What a day!  What a day fortune bestowed (that is the word) on us for the S Wales Geological Society’s visit to Martley, one of five set up when Ian and I attended the GA annual meeting in November last.  As I write it does not look so good for the visit of Reading GS today, 19th April.

Worcestershire’s countryside shone in all its glory, ploughed and harrowed fields lay cropless at this time showing off the true colours of underlying strata, undergrowth just awakening, exposures easily viewable.

SWGS bought along 13 members, none of whom needed my simple introduction to the geology of the region, so using an experienced teacher’s trick I talked about other things.  We made our way to Martley Rock, then across Kingswood Lane, along the valley edge:  the change in the colour of the dry, tilled earth in the fields to our right, from Triassic red to Silurian grey, was distinct under the clear blue sky.

Over the B4204 past the Tee and  up on to the ridge formed of upended, even over turned Aymestry limestone, above Pudford, glorious, Hay Bluff peeping over Bromyard Plateau, Brown and Titterstone Clee to the north west, valley of the Teme gorgeously spread below.  Lunch at the PONS seat, only one lunch mind, not like the Ramblers 9 mile foray a couple of weeks ago where Mike and I counted three.

Off the ridge to Lower House Quarry, Crinoid City to us,

 

 

but under intense gaze isn’t that a fault face, aren’t those slickensides and not only crinoids but cephalopods too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Down into the dip, old quarries on all sides and into dense woodland, past

crags we worked on last week, see previous post, to the Canyon.

 

 

Thick layer of bentonite squeezed by cascade folds, maybe this ancient access way into the quarry was forged

along an old fault line.

 

 

 

 

Continuing along the forest path, up the Stairway to Heaven, around Penny Hill and into the quarry proper, discovering fossils at the famous face (Observer’s Book of Geology from the 50s, picture of this, captioned Martley, Wilts(!)).

My non geological colleague Colin found a striking example of the upside-downness of the formations hereabouts–a large piece of coral definitely growing towards the light but here at an angle of +-45 degrees down (see photo).

 

 

My constant mantra to the group, fascinated and intent as they were by each new exposure was that we were saving the best till last. This encouraged a steady pace

towards Martley and the pub with the last geological site being Scar Cottage and its incomparable quarry garden.  There certainly were a few wows and blimeys when the group rounded the corner and took in the view.  Here again the experts in the group came up trumps, seeing clear fault zones with fault debris between, proving with an acid bottle, the white veins were calcite.

 

 

Back at the pub, drinks and yes, SWGS were made to walk through the TVGS shop (just as National Trust) and indeed purchased two of our geology audits–thanks!!  We hope to see you at our symposium in October geo-symposium.eu.