of pilgrimage in years gone and was said to be inhabited by a hermit. Latterly a cottage was built at the top, but little remains of this and this quiet wooded area was sadly decimated by developers a few years ago, who clear felled leaving all manner of brash and rubbish that nature is slowly healing. The densely wooded hill rose steeply above us but we headed to the shady outlet of a strong fresh water spring – very refreshing on a hot afternoon. From there we followed the narrow stream a little way downhill to see a miracle-tufa rock in production-as the clear water flowed over mosses, slowly petrifying them as it tumbled over a most picturesque water fall to the valley below.
It wouldn’t be a TVGS field trip if we didn’t have a bit of scrambling, duly paying homage in the time honoured way of all pilgrims, we wetted our feet climbing up the stream bed from the bottom to see this more closely. Down below us Donny diverted some of the party by finding playdoh, sorry volcanic clays, apparently top quality potting clays, in the base of the stream near the rickety bridge. It was time to make our way soggily down the hill through the heat of an English summer day, a perfect end to a thoroughly interesting day.
donny at the Base of Southstone Rock
Site of the Old House
Tasting the Water
The Spring
Top of the Waterfall down the Rock
Moss and Petrification creating small tunnels
A new delta forming over and above the adjacent stream
The waterfall unfortunately obstructed by fallen trees nowadays
There be coal on that there Berrow! A longish afternoon and evening trip with Julie (in charge of Martley Geological audit) to check up on a few things (she said) led us into primeval swamps and exposed hillsides in quest of several holy grails. Quarries on Ankerdine, very close to the road edge, some type of conformity. I am not sure if it was ‘non’, ‘dis’ or ‘un’. Noduley Silurian underneath, not Triassic as documented, but very clearly Permian Breccia as on the Berrow, with its redness leaving classical staining in the underlying limestone. With a bit (lot) of cleaning this would be an excellent site but access is not available.
Petrified Twigs
From there, downhill, a bit of tramping about then bingo, the little petrifying stream, trickling away in its woodland glade, turning to stone twigs, moss and snailshells, no competition for Southstone Rock up the valley but a gem all the same.
Tufa Weirs, Ankerdine
Moving just a little way north on to the southern slopes of the Berrow, first we checked out the Permian pit–Haffield Breccia–where you can see tumbled, rounded boulders loosely cemented with angular gravels and fines. This pit, on a south reaching spur of the hill commands simply wonderful views down the Teme valley to the Malverns and Forest of Dean, with Cotswolds eastward. Spade on shoulder and with some anticipation we then headed up the steep hill and into the rough woodland.
Our Coal Pit on Berrow
Handful of Berrow Coal!
Immediately we came upon a volcano like crater, 2m deep, 15m across, reputed to be an old coal pit. We dug small test holes to find grey carboniferous deposits. Moving west, around the hill fifty or so metres we again dug and this time struck gold, black gold! Small glistening lumps of coal, in support of the ancient records that state that there were coal pits years ago. Julie took samples for EHT to check out and I was thrilled because it had been an aim of mine for some years to find Martley coal.
After a break, the indefatigable Julie decided on a high speed tour of limestones on Rodge Hill
Rodge Hill Silurian–Strata Vertical
and also on the track north of the farm of the same name. Loaded down with samples we called it a day as dusk settled. Thanks for the tour, Julie! All of the evidence she collected will go towards greater accuracy in the audit of the geology of Martley.
Water
It has rained a great deal lately, hasn’t it?
Pumping at Martley Rock
Do you think we should change the name, as some wag suggested, from Martley Rock to Martley Rock Pool(s)? OK so we’ve bought a pump and with Mike’s generator successfully drained the area on May 6th. It rained again this week, didn’t it? Can you see a pattern developing?
Interpretation Boards–one is up, the others should be very shortly, but the weather has delayed site work; the intention now is to wait for fine weather then go fix not only the two remaining interpretation displays but also the boundary signs that have been received from Graham Signs in Malvern. These will be fixed so it is clear to our visitors where one geological period ends and the next commences.
FIELD TRIP
Field Trip Saturday 26th May–this IS on–limited places so be quick but PLEASE let me know–see northern Penny Hill in detail, Brockhill Dyke and Southstone Rock–largest tufa deposit in the country(?). Sturdy footwear, packed lunch, rainwear. Professor Donny Hutton will lead this trip. Meet Martley Village Hall 10am; use cars packed to the gunwales as parking is limited in some areas.
FUNDING APPLICATIONS
Progress on funding applications–we are busy with two applications. Firstly we submitted the Expressions of Interest and have now been invited to complete full applications for both. The first is for a transnational co-operation project with two similar villages to our own, one in France, the other Germany. The second is to expand the ‘developed’ sites in the parish of Martley to a total of five. The additional four would show off permian, silurian and triassic rocks, each with a local interpretation board, supported by an explanatory free leaflet. Illustrated guides to two new local geo trails to complement the one already in use as commissioned by the Earth Heritage trust, are also planned, and a free geology course for young people too.
It’s that man Skinny again–you all know him by now. Finest tree climber in Worcestershire (was). He made a good fist of it on Saturday 21st April, when he helped TVGS by cutting down (and up) the rotten oak branches that used to overhang the viewing path at Martley Rock.
7th April TVGS’s first work party descended on Martley Rock. Armed to the teeth something like a bunch of brigands, the foot soldiers, rakes and shovels on shoulders, led into battle by Skinny’s trusty old Merry Tiller. Old it might be but it did the job wonderfully. Hardened soil softened under its caress as Skinny manfully wrestled the bronco so that the rakers and trampers could follow on behind, levelling and firming prior to seeding.
A group of agriculturists had stayed at The Chandlery during the week, up to meet with Dave Richards at Ridgend Farm to advise on better production from cattle and field. Not knowing what hit him, the expert in grass seed gave up the struggle quickly and was soon on the phone requesting a free sack of ‘the right stuff’ to seed this scenic corner of Worcestershire. Thanks LIMAGRAIN of Market Rasen (http://www.limagrain.co.uk/index.php), your generosity and expertise is very much appreciated by TVGS.
Apart from preparing the ground for seeding, we attended to the whole of the long trench, cleaning up the lips by rounding them off, and removing spoil from the east, Triassic, end. By the time we had finished after a couple off hours we were really pleased with our efforts. Just shows what can be done with a small group in a short time. Mike Install brought along some bean poles and we erected a temporary fence to stop traffic on seeded areas by the road. Andy cleared overhanging branches and during the week Mike (Dunnet) had sprayed the nettles and dogs mercury so that by the time we arrived on site it looked pretty ill. I think its the nub of why we do it when you can draw in people with different skills to get the job done–Mike D is from a gardening background, many of you know him from the Hort Soc and his wonderful open gardens up on Ankerdine. Everyone knows Skinny, don’t you? It seems that way to me–whether in the Teme Valley or downtown Martley, Skinny is well known as tree surgeon, grafter and keen to assist with community projects. The rest of us have all done a bit of raking and tramping in our time so played our part in the exercise. Good job–thanks Ian, Mike, Skinny, Alan, Andy.
Ian Spreading Seed
Sunday 8th–Ian and I managed to get up to the site and seed the whole area, afterwards raking it in.
With some spare time we also managed to clean out the east end of the exposed quarry, down to solid rock, using spoil from there to fill in the depression on the next level.
Quarry Cleaned
We aim to clean out all of the this pit, in order to expose solid rock and any features that it might exhibit.
Yellowstone–On Monday 26th March, Dr Ian Sutton presented ‘Yellowstone’ to a mid thirties audience (number not age). Those who had been to Yellowstone had their enthusiasm for this unique and varied park rekindled; those who have never been, myself included, renewed their vows to go there asap. How long do you need? There is so much to see, and though we focus on geology in our group, Ian, in a beautifully illustrated talk, showed that it’s not only steam and hisses, but wild life, scenic wonder and just wide open spaces–with the threat of doom through mega explosion not far down in one’s consciousness. Actually Ian discounted that and latest research suggests that the magma chambers underneath are not so large as to pose an ‘end of the world’ threat to North America. Thanks Ian!
Mapping Course–One more reminder for the Mapping Course starting 15th May, call Nat at EHT 01905 855184
The Martley Geology Project–the team is considering the way forward, i.e. the current project has some months to run and a number of milestones to achieve but can we now start to think of more? The audit of Martley geology lists over 40 sites in the parish and a handful of these meet the criteria of accessibility, interest and relevance. Given our aim of making Martley a European Geo Village, with trails and representative sites, we need to keep this in mind. Anyone reading this and interested in taking part in anyway whatsoever in our future projects, please speak up!
Where? 7.30pm, Monday 26th March, Martley Memorial Hall–DON’T MISS IT!
Header picture shows part of Acton Scott quarry–Ordovician Actonian (Upper Caradoc) Limestone. In the rest of this blog: see the interpretation board designs for Martley Rock; check out Snailbeach day; news on some future events.
Lickeys’ Field Trip
Next field trip for those on the minerals course, is on Saturday 14th April; there will be places for a dozen or more ‘others’–The Lickeys with Eve Miles of H&W EHT; information to follow.
Martley Geology Project
As you are aware, the Martley Geology Project is continuing behind the scenes with the development of Martley Rock site, the parish geology audit, both stages nearly complete, with educational materials being the next point of focus. At Martley Rock three interpretation panels have been designed for us by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust personnel. Here are the designs:
Panel One will be a the site entrance near the visitors’ book
Panel 2 will be sited by the short trench
Panel 3 will be on the western side of the bridge, looking north / north-east
Trip to the Ordovician Areas of Shropshire, near the Stiperstones.
On Saturday 17th March, those who had enrolled on Paul’s Minerals course enjoyed a fascinating day exploring quarries and mines in Shropshire. First stop was Acton Scott, the location for the BBC series Victorian Country Farm, and a quarry a short walk past A.S. church across fields with wide views of the wonderful rolling border countryside. The church and churchyard were notable for a number of reasons: the stones, mainly quarried locally, from which the church was constructed, the huge yew trees in the churchyard and the lady we met in the church who asked if we wanted to learn about church history but was not aware that a few hundred yards away was the quarry from which it was made?!
We scrabbled about in the much overgrown quarry that featured several low exposures, finding excellent examples of fossils from the Ordovician period. Not many left once the TVGS raiders departed. Paul’s notes helped us here a great deal as they did throughout the day, in identifying exactly what we were looking at, and of course he was always on hand to take off his glasses so he could see all the better!
The TVGS convoy then made its way to the western side of the Stiperstones, passing two old mine engine houses (just like Cornwall) en route to the village of Shelve. We took hammers to an innocent looking, somewhat vegetated outcrop at the side of the road. We were seeking i.a. the elusive graptolites to be found within Mytton Flags, but not in the volcanic dolerite that was also present and of interest in itself, of course.
Appropriately after our hard working morning, it was now time for Paul to escort us to the busy Stiperstones Inn for lunch. I think Scotland was 3 nil down at that stage and no radio in my car upset some of my passengers, luckily Ing. had her iPhone.
After lunch just round the corner (or two) and missing out what would have been the highlight of the day–the Stiperstones shop–Snailbeach village and the site of the old Snailbeach lead mine, where we shoved feet into wellies, hard hats on head and illumination in hand (or also on head). We were most competently guided around the surface workings and into the mine by two volunteers from The Shropshire Mining and Caving Club. Staggering to hear of the privation suffered by the hundreds of workers who toiled to make the Marquis of Bath a very, very wealthy man in the late 1700s early 1800s. They not only had to make their own tools and walk to work, but also had to buy the candles to see what they were doing and were paid only for ore produced. Those were the days, we’ve all gone soft. We spent a happy time after the tour, beating up rocks on the old dump, finding very good samples of lead (galena) and zinc ore (Sphalerite)as well as barytes–barium sulphate.
Final stop of the day was in Hope Village to see the contorted Hope Shales, as examples of ‘competent’ and ‘incompetent’ rocks.
Thanks are due to Paul for taking the time and patience with many ‘incompetent’ aspirant geologists; I for one enjoyed it more than I thought I would, it is really fascinating to begin to appreciate how the world around has been shaped over millions of years, and a field trip gives it a relevance and reality absent in the classroom. Thanks Paul.
For those dying to see themselves on a geology trip, try your luck with the gallery:
The masthead shows crinoids in the Wenlock limestone, north of Martley. Click on links to find out more and pictures to see them larger. Next evening meeting–the one you have all been waiting for-‘The Yellowstone Mega Volcano‘ with Ian Sutton, Martley Memorial Hall, Monday 26th March 2012 7.30pm, members free, non-members £2.50. Remember we need your ideas for events, trips, talks, activities, it is your society and actually sometimes it is quite hard work to keep the ideas coming! WORKPARTIES–it is now the time to start calling for volunteers to help maintain and improve, initially Martley Rock site. Please .
If you wish to volunteer as librarian–keeper of the scrolls–again please let me know; here is our current list of books etc. These are all for lending out but need someone to keep a check on them–please. Dr Payne’s Talk on the Geology of the South Malverns. Final calls to enrol for the Snailbeach Day, 17th March and the Geology Mapping Course starting 15th May. Martley Geology Project progress. Le Grand Tour continues.
Dr Payne
Upwards of 30 TVGS members braved a cold grey winter’s evening to attend John Payne’s talk about the Pre-Cambrian and Ordovician rocks of the Malvern area. We are very grateful to John who stepped in at short notice to deliver the 2nd lecture of the TVGS winter season replacing the planned talk by Chris Damon who had a family bereavement. Our best wishes go to Chris and we look forward to hearing him speak later in the year. We had a very interesting talk from John whose illustrations as usual were superb, allowing all of us to understand a little of the complex geology behind the formation of the Malverns and the many features that are there if you go looking! It gave us the idea for a trip to see all the features John presented, in the field, after all it is only just down the road! All in all a fascinating talk, thanks again John.
Snailbeach
There are one or two places left for the day tour to Snailbeach, leaving Martley around 8.15am Saturday 17th March. Please call me–John 01886 888318–if you wish to come along.
Here are the notes that I sent to those who have previously enrolled: I will drive my car so can take 3 or 4; any questions do not hesitate to call me or email me. Dr Olver is harder to reach! To get to Craven Arms by 0930 we would need to leave Martley at the latest 0830, and preferably 0815 as it is a fairly slow going tho only around 33 miles, John.
Paul’s notes–party to meet at 9.30 am on Saturday 17th March at the Corvedale Road Car Park in Craven Arms.
Take the B4368 off the roundabout on the A49 in Craven Arms and the car park entrance follows on the left almost immediately opposite a row of small shops.
Some cars will be left here and a few selected cars will take a circular tour. The roads are narrow in places and parking is at a premium so a smaller number of cars is best.
We will be visiting some Ordovician geological exposures in the Shelve & Acton Scott areas in the morning prior to having lunch at the Stiperstones Inn at approximately 12.30 pm – they are reserving a room for the whole party. I’ll have the bar snacks menu with me and we can order prior to lunchtime which will speed things up!
In the afternoon from about 2 pm we will be visiting the Snailbeach Mine. There is a lot of historic/industrial archaeology interest here and we will have a guide, Peter Sheldrake, for the whole of our visit. He will take the party around both the surface processing buildings and into the mine. The whole tour is £7-50 each (no reductions) which goes to the preservation group. For those not wishing to visit the mine itself there will be a reduced fee of £5-00 (no reductions). All these payments can be made on the day when we arrive so members will need some money with them – credit cards are not taken!! We will all have a chance to look for galena/sphalerite and other gangue minerals such barytes/quartz on the extensive tip heaps close to the mine. The visit will finish around 4.30 pm.
For those wishing to go into the mine – it’s a level adit for about 100 yds but you need to stoop first before it opens up – they will definitely need wellingtons as there is standing water and most importantly a torch each. As I said, this part of the tour is optional and should be avoided by anyone who is claustrophobic.
All members attending will need to wear stout footwear/boots and of course bring warm clothes/waterproofs especially if entering the mine.
Mapping
For the last few places on this 4 week course commencing 15th May, call Natalie on 01905 855184.
MGP Progress
Interpretation boards and other types of media to enable visitors to follow the complexities of the site at Martley Rock are on schedule for installation during April. Some work has started on the car park, moving the existing steel gates back 30 or 40m and installing a perimeter fence. The survey of the geology of Martley continues behind the scenes and the compilation of all of the data into an index will commence shortly. When the findings from this are made known it will show us other sites that we can put on the itinerary of our increasing numbers of visitors. We expect that maintenance work will be needed on these sites as well as at Martley Rock, hence the call for volunteers. In the new financial year attention will turn to the final strand of the project, production of educational packs, so that teachers visiting with students have learning materials at their disposal.
Le Grand Tour
Triple Cross in Triassic Sandstone, Scar Cottage
In the last couple of weeks it has been my pleasure to show Professor Donny Hutton, he of the Antarctic who gave the talk in January, around the geological sites on Martley and area. Unfortunately on a cold and misty day, no views at all, we traversed Berrow Hill (thanks John Walker and Cob House for access) seeing putative coal pits on the way, excellent Permian breccia exposure before dropping down to Martley Rock and the Nubbins where at Scar Cottage yet more features were revealed.
This week, we completed the Martley traverse by visiting many small exposures
Complex Folding and Thrusts in the Silurian Penny Hill
in and around Penny Hill,
all Silurian limestone and shale, full of fossils with grand views to the east.
The remaining low wall of a filled in quarry is a wonderful source of crinoid fossils, (the example shown here has been in my dishwasher) and the exposure is accessible as it is at the side of a right of way, SO 375279 262090.
We had the time to drop into the Teme Valley near Shelsley Beauchamp to explore Brockhill Dyke, an
impressive igneous intrusion that has been partially mined out for roadstone. Scrambling up unstable soil banks we discovered contact points between the original bedrock and the intrusion and very good examples of onion skin weathering in the igneous.
Southstone Rock, aka Tufa Rock was left for another time.
WENLOCK CRINOIDS
Brockhill dyke, Onion Skin Weathering in the Igneous
Books
We have:
4 x Geologial Map 182
4 x Geological Map 199
1 x Book The Geological History of the British Isles – Hunter & Easterbrook
1 x Book Geological Hisory of Britain and Ireland – Woodcock & Strachan
1 x DVD Living Rock – An Introduction to Earth’s Geology
1 x DVD Glaciers
1 x DVD Steven Hawkings Universe 1, 2, and Inside Planet Earth- 3-disc
What cold and today (7th Feb) misty weather, the day chosen to walk Donny (of the Antarctic) around some of our local geo sites. It was flippin’ cold on The Berrow (thanks Helen and Rob, John Walker for permission), chilly and damp at Martley Rock but warm (what a welcome) at Pam and Ian’s Scar Cottage. Next week we will check out Penny Hill and the Teme valley, weather permitting.
PLEASE DIARISE the following, we look forward to seeing you in the queue:
1) Feb 22nd Martley Memorial Hall, 7.30pm, Chris Darmon, lifelong geology education, Chair of YHA, and of his company Geo Supplies. Chris will speak to us on ‘The Pre-Cambrian and Lower Palaeozoic basement rocks of the Midlands’. So, the geology under our feet, why the landscape looks as it does right here in the Midlands. Chris will spend two nights in Martley and also do ‘The Grand Tour’. Becoming a habit. Remember, free to members, £2.50 non-members.
2) The next sponsored lifelong learning course run as part of the LEADER project will take place on 4 Tuesday evenings, 15, 22, 29th May and 5th June at the Memorial Hall 7.30pm, Dr Paul Olver tutor, £25 per person, topic–Introduction to Geological Mapping. Book with Natalie on 01905 542014 or [email protected]. Book now! Bound to be oversubscribed.
3) Sponsored walk to support Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust (EHT) 25th March 2012–we really hope to take this up with a vengeance–the walk is along the geology route set up by Nat last year and that is proving really popular. Length around 6 miles, varied scenery, river, hills, orchards–if you have not walked it why not secure some sponsorship–NO minimum–bring friends and family and enjoy it. By the way, there IS some geology, but don’t let that put you off.
As far as the Martley Geology Project goes, main focus is now on the interpretation panels for Martley Rock site; Dave and Julie are nearing the end of their audit of the parish and, as the weather presumably will warm up our attention will turn to seeding the Martley Rock site and site maintenance.
We have a GREAT IDEAS in the pipeline–how about a sandstone ceilidh (sic) in June or July–please send in yours.
J
Today’s header–Penny Hill, Martley, Silurian (Wenlock) Limestone
Work at Martley Rock–Saturday afternoon,