Geopark Leaflet 2010 ENG 1a_Layout 1 08/03/2010 00:59 Page 1

Henllys Vale – a former colliery former a – Vale Henllys

for more information. information. more for www.geomon.co.uk Visit

protected area. protected

geology and islanders’ long relationship with the sea. the with relationship long islanders’ and geology

Mountain and the central Beacons. Brecon central the and Mountain

A walk around the island's coastal path reveals its amazing its reveals path coastal island's the around walk A another UNESCO another

surround the uplands of , the Black the Fawr, Fforest of uplands the surround

Anglesey joined the European Geoparks Network in 2009. in Network Geoparks European the joined Anglesey

Heritage Site – Site Heritage

Fforest Fawr is now one of two Welsh Geoparks since Geoparks Welsh two of one now is Fawr Fforest woodland in the valleys of the Geopark which Geopark the of valleys the in woodland

Landscape World Landscape

GeoMôn – Anglesey’s Geopark Anglesey’s – GeoMôn

You will, however, find plenty of attractive of plenty find however, will, You

Industrial

which was once a royal hunting ground. hunting royal a once was which moorland

Blaenavon

covered in trees but an extensive tract of tract extensive an but trees in covered

Carreg Cennen Castle Cennen Carreg y Pen on walk Guided BGS©NERC, Graham Bell Graham BGS©NERC,

few miles away at away miles few

‘Great Forest’. This is not in fact a large area large a fact in not is This Forest’. ‘Great

celebrated only a only celebrated

with other Geoparks. other with access to the Welsh countryside. Welsh the to access been known for centuries as Fforest Fawr - the - Fawr Fforest as centuries for known been

development is development

and Global Geoparks Networks through working through Networks Geoparks Global and

Visit www.ccw.gov.uk for more information about information more for www.ccw.gov.uk Visit

name from the upland area at its core which has which core its at area upland the from name

to the development of the European the of development the to contribute • industrial

Countryside Code. Countryside kilometres (300 square miles) in all. It takes its takes It all. in miles) square (300 kilometres

and 20th Century 20th and

research in the Earth Sciences. Earth the in research

please treat these hills with respect and follow the follow and respect with hills these treat please

Beacons National Park – some 763 square 763 some – Park National Beacons

classroom and as a place for learning and learning for place a as and classroom story of ’ 19th Wales’ of story

land. The Geopark is here to be enjoyed but enjoyed be to here is Geopark The land.

The Geopark covers the western half of Brecon of half western the covers Geopark The

the area’s potential as a superb outdoor superb a as potential area’s the develop • Fan The extraordinary The

The area is well served by public paths and access and paths public by served well is area The

geomorphology and landscape of the area. the of landscape and geomorphology

Where is Fforest Fawr? Fforest is Where manufacturing output led the world. the led output manufacturing

the geology, the enhance and conserve • www.fforestfawrgeopark.org.uk/enjoying/be-safe

Industrial Revolution in , a region whose region a Wales, South in Revolution Industrial

Be safe! – take a look at at look a take – safe! Be understand the need for its conservation. its for need the understand

the Geopark area played a vital role in the in role vital a played area Geopark the

residents appreciate its diverse qualities and qualities diverse its appreciate residents

intervals of geological time. The mineral riches of riches mineral The time. geological of intervals to help visitors and visitors help to communities local with work •

this area are now in use worldwide to define to worldwide use in now are area this

area through the development of geotourism. of development the through area UNESCO Global Network in 2005. in Network Global UNESCO

geology. The names they derived from working in working from derived they names The geology. and plays an active role in the economy of the of economy the in role active an plays and

of the European Geoparks Network and the and Network Geoparks European the of

local attractions to a wider audience wider a to attractions local promote • rocks and pioneered new ideas in the study of study the in ideas new pioneered and rocks

study. became a member a became Geopark Fawr Fforest study.

Murchison, spent time here. They mapped the mapped They here. time spent Murchison, Fforest Fawr Geopark seeks to: seeks Geopark Fawr Fforest

class outdoor classrooms and places for scientific for places and classrooms outdoor class Each of Europe’s Geoparks is a protected landscape. protected a is Geoparks Europe’s of Each 19th Century science, such as Sir Roderick Impey Roderick Sir as such science, Century 19th

wider relationship with the land. They are also first- also are They land. the with relationship wider last two million years. Some of the great names of names great the of Some years. million two last

What are Geoparks for ? for Geoparks are What

Waterfalls Centre Waterfalls

and which shaped this landscape in the in landscape this shaped which glaciers and local legends and culture, archaeology and our and archaeology culture, and legends local

dramatically recorded in the legacy of ice sheets ice of legacy the in recorded dramatically

their unique landscapes. Geoparks celebrate Geoparks landscapes. unique their

run cold and deep. deep. and cold run

Climate change is a constant theme, most theme, constant a is change Climate Limekilns, Henllys Vale Henllys Limekilns,

people. Fascinating human stories emerge from emerge stories human Fascinating people. wet and slippery ground beside rivers which can which rivers beside ground slippery and wet

prepared for changeable weather. Take care on care Take weather. changeable for prepared not just about rocks, however, they are also about also are they however, rocks, about just not

and went, and of mountains that were raised up as continents collided. collided. continents as up raised were that mountains of and went, and

country - whatever time of year you visit, go visit, you year of time whatever - country extraordinary geological heritage. Geoparks are Geoparks heritage. geological extraordinary

British Isles and Europe. Here you will find evidence of ancient seas which came which seas ancient of evidence find will you Here Europe. and Isles British winter. Remember - much of Fforest Fawr is hill is Fawr Fforest of much - Remember winter.

Geoparks is an area with an important and often and important an with area an is Geoparks

Earth’s history and help us to understand the geological evolution of Wales, the Wales, of evolution geological the understand to us help and history Earth’s – on foot or by bike, in spring, summer, autumn or autumn summer, spring, in bike, by or foot on –

Each one of the growing international family of family international growing the of one Each

The rocks and landscapes of Fforest Fawr Geopark record significant events in the in events significant record Geopark Fawr Fforest of landscapes and rocks The You can enjoy the Geopark in many different ways different many in Geopark the enjoy can You

Your visit Your What’s the story? the What’s k? Geopar a is What

Find out more

Fforest Fawr Geopark is set within the National Park. For more information visit one of these centres:

The Waterfalls Centre, Located at the head of the Vale of Neath and gateway to the Waterfalls area. With its Geopark exhibition this centre is your best introduction to the area. Tel: 01639 721795.

The National Park Visitor Centre, Libanus Displays and friendly staff will help you explore the area, or relax and enjoy the fantastic views and popular tea rooms. Tel: 01874 623366 or e-mail: [email protected]

Llandovery Information Centre This welcoming centre has all the information you need about where © Crown Copyright: RCAHMW to stay and what to do in the Geopark. Tel: 01550 720693. Quarrying silica sand at Pwll Byfre in 1929 Garn Goch - Iron Age hill-fort - ancient standing stone Rock detectives The following locations can also provide some information about the Geopark and are worth a visit in their own right: • Craig-y-nos Country Park - enjoy 40 acres of woodland, meadows It’s more than just rocks! The archaeological, industrial and agricultural monuments are an Mwynhewch Fynyddoedd Godidog, and riverside walks in historic landscaped grounds in the upper integral part of the Geopark’s landscape. Man and wildlife have Valley. lived alongside each other in the Geopark for more than 7,000 • Garwnant Visitor Centre – Forestry Commission Wales’ visitor centre The Geopark is also about people and their stories. Rhaeadrau Rhyfeddol, Ogofau Gwych, & café set in the Cwm Taf woodlands. Tel: 0300 068 0300 years. The plants and animals occupying the diverse habitats • Centre, Brynaman - café and community centre at provided by watersides and woodland, moorland, scree and crag Bywyd Gwyllt Gogoneddus… People have been making use of rocks here for thousands of years the foot of the Black Mountain. Tel: 01269 823400 are also a part of the Geopark story. However, geology remains the - from the mysterious standing stones of our distant ancestors to (Enjoy Magnificent Mountains, Wonderful Waterfalls, Visit these web sites: foundation for the landscape in all its diversity. • www.fforestfawrgeopark.org.uk Iron Age hill forts and from Roman roads to Norman castles. The Spectacular Caves, Glorious Wildlife...) • www.europeangeoparks.org coming of the Industrial Revolution led man to exploit the coal, • www.globalgeopark.org • www.visitbreconbeacons.com silica rock, rottenstone and limestone found in the Geopark. The

For more information contact the Geopark Development Officer at: presence of quarries, mines and limekilns together with canals, Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, tramways and railways for transporting these resources, bears Plas y Ffynnon, , witness to industrial activity on a large scale. Hill farms, fields Brecon. LD3 7HP. Tel: 01874 624437 E-mail: [email protected] bounded by dry stone walls and pillow mounds for breeding rabbits are evidence of flourishing agricultural activity. Towns and villages expanded with a growing population.

Photographs © BBNPA, Nick Turner, Gareth Ellis, © Laurie Campbell Philip Veale, Nigel Forster, Nick Jenkins. P204838 British Geological Survey. © NERC 2010. Garn Goch © Crown Copyright: RCAHMW. Scarlet Elf Cup Dipper Sundew Geopark Leaflet 2010 ENG 1a_Layout 1 08/03/2010 00:59 Page 2

0 post-glacial deposits Why are the rocks tilted? 0.01 A slice through the rocks of Fforest Fawr Geopark ice age deposits along a line drawn southeastwards from All of the rocks of the Geopark were 2.6 Quat. originally horizontal, but the Ordovician and rocks were intensely folded no rocks during a mountain-building episode of this age known as the ‘Caledonian Orogeny’. in Geopark The younger Devonian and Neogene rocks were all tilted 23 southwards in a later mountain building phase known as the ‘Variscan Orogeny’. no rocks of this age The Cribarth and Neath Disturbances in Geopark

are major zones of weakness in the Palaeogene rocks where faults and folds can be seen 65 at the surface. They are associated with the mountain-building episodes. no rocks of this age

in Geopark Cretaceous

Younger Rocks 145

no rocks of this age in Geopark

Ordovician and Silurian rocks The Twrch Sandstone Bishopston Mudstone Coal Measures The Period Jurassic The story starts here Recycled mountains Warm tropical seas Silica mines & furnace linings From deltas to gorges Forest swamps A landscape sculpted by ice 199

Our oldest rocks are The ‘Caledonian Shallow seas flooded Once familiar as the Formerly known as the The youngest solid Weathering and erosion no rocks the steeply tilted Mountains’ were the area at the start ‘Basal Grit’, this hard ‘Middle Shales’, this rocks in the Geopark over many millions of of this age in Geopark sandstones, rapidly eroded. Huge of the Carboniferous pebbly sandstone thick series of consist of mudstones, years began to shape Triassic mudstones and quantities of mud, period. The warm was found to contain mudstones formed as sandstones and coal the modern landscape. 251 limestones found in sand and pebbles equatorial waters beds of sandstone great river deltas grew seams. They were laid A series of ice ages the northwest. They were carried allowed corals and containing 98% out into a tropical sea down in equatorial during the last 2.6 million no rocks formed layer by horizontal layer in a sea southwards by large rivers to be deposited in many other animal species to thrive – their quartz or ‘silica’. These pure sandstones were which deepened to the south. Together with deltas covered by dense rainforests. Plant years carved out much of the scenery we see of this age in Geopark called the Welsh Basin which once covered arid low-lying areas and coastal plains. remains can now be found as fossils in the mined extensively around the head of the the underlying Twrch Sandstone, the fossils are common. today. At the height of the last major ice age Permian central Wales and which connected with a Collectively these mudstones, sandstones limestone which they helped to form. Vale of Neath. They were used to Bishopston Mudstone forms the Marros Group about 20,000 years ago, great rivers of moving A hard band of sandstone known as the 299 great ocean called Iapetus to the north. and conglomerates are known as the ‘Old manufacture furnace bricks which are – the new name for the ‘ series’. ice ploughed down the valleys of the Usk, There are several distinct types of limestone ‘Farewell Rock’ marks the base of the Coal South Wales Red Sandstone’. resistant to cracking at high temperatures. These rocks are best seen in Waterfall Country Neath, Towy and Tawe, fed in turn by smaller Coal Measures Pennant A huge slow-motion collision took place in the area. Some have been widely Measures – a ‘farewell to riches’ for any miner Sandstone where the Mellte, Hepste and glaciers formed under the high peaks of the between southern Britain and Scotland as The uppermost beds of the ‘ORS’ are the quarried for aggregate and for lime-burning, delving below this level for ironstone or coal. (mudstones, rivers have cut great gorges through them. Black Mountain, Fforest Fawr and the Brecon the Iapetus Ocean closed up over millions of ‘Grey Grits’ and ‘Plateau Beds’, seen on the in connection with both agriculture and the These mineral resources played a vital part in sandstones & Beacons and the northern slopes of the coal seams) years. The rocks of Scotland, England and flat mountain tops of the Brecon Beacons iron industry. One of them, ‘rottenstone’ was the industrial development of South Wales. Coalfield escarpment which border the 310 The Farewell Rock Wales, including those of the Welsh Basin and Fans and the Fforest Fawr used as an abrasive for polishing metal. Neath Valley. were buckled, faulted and folded to form a escarpment. Bishopston Mudstone Himalayan-scale mountain range - the The final retreat of the ice just over 11,000 years A thin band of flaggy sandstones known as ‘Caledonian Mountains’. The more modest ago revealed a bleak and stony wilderness. CarboniferousTwrch Sandstone the ‘Tilestones’ marks the base of the ‘Old hills of present-day Snowdonia, the English As the climate warmed, so forests and their 325 Red Sandstone’ – their name Tilestones Carboniferous Lake District and the Scottish Highlands are associated wildlife spread across Britain. Limestone reveals why they were quarried at Mynydd 359 today’s remnants of that once mighty range. Landslides occurred in many places as hillsides Upper Devonian Myddfai and other places along their outcrop. that had been over-steepened by glaciers Brownstones & Senni Beds slipped into the valleys under their own weight. (sandstones with Great expanses of peat such as at Waun Fignen some mudstones) Fforest Fawr Geopark Felen have formed since the last Ice Age. Millions of years ago St Maughans Rocks & Routes Formation

(mudstones Devonian with some sandstones) 416 Raglan Mudstone Old Red Sandstone Tilestones

siltstones, Sgwd Gwladus mudstones

& sandstones S i l u r i a n 443

siltstones, mudstones

& sandstones Ordovician 488 Pen y Fan

no rocks of this age

in Geopark Cambrian 542

no rocks of this age in Geopark

Limekilns, Henllys Vale Precambrian

Older Rocks

4540

Waterfall Country