• Ranking • Helping geological • Restoring a more people sites in Victorian build a terms of vision of knowledge of world 'deep time' Summer 2001 geology importance CONTENTS As the cover picture suggests, this issue ofEarth Heritage is full of reflections. These are not necessarily ofthe nostalgic variety (though there is a legitimate place for one such, celebrating the achievements of the late Welsh-RIGS-movement luminary Dennis Wood). The remaining reflections All set to are more assessments of current situations which encourage us to look pages positively to the future. Richard Kelly reflects on the links benveen geology and historical • 3-8 landscapes in Wales and, in particular, how those links can become the substance of World Heritage status and can further geological, oc o n Scotland archaeological and landscape conservation simultaneously. One hundred and frfteen geological age and origin. This 'Naming Stones' event aptly called: www.scottishgeology.com Reflection is also the nub of our feature on the Global Geosites project­ awareness and interpretation events will will hopefully grab the public imagination This year's promotional week has its namely how some reflection on your part can contribute to a project that take place between 14 and 24 September, about geology within the cityscape and make origins in geology weeks organised and run will ultimately decide upon the World's most important geological and across the length and breadth of Scotland. people think a little about the character of the by Neil Clark at the Hunterian Museum in geomorphological sites, affording them the status they deserve. These events will represent'Rock On', the rock and the processes that fonned it. the early 1990s. The first truly nationwide third Scottish Geology Week. A 'design a postcard' competition aimed Scottish Geology Week took place in 1997. Peter Doyle reflects on the grandeur of the Victorian Crystal Palace Park Events for the 'geologically aware' will at schools will ask children to re-create their With the aim of bringing geology to the - the Worlds first geological 'theme park' - and chronicles its restoration, include geological rambles; lectures and favourite landscape through photography or people, the organisation of this year's while Alice Walker examines seismic 'reflections' in her account of the another art-fOlm and wlite 20 words to biennial festival of Scottish geology involves British Geological Survey's programme for monitoring earthquakes. talks; rock and fossil forays; and rock identification 'surgeries'. To engage a wider desClibe their choice. The winning postcards most of the organisations in Scotland To complement this diverse array offeature articles, we have a miscellany public and foster more interest in Scottish will be produced and sold. Another concerned with communicating geology to ofRIGS news, developments in geoconservation and reviews of recent geology, other events will include building competition, a word search, will be run using the public. Dynamic Earth. the Glasgow books and leaflets - something, we hope, to interest everyone! stone walks in Edinburgh and other cities and the event's guide leaflet, due to become Science Centre, the Geological Society of We hope you enjoy this issue. If you would like to contribute to future quarry visits and tours of industrial available in July. Competition prizes will be Edinburgh, the National Museums of issues, please contact your local Earth Heritage editor (details below). archaeology. There will also be a awarded at the Blitish Geological Survey's Scotland, the Hunterian Museum, British demonstration of the work of the Scottish Open Day in Edinburgh on September 29. Geological Survey, the Geological Society of Lime Centre and even a stone carving There will be simultaneous launch events Glasgow and Scottish Natural Heritage, s"w./iJp~ ~;:f.g;ng afternoon at the Edinburgh Sculpture of 'Rock On' at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh together represent the organising partnership EddM Workshop. In addition, it is hoped that a and at the Glasgow Science Centre. Details for 'Rock On' - Scottish Geology Week 2001. Caithness flagstone on the Royal Mile in of both launches and a guide to the week's - Colin MacFadyen : COVER PICTURE: Edinburgh will be carved with details of its events will appear on the dedicated web site, Scottish Natural Heritage

Earth Heritage is a twice-yearly journal produced for the • geological and landscape conservation community by the Joint Ea • 1.h Nature Conservation Commiuee. English ~erztage Nature. Scottisb I\atural Heritage and- the Countryside Council for Wales. The Royal Society for "ature Conservation and the UKRIGS Geoconservation Association are principal contributing partners. We would like to thank all those who have assisted with the preparation of the magazine. However. the opinions expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those of the above organisations.

Key articles from this and previous issues of EarTh HeriTage can be found on the Web at: www.seaburysalmon.comlearth.html Contact details for the editorial board. to whom otTers of articles should be directed, are: Managing Editor STEWART CAMPBELL. Countryside Council for Wales. PIas Penrhos, Ffordd Penrhos. Bangor. Gwynedd LL57 2LQ. Te\e.phone 01248 385693. e-mail: [email protected] Editors DAVID EVANS, English Nature. Northminster House. Peterborough PEI lUA. Telephone 01733455207. e-mail: [email protected] COLIN MACFADYEN. Scottish Natural Heritage. 2 Anderson Place. Edinburgh EH6 SNP. Telephone 01314474784. ext 2516. e-mail: [email protected] A pioneering conservation plan that delicate stalagmites and stalactites ­ some of NEIL ELLIS. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Monkstone House. City Road. forbids people from talking near delicate which. called straws. are so fragile cavers Peterborough PEI 1JY. Telephone 01733 562626. e-mail: [email protected] stalactites has helped the National have to whisper to make sure they aren't MICK STANLEY. Royal Society for Nature Conservation. The Kiln. Waterside. Mather Showcaves Centre for Wales, Dan-yr­ damaged by vibrations. Road, Newark NG24 IWT. Telephone 0870 0361000. e-mail: [email protected] Earthquakes Ogof, to win British Showcave of the Year Professor John Gunn, Head of CYNTffiA BUREK. UKRIGS Geoconservation Association. Environment Research Group. andtheBGS Chester College. Parkgate Road, Chester CHI 4BJ. Telephone 01244 375444. for 2001. Geographical and Environmental Sciences at - pages 22-24 e-mail: [email protected] The accolade from the British and Irish the University of Huddersfield, assessed Production Showcaves Association comes Sh0l11y after eight British and Irish showcaves for Seabury Salmon. S~abury Salmon & Associates. Beechwood. Poyner Road. Ludlm\'. the caves, between Swansea and Brecon, balancing conservation and tourism. Shropshire SY8 IQT Telephone 01584 877442. Fax 01584 875416. were named Visitor Attraction of the Year in The runners-up in this year's Showcave e-mail: eheritage@$eaburysalmon.~om the Wales Tourism Awards. competition were Marble Arch Caves in Circulation Dan-yr-Ogof was recognised for County Fennanagh, Northern Ireland. and Earth Heritage is fREE, Contacl your Incal Editor laho~e) lO go no lilt.' mailing list balancing the needs of tourists with the Peak Cavern in Castleton, in the Peak

) Cc' Trail guide guide - pages 25-26 demands of conserving a national treasure of District. -::.-f Publications - pages 26-27 '~.---:...~: 3 Proposals to build a rock revetment on the geomorphological interest is provided by the The outcome of this inquiry, which beach at Birling Gap, East Sussex (Earth cliff-beach-shore platform system developed attracted much local and national publicity, is Heritage 14), have been refused by the on chalk. The beach is one of six major excellent news for those who study and Playing hard to get? Secretary of State for the Environment south-west-facing beaches in southern enjoy the geology and coastline at Biding following a two-week long public inquiry England. The geology of the others differs Gap, but we must also be aware of the views Issue 15 reported on the plight of one of held in Alfriston markedly. of those affected by coastal erosion. Scotland's most important and vulnerable The application, put forward by some The biological importance of the chalk It is also important that the geological fossil sites, Birk Knowes SSSI (Getting to local residents in the hamlet of Biding Gap, foreshore in this SSSI is also significant. conservation community should learn from grips with asset strippers). was opposed at the inquiry by English Nationally, coastal chalk habitats make up inquiries such as this, and there are some It was reported that fossils, taken from Nature, the National Trust and the Sussex only 0.6% of the British coastline, yet valuable points for similar situations that will this site without permission by an amateur Downs Conservation Board. This decision represent 57% of European coastal chalk. certainly arise in the future. collector from Germany, had been bought by means that the nationally important The inquiry heard that some Biding Gap the Humboldt Museum in Berlin. Efforts at geological, geomorphological and biological residents wanted to build the revetments at What the inspector said about geological repatriation of the fossil material, including a interests present at Biding Gap will not be the foot of the cliffs to stop the coastal conservation: visit to Berlin in November 2000, to meet the damaged or obscured, and that this chalk erosion threatening some of the buildings on • He confirms that development proposals museum's curator of palaeontology and the coastline will remain as it is for the the cliff top English Nature - backed by affecting SSSIs must be subject to special Vice-President of the Humboldt University, foreseeable future. many letters of support from the geological scrutiny, and acknowledges the looked likely to result in the return of at least Birling Gap forms a key part of the community - objected to two alternative importance of GCR status (paragraph 452 some of the material. spectacular Seaford to Beachy Head Site of schemes, arguing that they would have an of his report). understand the applicants '/appellants ' society - through legislation - rather than However, eight months later, Scottish Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The adverse effect on the site's geological and • He dismisses claims that the importance of feeling that it is 'scientists' who, among just 'scientists', who put a value on Natural Heritage had not received a list of designated interest at Bir/ing Gap consists of geomorphological features. The concealment a scientific feature is reduced if it has not others, stand in the way ofmeasures to designated sites. fossil material taken from the site after 1984, two nationally important features identified of the dry valley and disruption to natural been fully investigated. He observed that protect the homes and other buildings a point agreed at the Berlin meeting. SNH is through the Geological Conservation Review coastal processes were pa11icular concerns. the protection 'stems from their intrinsic here. However, in my opinion, 10 What the inspector said about human concerned and disappointed by the (GCR): Quaternary stratigraphy and coastal The National Trust and the Sussex Downs merit rather than the action of physical personalise the matter in this way is to fail rights: Humboldt's inaction to date, but is resolved geomorphology. In short, the erosion of the Conservation Board shared very similar examination'. This appears to confirn1 that to recognise that the SSSI, NCR and GCR This was certainly the first geological to continue pursuing the case of the 'lost chalk cliffs at Biding Gap provides a key site concerns about this spectacular and a legally protected site does not need to be designations reflect the national inquiry to take account of 'human rights', fossils' of Birk Knowes. for studying periglacial geomorphology and unprotected stretch of coastline. The National subject to continual scientific research to importance ofthe site, with such and one of the first nature conservation chalk landscape evolution, providing the best Trust, which owns land and property at the retain its scientific value (par. 445). designations being underpinned by inquiries to do so. The applicants argued that - Colin MacFadyen example of a complete cross-section through top of the cliff, even offered to re-house • Paragraph 454 largely speaks for itself, legislation and Government and local the refusal of planning permission would be Scottish Natural Heritage a dry valley anywhere in Britain. The coastal residents affected by the natural erosion. and is quoted here in full. "I can policies." Here he is saying that it is contrary to Articles 8 and I of the First Protocol of the European Convention on LA21 delegates taste • Human Rights. September These relate to the right to respect for a geodiversity o ef ds for e I person's private and family life, his home date for RIGS and his correspondence; also to the As Earth Heritage went to press, over 250 The success of Face Lift, English Nature's protection of property. delegates were due at the 2001 Local geological SSSI enhancement programme conference The inspector concluded that "refusal of Agenda 21 Co-ordinators' Conference in (Issues 12 and 14) has resulted in an The fourth national RIGS conference, planning permission for the proposed Chester. To encourage them to think about £80,000 funding allocation this year, rising incorporating the third Annual General revetments would ~ot directly affect Ihe geodiversity, a walk and talk on the subject to £100K next year, and with the Meeting of the Association of United dwellings on the clifflop, or the lives of were built into their programme. possibility of further funding in 2003/04. Kingdom RIGS groups (UKRIGS), will take those who occupy them, since the effects on Chester is one of the few walled cities in Face Lift was initiated in 1999 as a two­ place at Stoke Rochford Hall, near them would arise ji-om the natural process of England and is known for its Roman origins, year project to promote positive Peterborough, between 13-15 September, coastal erosion ". Medieval black and white buildings, the River management and the maintenance or in association with the Peterborough However, the Secretary of State did not Dee and its canal. However, few visitors restoration of geological SSSIs to make them RIGS Group. agree with the inspector, concluding that know what the wall or the cathedral are made fit for geological studies. Since then, more RIGS delegates will be joined by failure of the State to exercise its powers to of, or why the canal had to be cut through than 70 sites have been enhanced with a total representatives from the statutory protect a person's home from environmental red stone. spend of about £130,000. conservation agencies, local authorities blight, may constitute an interference under A guided walk was due to highlight the Face Lift provides financial support for and the education sector. The emphasis Article 8. rnstead, the Secretary of State's city's buildings and geoconservation works such as vegetation, scree and rubbish will be on RIGS and the Planning System view is that both Article 8 and Article I are measures, and delegates were encouraged to clearance, improvement of access and the and will be an excellent opportunity for qualified rights which require a balance to be bring an example of their own local rock provision of on-site management advice. the RIGS movement to promote the struck between the interests of the types with them for others to see and The continuing success of Face Lift has importance of geoconservation to community and the individual's rights. comment upon. Persuading local authority been very much down to the enthusiasm of decision makers. The message is that our 'right' to be officers to take account of geodiversity has to the RIGS groups, local geology groups, The two-day programme will feature protected by coastal protection schemes, be good for Earth heritage. individual geologists, museums, researchers, field trips, including town trails and the flood defence, stabilisation, etc., needs to be Below: some of Chester's Triassic sandstone. local authorities, landowners and tenants, Peterborough Geology Audit, exhibitions, balanced on a case-by-case basis with the (Photo by Cynthia Burek) Wildlife Trusts and other conservation papers and social activities. need to protect the environment. organisations involved. English Nature Contact UKRIGS for further Our understanding will continue to grow would welcome suggestions about potential clearance works, as there are often excellent England, contact Mick Murphy at English information and booking details, on 01636 as more cases are determined. future enhancements on SSSIs. It is opportunities for study when fresh exposures Nature, NOIthminster House, Peterborough 670000 or e-mail [email protected] paI1icularly keen to increase the involvement are created. PE I IUA, telephone 01733 455216, Further details will also be posted on the Colin Prosser of researchers - both professionals and If you have suggestions or ideas about e-mail: micltael.murphy@ Web site. www.ukrigs.org.uk, and in the English Nature UKRIGS Newsletter. competent, enthusiastic amateurs - in site possible enhancement works on SSSIs in cnglish-nature.co.uk. 5 The Dry Stone Walling Association has professional and nearly an OU Earth stepped up its effol1s to increase awareness Sciences graduate. Sessions in the of geology among its members. classroom on rock recognition, the The first fruit of this was Geology for differences between the main forms of rock, Vodafone answers Wailers, a leaflet sponsored by the Curry and even plate tectonics, were balanced with Atix Barbour (left) points out features on the Pen-y­ Fund of the Geologists' Association. The some very wet field work. The unconformity RIGS quarry call ghent waif, rebuilt by Steven Harrison. second fIUit was the Millennium Wall at the below the Carboniferous strata was inspected (Photo by Chris Stephens) Poxwell Quarry - designated by the Dorset National Stone Centre, where over a dozen at Thornton Force and Nappa Scars; RIGS Group (DIGS) as being of geological ! walling stones can be compared in a sedimentary features were noted in the low the wall passed over different beds of ~ The long path to §. and geomorphological significance - has (jl geologically orientated setting. cliffs above Giggleswick School clicket limestone and sandstone as it ascended. recently undergone a fortuitous ~, partnership... The third was a weekend at the Yorkshire pitch; limestone pavement and a very old The course will undoubtedly be repeated, ~ improvement. Consisting of dipping Portland et Dales Field Centre in Giggleswick, to which shelter wall were admired near Chapel-Ie­ perhaps in September. The Dry Stone limestone and Three groups in North Wales have joined Chepstow in the south. King Offa built most 17 members came, professionals and Dale; and a remarkably fossiliferous wall Walling Association can be contacted on Lower Purbeck beds forces to produce a Geology for walkers of the dyke, from 757 to 796 AD, but recent amateurs. The course was led by Alix recently rebuilt by one of the participants up 0121 3780493, e-mail j.simkins@ (Jurassic), it guide to OITa's Dyke long-distance path. research suggests that two stretches at either Barbour, the Centre's Director, Brian Jones, a the lower slopes of Pen-y-ghent was dswa.org.uk, Web www.dswa.org.uk provides an ideal They are NEWRIGS (North-East Wales end are not his work. branch chairman and physics don at examined (in atrocious weather) for evidence - PhiIip Clark teaching site with a RIGS), Cymdeithas daeareg gogledd Cymru The three Welsh groups, building on the Lancaster, and Philip Clark, a former (invisible under thick vegetation) of whether DSWA Deputy Chairman number of (North Wales Geologists' Association) and expelience of NEWRIGS in producing interesting Open University Geological Society Gogledd leaflets (see also pages 25, 26), have stat1ed A fond farewell to Den,nis Wood geological features. Cymru (North Wales). With such a long-term developing the trail from the northern end of The quarry was and long-distance project, co-operation has the dyke and were working well until foot Dennis Wood was a well-known and was in huge demand with academic overgrown, the floor been vital in an area that is sparsely and mouth halted play. It is hoped that highly respected geologist from North audiences and amateur groups alike. On was boulder-strewn inhabited compared to some. Gloucester several RIGS sites will be highlighted on the Wales, and his death leaves a huge gap in one RIGS trip to the Menai Strait. he ~ and access was a RIGS and Shropshire RIGS have also been walk south to introduce yet another section the geological world. succeeded in enthralling a three-year old, ~ problem, especially approached to help at a later date as the of the community to the joys of geology. He died doing what he did best ­ hopefully nurturing a life-long interest in ~ in summer when project moves south. The dyke covers 177 - Cynthia Burek enthusing local people (who are planning to that child. ~ nettles flourished. miles from Prestatyn in the nonh to NEWRIGS Group set up a museum in Menai Bridge) with a Of course there was more to Dennis ~ Late last year, talk on the history of the Menai Strait. It than 'his chosen subject". His rugby trips ~ Vodafone applied for was a subject he was well qualified to and passion for cricket were the source of planning permission to site a mobile phone RIGS group's speak about. being a descendant of the many an anecdote. He also took great pride mast there. DIGS raised no objection, but great 19th Century engineers. George and in his large garden and. in recent years. suggested its installation provided a good Robert Stephenson. The latter built the developed a love of genealogy and opportunity to implement the conservation ive-year plan Britannia Bridge which spans the Menai historical research. He was fascinated by plan we had already drawn up. Strait close to Dennis' house at Treborth the Vincent family. fonner occupants of his Representatives from a wide range of Finally, Pauline Couper (H&W RIGS During the summer the Vodafone mast Uchaf. It was characteristic of Dennis' house for over 70 years. His researches. in agencies came togetber to bear a Fluvial Sites Project Manager) described the was duly installed. In addition, we found that generosity that he was planning to lend the company of a friend, had resulted in presentation of the Herefordsbire and approach being taken towards identifying fencing had been erected to keep out cattle, a pans of his antique map collection to the material for four volumes, the first of which Worcestersbire RIGS Group Five-Year fluvial RIGS, arguing that RIGS Groups pedestrian gate was in place, the vegetation new museum. had just been comp.~eted. Unbeknown to Plan. This innovative event, emphasising should include fluvial geomorphology in had been cleared and a rolled stone-chipping Dennis' academic qualifications were many. Dennis was also an extremely the local nature of RIGS, was held at their work. footpath (using the local stone) had been impeccable. At Liverpool he was one of accomplished organist and a pillar of the University College, Worcester, in April. Mark Campbell (Gloucestershire RIGS) constructed close to the quarry face. Robert Shackleton's star students and ~ Dialectical Society. The audience of about 50 included provided an il),sight int6 practical site The DIGS group feels this is an excellent graduated with first-class honours. He later 8 In recognition of Dennis' achievements, representatives of local authorities, funding management and remedial work. Andrew example of co-operation between business, joined his friend at Leeds where he the Welsh RIGS movement is planning to bodies, environmental agencies and Jenkinson (Shropshire RIGS) considered planners and those involved with geological obtained his Ph.D. while working as a place a plaque at his favourite field site. consultants, museum and archaeological attempts to promote Earth science among the conservation and could be used as a model lecturer. In 1967 he moved to the Rhoscolyn, in Anglesey. Indeed. whenever services, higher education institutes and the general public, and Simon Carpenter for future schemes. University of Illinois where he soon a field excursion was mooted, Dennis RIGS movement. including UKRIGS. described Avon RIGS Group's Rockscape - Alan Holiday became Professor of Structural and always said "Iet"s do Rhoscolyn", and it After a welcome by Les Morris (H&W Project. This consists of a heritage trail Chairman, Dorset RIGS Group Engineering Geology. In 1980 he returned was with great difficulty that we were able RIGS Chairman), Peter Oliver (Director, which links 16 smaller trails to span Avon's to Britain as Director and Chief Scientist arguably the greatest was as a teacher. He to sleer him towards some other site. H&W RIGS) reported on a variety of rich Earth heritage in a logical manner. with Robertson Research and remained loved working with students. especially in Dennis' warmth, sense of humour and Conference call educational and research projects, site The event provided an opportunity to A one-day conference at the National there until 1990. From 1987 to 1993 he was !he field, and was unstinting with his time generosity of spirit will be sorely missed. clearances and restorations, and the core bring together all those interested in Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh on a member of the Natural Environment and energy. RIGS activities of site recording and geoconservation in the local area, in order to October 12 is part of the bicentenary Research Council (NERC), becoming In the last few years. Dennis was - Margaret Wood designation. Cheryl Jones introduced and consolidate established partnerships and celebration of the life and times of Hugh Chairman of its Earth Science Committee. extensively involved in geological Acting Chairperson demonstrated the Geoconservation Database create potential for new collaborations. In Miller, the renowned geologist, folklorist Throughout this time, and until his conservation, becoming Chairman of the Gwynedd and Mon RIGS Group being constructed by the Group (Earth addition, the profile of RIGS was raised and writer. The event, arranged by the death, he worked in the USA and acted as Gwynedd and Mon RIGS Group, where he Heritage 15). John Payne gave details of a among local organisations and we hope that Cromarty Arts Trust with the National consultant to many slate companies as far exercised his many talents in conserving. l developing literature database, listing all this will strengthen Geocollservation within Ijfj 13 (J Cl) il ,.'.;J e'l ] =3 Trust for Scotland and the National afield as North America and China. This recording and developing sites for use by publications relating to the geology and the two counties and the surrounding area. Museums of Scotland, will launch a year­ reflected his Ph.D., on strain relationships the general public, researchers and schools. Contributions towards the memorial geomorphology of Herefordshire and Thanks are due to University College, long celebration of Miller, who was born in slates, which established him as a world He initiated geological trail leaflets for plaque can be sent to: Worcestershire. This will eventually link to Worcester; to Awards For All for funding the on October 10, 1802 in Cromarty. authority on slate and slate-related topics. Bangor and a Precambrian field study Mrs M G Webb, AWRG Treasurer. 23 the GeoconservatioD Database. Ruth event; and to the Geologists' Association Registration information from the Still working in industry, he accepted an booklet for Anglesey which will be Trem Arion L1anrwst, LL26 OSP. Thornhill (H&W RIGS Trails Manager) Curry Fund for funding the report which Department of Public Affairs. National Honorary Chair at the University of Wales completed by his co-workers and dedicated Cheques should be made payable spoke on the practicalities of developing accompanied the conference. Museums of Scotland. Chambers Street. and lectured at Bangor and Aberystwyth to his memory. Such was Dennis' ability to to the Association of Welsh RIGS landscape and geology trails, launching the - PauIine Couper, Les Morris Edinburgh EH1 1JF. right up until his death. Of his many talents, convey enthusiasm for his subject, that he Groups (AWRG). 6 Glacial Lake Wigmore Trail (see page 25). and Ruth ThornhiU --======:::...;;===-=~-=--:-:--. The research, which included undercover investigations, contacted over 260 extractors, traders and retailers to gather information on stone sources, transport routes, markets and finances within the trade. In Ireland at least 13 Quarry sites to gain traders were involved III supplying pavement stone with almost 10,000 tonnes RIGS status a year being imported into the UK. There was also evidence 'of a trade with mainland Two geological exposures in a massive Europe with outlets in Gennany, Holland donnant limestone quarry at Minera, near and Belgium. Wrexham. will be designated as RIGS. It was apparent that illegal extraction The North-East Wales RIGS group was occurring both in England and Ireland (NEWRIGS) discussed the sites with quarry owners, Lafarge Aggregates. after and evidence of these activities has been passed on to the appropriate authorities to visiting the quarry with members of the prices that are fuelling the continued reflect the contrasting amounts of pavement progress enforcement action. Enforcement OUGS and a Countryside Council for demand. in the UK (less that 3,000ha) and Ireland in England is made more difficult by the Wales geologist. The company has agreed The results of the investigation are of (possibly 20,000ha) and they also reflect influx of Irish stone. The Irish stone may to allow access after the quan'y is restored concern to all those in England and Ireland varying concern and awareness about loss well be acting as a cover for stone illegally and remedial safety work done. responsible for the protection ofpavements, of the habitat and the overall importance of One RIGS contains an angular extracted in England. but it was the attitudes of those involved in its conservation. unconfonnity between Lower the trade that were most disturbing. Some On Stony Ground shows that there has Carboniferous limestones overlying High profit traders stated that stone from Ireland was been some success in protecting the habitat almost-veItical mudstones and siltstones of the "sustainable alternative" to English in the UK but that measures to protect the the Ordovician. The second is a fault Work on the trade revealed that it is the stone and as such were attempting to appeal habitat as a whole are failing. A broader within the Carboniferous Limestone with garden centres that are making a killing on to those who are aware of the problems UK outlook is needed to protect pavements lead, zinc and copper mineralisation. the pavements. In some cases a 600% pavements face. across the whole of Britain and Ireland ~ gangue quartz and slickenside. mark-up in price from source was found. This branding of Irish stone as expOlting the problem to another country is Sale of rockery stone in hand-sized pieces sustainable could not be farther from the not a solution. The report has raised is the most lucrative and some retailers will truth. Once damaged, limestone pavement awareness of the pavement problem in UKRIGS pilot study break up stone into pieces which can fetch will not refonn. Only a further glacial Ireland and ministerial meetings between as much as £360 per tonne. It is these high John Reynolds of the Staffordshire RIGS episode could~-initiate its co~plex history Irish and British Governments are in train. Group is undertaking a pilot study of Limestone pavement destruction on the Burren and re-create the varied and exciting flora it Trade restrictions have been discussed but, recording and assessment procedures being (above right). The broken water-worn limestone ends supports. even if implemented, are likely to form used by RIGS groups and other up in garden rockeries and in commercial parks like only part of a solution. conservation agencies. Funded by English this one (below). Differing attitude Education and awareness will play a Nature, this UKRIGS project is aiming to Not just the rock formations are special - so are the key role. This must be aimed both at the develop standardised recording procedures plants, like the dark-red helleborine (right). The extractors based 111 Ireland gardening public~ and the garden-centre in consultation with RIGS groups. imestone pavements are a undertake research in England and Ireland (Photos by Simon WebbY commented that, despite enforcement purchasing managers. rare, threatened and on trafficking in the stone. Traffic action and protective designations, they Some retail outlets (such as Rockwatch award beautiful part of our International" is run 'by the World Wide would continue to meet the demand for B&Q and Sainsburys landscape. Their geo­ Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World rockery stpne. In contrast, a number of Homebase) have taken an L suppliers based in the UK would not stock environmental stance and morphological features are a record of Conservation Union (IUCN). It IS Rockwatch, the magazine of the UK's only water-worn stone because its sale was will not sell pavement national geological club for children, has the ice ages and the history of the last experienced in investigating and reporting potentially illegal. Extractors in the UK are stone. Others remain to be been commended in the BBC Wildlife 10,000 years. on illegal trade issues and has a reputation clearly shifting away from the limestone convinced. Magazine Awards 2000, under the Best However, a report about the for giving sound scientific advice. pavement industry whereas some in Ireland An approach based on British Environmental Charity Children's conservation of pavements in Britain and The report, On Stony Ground, found strong legislative Publication category. The awards, run by Ireland paints a worrying picture ofparts of that the tightening of legislative protection expressed an interest in getting involved. BBC Wildlife magazine, drew over 100 the Burren being ripped up to supply the for pavements in the UK (where protective These differences in attitude partly protection and trade restrictions, coupled with a entries from a range of charitable continuing demand for water-worn stone in Limestone Pavement Orders now cover all Formation from ice age reduction in demand from organisations. the UK. English pavements) had successfully The fomlation of limestone pavements The destruction of limestone pavements reduced the damage to English sites. the gardening public is the was initiated by ice-age scouring w11ich is a long-standing problem, fuelled by the However with this increased protection, only way to secure the picked out the bedding planes in tile demand for "water-worn" decorative long-term future for RIGS web site focus has now shifted to the Republic of hard limestones. leaving level or gently pavements. garden rockery stone. In the UK more than Ireland, where protection is less stringent sloping platforms. UKRIGS' new web site, Further information, half our pavements have been destroyed and where exploitation of pavement areas 1118se have been weathered. mostly www.ukrigs.org.uk, built with financial including copies of the and nearly all of them damaged. has increased. It became clear that the Irish beneatll the soil. to leave rock platfOmls support from English Nature, will be report, is available from As part of the UK Biodiversity Action pavements were being ripped up to supply Cllss-crossed by deep fissures - the crucial in promoting the RIGS movement. Plan, a limestone pavements steering group the continuing demand for water-worn www.limestone­ well· known dint and gryke patieming. This is one of the objectives in the pavements.org.uk and commissioned Traffic International to stone in the UK. Tlley are of interest for their UKRIGS Development Strategy, launched www.theburren.ie or from geomorphological features. the Oovvers in February. More details of the strategy si m 0 n.web b

IT:.l,]r.l1 Geomorphological features, erosional and depositional processes, and landscapes Late Proterozoic red-beds (Torridonian), Thames terrace stratigraphy. Pleistocene gravels/interglacial Tertiary lavas and intrusions, Inner Hebrides , north-western Scotland Weichselian ice limits, SOL/th Wales Igneous rocks of the Lewisian Complex Late Pleistocene emergent features, Scotland ArchaeanlProterozoic Lewisian (Scourian and Laxfordian), Anglian (Oxygen Isotope 'Stage 12') ice limitJtills Igneous rocks of the Dalradian Landslides (both relic and active) north-western Scotland Cromerian interglacials. Norfolk Precambrian igneous activity in England and Wales Chalk landscapes of southern England, demonstrating extensive nature of dry valley formation and the presence of Saalian Complex, in the Thames and other rivers Caledonian igneous rocks of Great Britain sarsens , Igneous rocks linked to the northern European .. Late Pleistocene interglacial/glacial, c8ye/beach sediments Variscan fold-belt Atlantic coastal dunes (Saalian-Weichselian). South Wales Cambrian type area, North Wales and South-West Wales Permian-Carboniferous igneous rocks of Britain Barrier beach systems, including shingle/dune ridges, Late Pleistocene Interglacial (OIS 7, Se) raised beaches, saltmarsh and creek systems, north NO/folk and Ordovician (Arenig, Llanvirn, Llandeilo southem England, Cornwall, South Wales British Tertiary Volcanic Proyince and Caradoc) type area, Wales north-eastern Scotland Lower Silurian (Llandovery) stratotypes, South Wales Chesil beach tombolo Silurian reef-shelf-basin transition, classic Erosional structure/lithology-controlled coast, east Dorset 'Venlock-Ludlow sequences, Welsh Borders Late Triassic desert wadi fills, South Wales Minerals and mineral assemblages in igneous intrusions Rias, west Wales and Devon/Cornwall Devonian (marine) carbonates and clastics, Devon Latest Jurassic most complex marginal Stratiform deposits within the Dalradian rocks of the Cuspate foreland, Dungeness marine/non-marine, Wiltshire Grampian Highlands Old Red Sandstone stratigraphy, lacustrine and fluvial Granite tors of Devon/Cornwall environments, Orcadian Basin and South and West Wales Early Cretaceous alluyial plain deposits and biota, Cambrian-Ordovician sedimentary exhalatiye Fe-Mn ores, Giant's Causeway Isle of Wig/zt North Wales Mississippian Carboniferous Limestone of Pennines and paralic sequences, southern Scotland Ordovician-Silurian exhalative polymetallic sulphide deposits related to Caledonian igneous activity, North Wales Early Pennsylvanian Millstone Grit deltaic systems, • '-:1 t-: [:.ll Yorkshire, Derb.vshire and Lancashire Magmatic segregations associated with Caledonian intrusive Late Silurian agnathans, LesmahagolV rocks Best Pennsylvanian coal-bearing sequences in Europe, South Wales Early yascular plants, and major land plant radiation, Late Porphyry-style and related mineralisation associated with Subduction along northern edge of lapetus, accretionary Silurian-DeYonian, South Wales and Welsh Borders Caledonian intrusive rocks Pennsylvanian regional boundary stratotypes prism, southern Scotland Pennsylvanian Coal Measures in coastal sections, Deyonian agnathans/fish, Orcadian Basin and Welsh Borders Polymetallic veins associated spatially and temporally with undeformed by Variscan Orogeny, north-eastern England Early Deyonian petrified flora and 'insects', Rhynie Caledonian igneous rocks Mississippian plant petrifactions, fern and gymnosperm Pennsylvanian rell-beds, marginal coals and tectonic Post-Acadian polymetalJic veins associated spatially with eyolution, southern Scotland controls of sedimentation, western England deformed Lower Palaeozoic sedimentary and volcanic Mississippian fish, first reptiles, sequences Upper Permian Zechstein Sea deposits, evaporites etc., north­ southern Scotland and the Midland Valley eastern England Mesothermal lode-gold deposits, North Wales and Scotland PennsylYanian floras, South Wales Hutton's section, Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh Triassic-Jurassic boundary beds, Somerset and Vale of Stratabound Au-As deposits in Lower Palaeozoic sedimentary Glamorgan PennsylYanian insect faunas, ..·vestern England and SOL/th Wales sequences Classic unconformities e.g. de la Beche's (1822) unconformity Middle Jurassic on Carboniferous Permian-Triassic red-bed sequence, Devon coast Triassic reptiles, Elgin MVT yein deposits, Pennines, North Wales and the Mendip Hills Portrush fossiliferous LiaslTertiary intrusions, which settled Basal Jurassic marginal marine and basal Late Triassic fissure faunas and floras, including first neptunist-plutonist debate unconformity, Wales mammals worldwide, western England Sn-Cu-As veins associated with Cornubian Batholith Hematite deposits, Hutton (1795) angular unconformities, southern Scotland Lower Jurassic, classic marine Hettangian-Toarcian, Late Triassic insects, western England Cumbria. South Wales and the Forest of Dean West Dorset Early Jurassic marine reptiles and insects, S. S. Buckman's condensed Middle Jurassic, southern England Regional metamorphic assemblages Aalenian-Bajocian condensed marine sequences, Lyme Regis and Yorkshire First-described pre-Tertiary mammals, Middle JUIY/ssic of Contact metamorphic assemblages Dorset etc. Middle Jurassic floras and mammal faunas, richest worldwide England Amgydale-filJing assemblages Marine Oxfordian, Kimmeridgian and Portlandian, Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous reptiles (including Early Jurassic (Lias) vertebrate faunas, Lyme Regis alld Whitby East Dorset ichnofaunas), mammals and insects, Isle ofPw'beck Diagenetic mineralisation Palaeogene faunas of the Barton Beds, Hampshire Basin, Jurassic-Cretaceous marine/non-marine transition beds, Early Cretaceous floras and insects, Weald Mineral assemblages developed in coal-bearing strata which were the subject of one of the earliest 'modern' books Dorset-Wiltshire on British fossils (Brander & Solander 1766) Early Cretaceous dinosaurs, Isle of Wight Supergene mineralisation Lower Cretaceous type Wealden, stratigraphy and Caldera susbsidence hypothesis, Glen COl' alld Ben Nevis Cretaceous insects in amber, Isle of Wight fluviatile and lacustrine environments, Weald Hutton's magmatic origin of granite, Glen Tilt Palaeogene paratropical floras, London and Hampshire basins Sub-Albian regional unconformity, Dorset-Devon Barroyian metamorphic zones, Grampian Highlalld.~ Palaeogene mammal faunas, London and Hampshire basins Upper Cretaceous Chalk stratigraphy, Kent Identification of submarine welding ash flows. Capel Cl/rig Early Eocene birds, London Basin Palaeogene (including the Bartonian stratotype), Hampshire Basin Palaeogene Brito-Arctic floras Variscan front structures, South Wales Oligocene insect faunas, Hampshire Basin Variscan tear faults, South Wales Coalfield Palaeogene. Kent 13 The great Penrhyn opencast slate quarry, Bethesda, The Parys Gwynedd, shown left. Mountain mine, (All photos by R.Ke/ly, CCV'v? Anglesey, at the beginning of supreme example in Wales of that remarkable the 19th relationship between valley head and Century. community that was so much the hallmark of the South Wales Coalfield, but is now sadly razed from other valleys. IrKing Coal ruled South Wales, then Slate was Queen in North Wales, where no fewer than four of the five major slate producing areas in Gwynedd are included on the Register. These often sublime landscapes of huge quarries and slate waste tips include the great Penrhyn Quarry at Bethesda, at one time the largest opencast mine in the world and which, it was claimed, could be seen from the The same is probably true where other rocks remains in the British Isles and what may be Moon; the vast galleried workings of the and minerals have been exploited and there is·· claimed to be the earliest-known inhabitant of Dinorwig Quarry above Llanberis; the Nantlle good preservation - as for example, in the Wales, which has been scientifically dated to Valky complex of quarries farther west; and great 18th and 19th centuries opencast copper around 225,000 years ago. the extensive underground and surface mine at Mynydd Parys, north Anglesey, that That individual, whoever he or she was, workings at Blaenau Ffestiniog to the south. retains its remarkable status to this day as the would fail to recognise the valley today as As in the case of the Blaenafon landscape, largest hand-dug opencast mine in the world. subsequent advances and retreats of ice have Richard Kelly the Register has taken care to include as much However, the dramatic mining landscapes substantially remodelled the valley's Historic Landscapes Officer for the Countryside Council for Wales as possible of the supporting infrastructure in of the recent past are not the only examples in topography. Nevertheless, the valley is these areas. This is tremendously important Wales of Man being the servant as much as important for the geological and because these features give added historical How the history of landscape is inexorably bound up wfth its geology in the the master of geology. Take the lower Elwy archaeological evidence contained in the meaning and context to the landscape as a Valley, for example, to the west of the Vale of caves. 11 is also important for the landforms 'Register of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales' whole. With them, we are better able to Clwyd in north Denbighshire. This is one of themselves. They provide a key to the understand the entire phenomenon of slate the 22 generally smaller landscapes of special interpretation of the area's long sedimentary - . ales' superb geological bodies in Wales. They include Cadw: Welsh Heritage List (see page 10). In December exploitation, why and how it happened and historic interest...lllcluded in the second and history, and tantalising glimpses of the diversity makes a Historic Monuments, ICOMOS UK (the 2000, the Blaenafon early iron and coal the social as well as the geological and final volume of the Register, which was environment of the earliest inhabitant of su bstantial contribution to International Council of Monuments and working landscape on the eastern rim of the historical significance of its legacy. published earlier this year. Wales. the country's stock of Sites) and the Countryside Council for Wales, South Wales Coalfield, became a World W At first glance, the lower Elwy Valley breathtaking scenery. Further, the working in collaboration with the Royal Heritage Site, making it equal to treasures like Remarkable preservation looks like any other lowland limestone valley historical role Wales played in the Commission on the Ancient and Historical the Pyramids and the Taj Mahal! in Wales, with its fertile bottom of small fields development oC geology in the 19th Monuments of Wales, the Welsh The Blaenafon landscape, complete with Such is the remarkable degree of Archaeological excavations by the National Museum of and pasture, steep but well-wooded sides, and Century is a legacy now enshrined in the Archaeological Trusts and Welsh local what many would see as the ugly scars of preservation on some ofthe sites - even down Wales at Pontnewydd Cave in the lower Elwy Valley, the occasional outcrop or cliff breaking Welsh names of rock formations ­ authorities. exploitation and dereliction, is not only to the last worker's overalls and hat in one Denbighshire. through the tree cover on the skyline. But Tremadoc, Arenig, Llanvirn, Caradoc, important for its significant early mining case - that two of the slate landscapes on the when one takes a much closer look beneath Llandovery and so on. The names trip out Raise awareness remains" but also for its related infrastructure Register, Dinorwig and the Nantlle Valley, are the cliffs, the valley's true significance like halts along a long-forgotten branch of communication systems, housing and considered by many experts to merit becomes apparent. Well hidden, buried deep line. The Register is not a designation and it public buildings that have survived. It is a submission for World Heritage Site status. in a series of caves and rock shelters, are But Welsh geology and history are linked has no statutory basis. Its purpose is simple. In geological and archaeological deposits of together through more than an association featuring a selection of areas in Wales that are The Blaenafon Ironworks, part of the Blaenafon World Heritage Site. Torfaen. intemational significance. with the country's scenery and place names. considered to be the best surviving and most As the results of a newly completed study of complete historic landscape areas, the 16th Century fame Welsh landscapes shows, geology is one of Register hopes to raise awareness of the the most significant influences on human historic significance of the Welsh The caves of the Elwy were already activity. Over the centuries, it has helped to environment. This will enable historic famous in the 16th Century, being noted by shape the once natural landscapes of Wales landscapes to be given equal weight alongside the famous antiquary John Leland in his into what we see today. the more traditional and well-established Itinerary of 1536-39. They attracted further Of the 58 areas noted in the study Register conservation concerns of wildlife protection attention III the 19th Century when of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales, and scenic amenity. excavations in some of the caves yielded the no fewer than 20 were specifically included The study to compile the Register bones of extinct animals and humans, and because of their significant and extensive commenced in 1993, and an article in Earth stone tools. However, it was not until the remains of historical mineral workings. Heritage 7 described the background and excavations of the 1970s to the I990s, by the Another 20 areas graphically show the extent progress up to the publication of the first National Museum of Wales, that the true to which geology limits the way the landscape volume of 36 landscapes of outstanding significance of the earlier discoveries was can be exploited to provide for human needs, historic interest, in 1998. One of the crowning realised. Pontnewydd Cave produced finds of both in the past and in the present. achievements of the study since that date has early Neanderthal remains which represent The study is the fruit of a joint initiative been the inscription of one of the areas the most north-westerly-known site of this between a number of heritage agencies and highlighted in the Register onto the World date in Europe, some of the earliest human 1 -""~" ~ ..., . '. ~ -:;-'''W6',~.."~ .. \.' ." t"';- . .," \:- . , , ~,~\.")r' . ~' or) The 'Irish Elk' Megaceros: a symbolic end to the ~f~.,. '. . ~ ..;. ~~ ~ ;~ i-~7 ~ geological time trail (left). ... d., /" . .' .. ':. '.. _ .. ., 0'..." "P'" • # ... , . ~ ~ -,. ,'" : .;-. . ;..~.~ estoring a - " -:-f:: r' • ':t .. ~ The giant ground sloth Megatherium. Forlorn in its :;~. ." ~.-,'~. ~~. . '" ••• ' ,.':';', .. 4. . grey coat, this giant mammal will be joined on the ; 1,t'i~ .'c,:" . Tertiary Island by other reconstructed animals (right). ."":--"" • • (~"~' .'/ Victoria vIsion . . . . during the previous 50 years: New Red ,J •. ' . ..- .' Sandstone dicynodonts and / ~". ! :. :t·' labyrinthodonts; Liassic icthyosaurs and \It \ '\ plesiosaurs; the alligator-like Teleosaurus; ., of 'deep time pterodactyls of the Oolite and Chalk; the Stonesfield Slate dinosaur Megalosaurus, '"'M'-' i and its prey from the Weald Iguanodon and ),..,.",~ '/~,".-' '. ". ,., Hyaelosaurus; and the Chalk marine

monster Mosasaurus. All were constructed I It; Peter Doyle on representations of the very rocks that .. ~ Chairman ofthe Geological Society:S yielded their bones. Separated from the Secondary Island Geoconservation Commission, and School ofEarth by a weir was the Tertiary Island. A A threequarters-scale lead mine and cave survived symbolic end to the Age of Reptiles, the A legacy of neglect & Environmental Sciences at the University of Greenwich the destruction of the Mountain Limestone Cliff, and weir marked the beginnings of the age of will live again when the cliff is reconstructed. the mammals. The Tertiary Island was to be From the 1860s onwards, the Park had populated with mammals from the Tertiary mixed fortunes. One by one, the features (All photos by Peter ooyle) (and early Quaternary), but surviving that together made up the Park's visionary records show that just a fraction of the landscape began to fail or become obscure. n June 1854, Crystal Palace Park of the National Sports Centre arenas), and a Board of the Crystal Palace Company time' of geological history. The older mammals originaJly intended were built, The changing nature of park activities ­ in south-east London was opened large boating lake. Development of the sanctioned the construction of a complex 'Secondary' rocks had a special place due to financial difficulties. including the garrisoning of troops in two to the public for the first time. Park coincided with the Victorian thirst for geological 'theme park' in the south-west adjacent to a vibrant water-course, and here Notable mammals constructed were: world wars - and changes in local Designed by Joseph Paxton as a 'rational' entertainment, and a rise III quadrant of the park. a Mountain Limestone cliff overlain by I Paris Basin Palaeotherium and government priorities have also taken their complex of pleasure grounds to rival interest in natural history, from ferns to As far as can be ascertained, this was Millstone Grit and faulted against Coal Anoplotherium; Megatherium, a giant toll. The continuity and integrity of the those of the Palace of Versailles, it housed aquaria. laid out by David Thomas Ansted, late Measures was constructed. It was modelled ground sloth from South America; and grand idea has become broken and the reconstructed Crystal Palace - an Geology was a novel and exciting part Professor of Geology at King's College, on the Derbyshire Peaks. Megaceros, the 'Irish Elk'. Intended were a fragmented, with some major features, such innovative glass and steel structure built of this craze, and although a relatively new London, and newly freelancing as a Adding realism to this was a three­ multitude of mammals: amongst them the as the impressive cliff of Mountain by Paxton for the Great Exhibition of science, it was considered significant consultant geologist. No plans of Ansted's quarters-scale lead mme and cave, mammoth and mastodon; the Dinotherium [Carboniferous] Limestone, completely 1851 in Hyde Park. enough to be one of the four sciences own vision exist, but it is clear enough that complete with stalactites. Overlying gently and the giant armadillo Glyptodon. Birds destroyed. Crystal Palace Park was laid out on depicted on the Albert Memorial (the other the landscape was to include a tilted Carboniferous rocks was the New driven to extinction by human activity, the The reconstructed animals themselves Sydenham Hill, Wl]h the Palace itself on the three were astronomy, chemistry and representation of the geology of Britain Red. Sandstone, deliberately placed in moa (Dinornis) and the dodo were also to are Grade II li~ted buildings, and have crest, and a geometry). While the general public from the Primary and Transition unconformity; these sandstones provide be built. All were to be placed upon a mostly survived, despite neglect, scorn and complex series engaged in fossiJing, the intelligentsia (Precambrian and Lower Palaeozoic) rocks continuity with the first of two islands geological backdrop of worked aggregates derision. Most general accounts of of terraces on its ensconced in the halls of the Royal and through to the Secondary (now Upper intended to carry the reconstructions of intended to represent the relatively dinosaurs have as a starting point the slopes, including Geological societies in London debated the Palaeozoic-Upper Cr.etaceous) and Tertiary extinct animals, constructed by Waterhouse unconsolidated rocks of this interval of immense discoveries of the day, amongst them the (Tertiary-Quaternary today). Hawkins. geological time. Continued overleaf ~ fountains (the ancient reptiles found in the Jurassic and This vision was to include economic Downslope from this tableau was the fountain bowls Cretaceous rocks of southern Britain. rocks, geological structures, and the Secondary Island itself, commencing with are now the site It was against this backdrop that the remains of fossil organisms constructed in a ti Ited New Red Sandstone. Conformable full-size and three-dimensional form by the with these were representations of the other illustrator Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, major Secondary (Mesozoic) geological with advice from Sir Richard Owen; units of southern Britain. In turn Lias, although Gideon Mantell, to many the Oolite and Wealden rocks succeeded each discoverer of the dinosaurs, was originally other, sunnounted by Chalk at the head of asked to assist. Together these men the island. constructed a geological landscape of rocks In place on top of these rocks were stratigraphically arranged and populated reconstructions of animals that had been with life-size reconstructions of the most recovered from the Mesozoic formations recent discoveries. The beginning of the Secondary Island. New Red A vision of 'deep time' Sandstone in situ with Triassic reptiles in the background (left), and a plan of Crystal Palace in the mid-1800s, showing the geological formations in the Ansted's geological framework was south-west quadrant of the park (inset). completed with the exception of the 'Primary' rocks; a framework intended to The Jurassic dinosaur Megalosaurus. Its backdrop illustrate the geological development of of oolitic limestone has been displaced, and this is Britain on its journey through the 'deep to be put back in all its glory (right). animals and their geological setting. No longer will a 'host of golden daffodils' bloom in incongruous juxtaposition next to the reptiles of a lost world. ROW flies Piece by piece and over the remaining months ofthis year, the geological time trail for geological Management work carried out by the will rise once again from its municipal park Countryside Council for Wales and setting, almost 150 years after it was first Forest Enterprise at a mineralogical conceived.• onservation GCR site in the Central Wales Orefield, is designed to prevent excessive Further reading removal of the resource and fly­ Ansted, D. (1858). Geological Colin Prosser tipping. The CROW legislation should science: including the practice of help to ensure that other GCR sites One of the labyrinthodonts. This Triassic reptile is in need of considerable care, and was damaged in the geology and the elements ofphysical English Nature are maintained in favourable condition Great Storm of 1987. geography. Houlston and Stoneman, and managed appropriately. from page 17 A Victorian vision Iwan Hughes ~ London. discoveries of Mantell and Buckland, the next few months. Cotswold oolite will be Barber, L. (1980). The heyday of Countryside Council for Wales (Photo by Stewart Campbell, CC\I1i) work of Owen and the models in Crystal trucked in to replace that destroyed by natural history.; 1820-1870. Jonathon Palace. The majority make some passing neglect and natural process, to form the Cape, London. reference to 'inaccuracies' and commonly perch (dubbed the 'budgie perch' by the Cadbur)', D. (2000). The dinosaur n 30 January 2001, the appropriate management cannot be secured Fourth Estate, London. refer to the quadripedal stance of conservators) for two missing Jurassic hunters. Countryside and Rights of through agreement, it is now possible to (1994) Iguanodon and Megalosaurus, and the pterodactyls. A towering cliff of gleaming Do)'le, P. Crystal Palace Way Act 2000 (CROW) impose it. This is an important new power Paxton's 'mistake' of placing the Iguanodon 5 chalk complete with flint lines will be Park Geological Time Trail. came into force in England that will make it possible to tackle sites that Heritage Trail No. Two, London thumb-spike on its nose. constructed for the other pterodactyls. andO Wales; but what does it mean for are deteriorating through neglect or able to introduce byelaws on SSSIs to Borough of Bromley, 20. These views, although strictly accurate, Contemporary photographs and fragments geology and geologists? deliberate damage. These new powers can further protect against third-party damage. are starkly unimaginative and close to the original site demonstrate the Do)'le, P. & Robinson, E. (1993). The simple answer is that it greatly be used to address problems caused by The CROW Act also gives the parsimonious, and they have contributed in original form of this cliff, a cliff that has, in The Victorian 'Geological Illustrations' strengthens legislation for the conservation slumping of faces or vegetation growth, for conservation agencies greater powers of many ways to the decline of what is, in common with the rest of the geological . ofCJystal Palace Park. Proceedings of of geology and wildlife, and should also example, and are very welcome. English entry to land where access permission has reality, a magnificent adventure in science­ display, literally mouldered away into the the Geologists 'Association, 104, 181­lead eventually to increased access to large Nature's site enhancement programme, been refused. Agency staff will, for the bold step of creating a three­ undergrowth. 194. areas of open countryside and common Face Lift, will continue to provide funding example, be able to gain entry to investigate ij~ dimensional geological text-book in the The dinosaurs are being carefully Hawkins, B. (1854). On visual land. The Act applies only to England and for improvement of.deteriorating offences and to monitor an SSSI. restored: swellings associated with iron education as applied to geology. heart of a London suburb. Wales; III Scotland, a consultation geological SSS1s (see page 4) and a The part of the Act dealing with access bars and cracks associated with age and Journal ofthe Society ofArts, 2, 444­ reviewing SSSI legislation is under way. comparable progranune is also in operation to the countryside will introduce, in time, Restoring the vision settlement are being repaired with high­ 449. In terms of conserving and managing in Wales. new access to open country such as specification materials intended to last. The McCarthy, S. & Gilbert, M. (1994). geological SSSIs (Sites of Special mountain, moorland, heath and downland, With Heritage Lottery backing, the original paint scheme has been assessed: a The Crystal Palace dinosaurs. Crystal Scientific Interest), of which there are Public bodies although there will be some restricted Borough of Br!}mley and its partners layer of startling pink in the strata of paints Palace Foundation, London. approximately 1,400 in England and 265 so activities - such as camping, horse and bike (including the University of Greenwich) forms the base, but the usual symphony of Owen, R. (1854). Geology and the far in Wales, the CROW Act is the most There is also a new requirement on all riding, and the u.se of metal detectors. Some have commenced the first phase of the greens and greys is to be expected. inhabitants ofthe ancient world. Crystal significant piece of legislation for almost public bodies to conserve and enhance areas will also be out of bounds, including regeneration of the Park in its entirety. Replacements for animals long lost will Palace Library and Bradbury and Evans, 20 years. The battle against damage to SSS1s. This means that Government quarries - although this is probably only Although this has been beset with be built, using original photographs and in London. geological SSSIs from coastal protection, departments, local authorities and active ones. Mapping and defining of 'open difficulties - including tree protesters ­ the manner of the day - no ill-conceived Phi/lips, S. (1854). A guide to the landfill, poor site development, neglect and privatisep utilities will have to think country' will take some time. It appears work has begun on the reconstruction of the 'corrections' to Victorian 'mistakes' will be Palace and park. Crystal Palace Library irresponsible collecting will certainly carefully about how any of their functions likely that geologists in England and Wales Geological Illustrations, dubbed the Time entertained here. and Bradbury and Evans, London. continue, but the CROW Act provides tools may affect SSSIs. Where a public body is will eventually be able to walk into some Trail for a more modem audience. Finally, sensitive planting, reflecting Rudwick, M.J.S. (1992). Scenes to better safeguard and manage geological carrying out, or authorising, work that may previously restricted areas, but that any Conservation of the 'buildings' (dinosaurs the succession of plant life through time as from deep time. University of Chicago SSSIs in the years ahead. affect an SSSI (this does not have to be on geological activities other than walking and and mammals) and reconstruction of the known in the 1850s, will complement the Press, Chicago and London. an SSSI), there are strict requirements for photography will remain restricted. geological features is in the hands of the Positive management taking account of any advice from English Morton Partnership and Eura Conservation, Liassic marine reptiles beached in Crystal Palace Park. Nature or the Countryside Council for Stronger legislation with me in lead advisory role. In common A backdrop of typical Lias is being recreated after the original. The Act puts the emphasis on Wales. with restoration of any building and, supporting SSSI owners and occupiers in The Act also makes it an offence for In conclusion, the Act brings stronger indeed, any Earth heritage site, the work is the positive management of their land to anyone knowingly or recklessly to damage conservation legislation now, and the physical: currently 110 tonnes of benefit geology and wildlife, rather than the an SSSI. This is an important development, opportunity to walk new areas of land in the replacement Mountain Limestone is being fundamentally negative approach of paying since previously it was not normally an years ahead. Despite these powers, delivered from a source close to the original money out to prevent new operations that offence for a third party (i.e. not owners or however, partnership will remain the in Derbyshire, for the reconstruction of the could damage SSSIs. Importantly, owners occupiers) to damage an SS SI. approach of both English Nature and the Carboniferous tableau. This crinoidal and occupiers will not be pennitted to carry Irresponsible collecting of fossils and Countryside Council for Wales, and most limestone is possibly the last to be removed out any new works that could damage minerals has caused problems in the past, SSSI owners should not notice any change. from Once a Week Quarry, and will be SSSIs without first gaining the consent of and although such cases are thankfully rare, Achieving a secure and well-managed constructed in the park according to the relevant body - either English ~ature or more can now be done to protect against geological SSSI series through partnership surviving plans and photographs as a the Countryside Council for Wales. site abuse of this type. Vandalism or other and co-operation is certainly the way ahead, replica cliff line, complete with mineral It is hoped that this new legislation will damaging activities can also now be dealt but there are now much stronger powers mine and cave. encourage partnerships working towards with through the courts. English Nature and which can be used where cases cannot be Other stone will be arrlvmg over the positive management of SSSIs, but where the Countryside Council for Wales will be solved through negotiation.• 8 19 To guides • I se ou on • "~I

eOlogical Cynthia Burek Chester College

tl et al e believe we have case studies, which included RIGS, broken new ground in limestone pavements and coastal the UK by formally protection, to illustrate their points. incorporating a cotland is one of the very few distance learning materials, including geodiversity strand into our third-year Future in education countries in the world where interactive CD-ROMs and web-based option module, Conservation and guide training is organised as materials. Our aim is to make these Environmental Management, for Geoconservation's future lies III an award-bearing course at a teaching materials available to schools, students within the Department of education. Encouraging conservation­ S Biology. minded students to think about all aspects university, and Edinburgh University colleges, museums and galleries. We also has had a long involvement with the plan to make strategic links with Scottish It means that, for the first time, of conservation and management is a must. Scottish Tourist Guide Association Natural Heritage, Historic Scotland and the geodiversity and biodiversity are put into A 50/50 course like this can only do good (STGA) in training new recruits for the National Trust for Scotland in the hope that context and explored in deptg in what has and act as a conduit for exchange of coveted 'Blue Badge'. they will help develop the materials and the traditionally-been a biological course. information between disciplines. As a result In addition to the usual subject matter of curriculum content, and make use of the A pre-course questionnaire established of our new module, at least 45 more people the quintessential tourist trail - usually study packs for staff training and that very few of the 44 students taking the are now familiar with geodiversity (and archaeology, history of settlements, development. module had any appreciable grasp of here I include my other lecturing agricultural practices and suchlike - the A new trend evident in tourism today is geoconservation. colleague'). It would be good to see other Edinburgh curriculum includes topics in that more and more visitors are interested in conservation courses incorporate geology, physical geography, landforms, 'green' or 'eco-tourism' and sustainable ncouraging Quotes geoconservation.or geodiversity as well. landscape development and scenery. land use. Hence the increased popularity of More emphasis has been placed on guided walks to areas of scenic importance, After the course, quotes from over 30 of environmental topics because qualified SSSIs and (soon) National Parks, to explore the students included: guides have repeatedly reported that landscapes, rocks, plants and wildlife. The "The .module gave me an insight into overseas visitors are attracted to Scotland revised course will aim to include much areas that I had previously considered to be because of the scenery and landforms, and more integrated ecological topics, using a of no importance (geodiversity especially).

are likely to ask detailed questions which case-study approach. By collaborating with This allowed me to make the COilllections noi'lo.lrtltI::l. guides need to be in a position to answer Scottish Natural Heritage, we hope to between geodiversity, biodiversity and :.,

adequately. enable new guides to interpret the conservation." 01. The course consists of face-to-face landscape to visitors. "Learning about geoconservation and weekly classes, spread over two years. Trainees have shown a ready appetite legislation ordered my view and Practical skills - handling groups, voice for subjects such as geology, physical understanding of Conservation and projection, the tourist industry, leading geography and landscape evolution. Even Environmental Management". groups on coach and on foot etc. - are dealt those with no scientific background are materials mean that we need to find new Of the two groups taking the module, with in 12 intensive days. Acquired soon enthused by issues relating to our outlets for these, and we hope to have 'dual the environmental scientists had been

knowledge and skills are assessed in natural heritage, and are eager to learn. purpose' books with CD-ROMs and videos' receptive to the notion of geodiversity, but IIlr......

regional study courses where trainees are Market forces dictate that we can accept which could be sold to the public-. animal behaviour students were unfamiliar :UeII taken round the country on demonstration only 35 new trainees every two years. But Thanks to Ros Newlands (STGA) for with the term or concept, although familiar .'. tours. Here great emphasis is placed on the investment costs of writing the managing the training.• with the idea of biodiversity. interpreting the physical and human In the end-of-year exam, it was

landscapes of each region. gratifying to find that 12 chose to answer an Oh

Con Gillen optional question to discuss the statement -~ The course in its present form has run .....

"Geodiversity underpins biodiversity" T for four years and will be replaced in 2002 ­ .]11:., Director, Office ofLifelong Learning, .. ,e Or. by a rewritten fully integrated course, in (perhaps the other questions were too ".. I.,... l8(: which more use will be made of open and University ofEdinburgh hard!). Those answering used the module's 20 1 '400 '.~' 1300 1300 ·1" O' 30' eo' 9(;: '20' 150' lIlO' '200 • '200

1100 • 1100 ~ '000 • ~ '000 .J. ":1-")' ~\ \30' .00 • ~~<"" r ~.... _...,. • •• .~~., ~~,~ ,,-/-./ I 0, I', f,9 . I 'k.:+--\+.. 800 I· .. 800

£:.the-."",---f- O' 700 , .'i r.#/ •, 700 '00 ~'.. • Oo,,,,,,"n' }-SO • ~ ..1911.!.~L\ • 600 ~- • ". ~ I' 500 " ...... 500

400 ~ 1984, •.~L~ • ,- 400 ."-Jo.• ----1 ! .. -.J 300 ,..?' .-i---.. tt-'2"- ••• 300 ... 7 18(1" -150' .120' ..go" ·30' O' 30' 50' ger 120' 150" 200 ' 200 ""i..-. r(.~ .."~ /-1 - -"...... earthquakes take place at tectonic plate boundaries. ',. Most ..•- ...2t rl..-...f' ...._..., ... 100 '00 • _ J-!' _ _ Alice Walker British Geological Survey -200 -100 0 100 200 :500 400 500 500 700 600 Earthquakes, both globally and in the UK, are The largest earthquake to affect the UK was centred on monitored using the British Geological Survey the Dogger Bank, in the North Sea in 1931. seismic network of 146 seismometer stations. (All illustrations courtesy of British Geological Survey)

arthquakes can occur Previously, the last great earthquake in Overall, earthquakes are the greatest anywhere in the world. They Jndia was in 1950, and had a magnitude of contributor to the toll, accounting for over are not uniformly 8.5. Fortunately, it occurred in a remote half of the deaths in natural disasters in the distributed, but most take When the area on the Assam .. Tibet border, which past 100 years. The earthquake in the north.. E limited the death toll to 1,500. eastern Chinese city of Tangshan in 1976 place at plate boundaries (see above). \\lorldwide each year there are around These earthquakes are caused by the killed over 240,000 alone. 800 'moderate' earthquakes (between Indian plate moving northwards at a rate of Here in the UK we are not immune to magnitude 5 and 5.9), 120 'strong' ones about one centimetre per year into the earthquakes. We experience, on average, (6 to 6.9), and around 20 'major' Eurasian plate - a process w~ich produced around 200 each year, some 30 ofwhich are earthquakes (7 or greater). Of the many the Himala)'an mountain range, with its felt by local residents. The largest smalJer ones - 70,000 were recorded in high seismicity, and stresses farther south earthquake to affect the United Kingdom J998 - most are unknown except to the which produce occasional large was centred on the Dogger Bank, 120 km seismologists who study them. earthquakes on older faults. north-east of Great Yarmouth, on 7 June The main hazards following a larger 193 I. With a magnitude of 6.1, it caused earthquake include ground shaking, Natural disasters minor damage on the east coast ofEngland, landslides, tsunamis ("tidal' waves) and where many chimneys collapsed. ground liquefaction. Fires may rage due to Devastating though the El Salvador and The largest onshore earthquake since Indian earthquakes were, they are dwarfed ruptured gas mains and access for Continued overleaf ~ emergency services may become blocked by the scale of cwnulative natural disasters due to \liater and power supply destruction. and singl~ events in recent times. Over the The great fire in San Francisc.o following past 30 years, natural disasters are see also the 1906 earthquake lasted three days and estimated to have caused over a British Geological Survey overleaf neighbouring Pakistan, including the cities million deaths, hundreds of -4' -3' -2' -,' 0' ,. was more damaging than the tremors over 4,500 and damaged over 210,000 magnitude of 6.6 occurred in the same 54 billions of dollars in losses, and i J ' themselves. Firestorms after the 1923 homes. Over one million people were general region with an epicentre 30 km east of Karachi (360 km), Bombay (580 km) 54'1 =""" ( ,1 Tokyo earthquake killed over 38,000 affected, even lhough the epicentre was of San Salvador. A further 255 people were and Delhi (880 km). Casualties were the disruption of lhe lives of people. under the Pacific Ocean, some 100 km SSE killed, over 2,200 injured and 12,000 more reported up to 500 km away from the 15% of the world's population. Major earthquakes occurred tthis year in of the capital, San Salvador. In the worst houses were destroyed. epicentre. Damage was particularly severe And it is the poorest countries ­ El Salvador and India. The earthquake in El affected area, Las Colinas, a landslide in the town of Bhuj (population 150,000), where vulnerability continues Salvador on 13th January had a magnitude covered over 400 homes in mud. One Ongoing sequence much of which was destroyed. to increase - which suffer 53' of 7.8 and killed over 800 people, injured month later, an earthquake with a The earthquake closely resembled the most, accounting for 90% of The two earthquakes are part of an Rann of Kutch event of 16 June 1819, deaths over the past 30 years. ongoing sequence in the area. El Salvador which had a similar magnitude and sits on the western part of the Caribbean epicentre and killed over 2,000 people in

plate, where it is subducting the Cocos plate Bhuj alone. This shows how earthquakes 52' beneath it. Deeper interplate earthquakes can repeat themselves in history, and how San Salvador destruction: an occur within the Cocos plate, with shallow one can estimate future hazards by looking In September 2000, an earthquake earthquake..induced landslide covered earthquakes in the crust of the overriding at the past. The 1819 event is particularly measuring 4.2 happened near Warwick over 400 homes in mud. Caribbean plate. famous for its effects on the landscape - a and was felt up to 150km away. The Indian earthquake on 26 January nine metre vertical displacement was 51' 2001 had a magnitude of 7.9 and was felt caused by the faulting, and aptly named the across most of the country and llah Bund - the Wall of God' 3 mine workings. the impact of geomagnetic Ruth Thornhill British storms and the protection of groundwater On the trai of a resources. Herefordshire and Geological Survey The organisation's expertise is also deployed overseas. While some BGS • Worcestershire RIGS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL scientists are stationed on Montserrat's •• Group and University volcano, monitoring the continuing threat o I to the local population, others are seeking College, Worcester groundwater sources in some of the poorest Intelligence for the World countries and tackling contamination issues. In Bangladesh the focus is on From foot-and-mouth carcass disposal in the UK arsenic in borehole drinking supplies, erefordshire and to volcanic eruptions in Montserrat, from offshore oil which comes from natural sources in the 'Vorcestershire prospecting to borehole contamination, underlying rocks. RIGS Group is producing a series the British Geological Survey's (BGS's) remit Natural baseline is to get information and advice to those who need it. of eye-catching guides to some BGS geochemistry expertise is being of its locallandforms. The used to help establish the natural baselines numbered trail forms a step-by­ against which EU legislation must be set for he BGS's job is to generate step guide to wbat we did and Chris Browitt acceptable levels of contamination (e.g. and disseminate geoscientific may provide invaluable tips for lead) and for the risks from radon information in the national British Geological Survey emissions. That same expertise is being others thinking of developing interest. It does this through deployed internationally in coll'aborative landscape and/or geology trails. systematic surveying, monitoring and Wealth of information research into debilitating diseases caused research across its disciplines of geology, by trace elements in the soil taken up by geophysics, geochemistry and The relevance of the systematic crops into the human food chain. hydrogeology, and through its work with surveying and data maintenance carried out • ••••••••••• ~ Increasingly, BGS is focusing its ••• .. • partners in the academic world and the by BGS since its birth has been highlighted ... onshore programme in the shallow geology public and private sectors. BGS is dramatically during this year's foot and on which we live and in which we dig for uniquely placed to provide impartial mouth disease outbreak in the UK. The resources and construction and waste advice and information to government, wealth of BGS information held on disposal. Offshore the UK, an area of three local and national authorities and to Quaternary geology and hydrogcology has The trails project began by establishing who the guide was going to be for. After times the landmass, the focus is on deep industry. allowed decisions to be made on the safe studying expert authors (references available at www.worc.ac.uklrigs). we learned resources, together with seabed Founded in 1835. BGS is a component disposal of carcasses within hours. And the that an effective trail guide should not try to please everyone but should be aimed at environmental processes and the body of the Natural Environment Research depth of BGS expertise available for one particular group. assessment of geohazard risks. Working Council (NERC), and shares its parent interpretation and advice has been as It was decided that, as we wanted to reach a wide audience, the guide should be with the oil sector, \vorld-c1ass BGS The next step was to choose organisation's brolld environmental mission valuable as the information itself targeted at the general public rather than the student or interested amateur. research programmes focus on ways to where the trails should be. Rocks - from resource identification, through Other j'esponsive activities of BGS extract more hydrocarbons from existing and rimdscapes from most environmental impacts and safeguards, to include a 24-hour on-call service to provide fields and to capture carbon dioxide in geological periods are sustainability, education and the public objective advice on UK and worldwide •••••••• ••• depleted reservoirs ~s a way of mitigating represented in the two counties awareness of its science. earthquakes, landslides, the collapse of old • global warming. • but with a wide audience in mind, • we chose sites that \vere already ~ • Further information is available on • from previous page the BGS website (www.bgs.ac.uk) and • The first trail was then researched - the Wigmore Glacial Lake Landscape and Geology Trail. being visited by large numbers of • We contacted key authors, conducted site surveys and identitJed public rights of way. tourists. from its popular publication series, When the Geological Survey seismic network of 146 • Photographs were taken throughout the different seasons, and an artist was commissioned to Earthwise. seismol11eter stations. Data are transferred • provide the illustrations. Issues of health and safety - for example, in quarries - also had to ER.'" to Edinburgh four times a day (or on • be addressed. We discovered (painfillly) that it is impossible to include everything. In fact, the ..-vE demand during periods of particular • finished guide includes roughly half the sites and themes of the first draft. interest). using dial-up telephone lines or EOOlrn'lSE ~ - 1900 occurred in North Wales on 19 July . the Internet. The data are analysed within . 1984. Reaching a magnitude of 5.4, it was one to two hours - to determine the felt over a large area of Britain, causing location, magnitude and nature of an eve[lt Going back to our initial research, we looked at what style we wanted to damage as far away as Liverpool, around (e.g. earthquake, explosion, sonic boom, or use for the guide. We decided: • 120 km from the epicentre. More recently­ mining-induced seismicity) - and then • To keep text to a minimum: • on 23 September 2000 - an earthquake given wide dissemination. Computer programmes were To use simple language whenever possible and to explain any technical • with a magnitude of 4.2 occurred near Interest from the BGS's wide spectrum then chosen after finding out tern1S as they are used; • Wanvick. It was felt up to 150 km away of customers in government, industry and from professional printers • To use text boxes to provide a higher level of detail where necessary: ~. and over an area of 14,900 square the academic world. and from the media which file types they could • To add route directions in a different style/colour: .. ­ kilometres. Whilst there was no damage, and the public is often intense. A 24-hour most easily work with. Oh • To use colourful photographs and attractive line drawings; .... ornaments and pictures were displaced and on-call service is operated, witlh computer yes, and computers crashed • To use artist's impressions of how landscapes may have looked in the • objects as large as washing machines were connections between staff members' homes at strategic moments (but past (see illustration at top a/page); what else would one reported to have moved. and the BGS Edinburgh office allowing • To use present-day photographs to illustrate dcpositional conditions for • .~ E3I1hquakes. both globally and in the rapid analysis. For more information visit expect?). rocks on the trai I; 2 UK .« moo'to«. ,,'og the B,'t"h www.gsrg.nmh.ac.uk .• • To use simple analogies to illustrate complicated ideas: • To keep maps and diagrams simple. 25 Walking through the past: A geological trail around Dr Jill Eyers. Field Guide Series. Rocks Afoot ­ Fossils and Llandudno and Walking through the past: A geological where to find them; Rocks Afoot ­ Geological walks in south Tackling some tricky coastal questions trail for Mold. 2001. NEWRIGS. Buckinghamshire; Rocks Afoot ­ Geology of northeast Norfolk: E-mail: [email protected] Hunstanton to Happisburgh. £4.50 each, available from: H.R. (Hydraulics Research) Wallingford. 'environmentally friendly'. Instead it reviews Jill Eyers, 13 Pusey Way, Lane End, High Wycombe HPI4 3LG. A guide to managing coastal erosion in all the options available for managing What do Llandudno's horse trough, Just Jents hair beach/dune systems. £11. SNH Publications, erosion. from non-intervention to salon and the NatWest branch have in common? The These three A5 publications are part of a six-strong (and A guide to managing Battleby. Perth. PH I 3EW construction of revetments and seawalls, and answer is interesting building stone. Following the growing) portfolio by the same author. They pack a lot of detail coastal erosion in beach/dune systems E-mail: [email protected] offers guidance on how to select or design success of the leaflet for the geological town trail into a limited space. This may not be offputting ISBN I 85397 113 8 the most appropriate. around Llangollen, the NOIih-East Wales RlGS Group to experts, but the smaIl typeface and packed Critically, from a conservation (NEWRIGS) has provided two more high quality bi­ layout do not do full justice to the information, This is a lavishly illustrated new perspective, it describes and illustrates how lingual publications to bring the buildings of which itself is weIl written and accessible. handbook from Scottish Natural Heritage each technique might best be designed to Llandudno and Mold to life. With high-quality The Bucks booklet holds some attractive which seeks to increase awareness of the minimise damage to the natural heritage and photography, a clear map and accessible text, the line drawings, but the quality of the colour options for managing coastal erosion and the reduce the prospects of altering shorelines leaflets are designed to appeal to the casual visitor. One pictures in all three again does no favours to environmental impacts and opportunities elsewhere. convenient feature is the coloured sidebar that the writing. That said, each of the three associated with each. Additional sections provide information chronicles the various geological ages. It gives readers booklets (52, 48 and 25 pages) is a little Written by coastal engineering on dune formation and evolution and offer who may be unfamiliar with geological timescales an gem packed with invaluable infOImation. consultants, the Guide recognises that the guidance on issues such as coastal defence instant reference. The text does not always cross-refer to The two area-specific guides are most appropriate response in each situation legislation and monitoring techniques. it, leaving readers to ponder the age of larvikite, particularly useful and all three do what will differ according to local circumstances. serpentinite and so on. That small point apart, the leaflets they say on the cover - they are Therefore, it does not promote simply those - George Lees, succeed in bringing new interest to sights that are mostly undoubtedly helpful field guides. approaches which might be considered Scottish Natural Heritage taken for granted and overlooked. - Seabury Salmon - Seabury Salmon verything you ever wanted to know Proceedings bout Stonehenge Gordon, J.E. and Leys, K.F. Earth science From page and the natural heritage: interactions and •••••• ut were integrated management. 2001. £35. The Stationery Office Edinburgh. ISBN 011 • fraid to ask! 4972834 We looked at a number of leaflets to see what worked and what did not. • The first draft of the trail guide was produced in two different formats. • Work has already begun on other trails. As Ramues Gallois. Holiday Geology Guide: The proceedings Extensive market research was then carried out on format, price and style. • • they form a series, much of the background Stonehenge - The secrets in the stones. 2001. of the 1999 Scottish In addition to various professionals - for example, tourism and • • work has been carried out and the same £1.95. Ear1hwise (Blitish Geological Survey). Natural Heritage countryside officials - we consulted potential retail outlets and our target • • fonnat, style, graphic design and pFlClllg ISBN 0-85272-383-0 conference on Earth audience. • • structure will be used. science and the . As part of its Holiday Geology Guide natural heritage: This was one of the most important steps in the process - making sure that • • • • series, the British Geological Survey has interactions and ~ - .~~(" \\.-hat we produced was appropriate for our intended market. We learned of • • published its guide to Stonehenge. Most integrated ~~ the psychological importance of price breaks; so £0.95 or £1.95 are better • • people are fascinated by Stonehenge either management have than £1 or £2. A clear route map and good directions are essential. And a • visually or scientifically and I suspect that been published by the 'Fact File' box on the back cover can help customers decide whether to • any guide on the subject will be warmly Stationery Office. ~ • • buy providing inforn1ation about where the trail starts and finishes, its • • received. The 34 chapters length, terrain, refreshments (pubs) and location of public toilets' • Beginning with an outline of the are arranged in five pariS, the first of which • geographical position and geological reviews recent developments in Earth • • setting of Stonehenge, the guide ~elitage conservation and explores the wider ~ • moves on to consider the two main links between Earth science and the natural • rock types used, the Bluestones and heritage and the role of geology in global • the Sarsens. change. Pari Two outlines the geological Once the information was finalised • After establishing the OIigin of framework of Scotland and the inherent and we had decided on the format (a portrait • the stones, it examines possible value of the geological heritage. Crucial leaflet, folded, and laminated for weather­ • methods of transponation to their links are examined in three sensitive proofing and wear resistance), the guide was • present resting place and environments - the coast, rivers and uplands. • investigates the reasons why The chapters in Part Three focus on ready for graphic design and printing. • • these particular stones may have been sustainable management. They clearly • chosen. demonstrate the relevance and value of • In addition, the guide discusses the formation of the sarsens integrated approaches that involve working themselves and the role that the glaciation of the Midlands and South Wales may have had in with, rather than against, natural processes, Lransporting the stones. and provide examples of applications. Part A lot of information is crammed into this guide and, in a bid to cover as many aspects as Four addresses the importance of Earth The guide will be offered to as many outlets as possible possible, it feels heavy on words. Coupled with a fOlmat that is hard to follow, I suspect that its heritage awareness, involvement and including Tourist Information Centres, bookshops, use in the field will be restricted. However it will come into its own over a pint the night before education, including recent developments in museums, shops local to the trail, map shops, visitor your visit I Scotland, Ireland and Canada. Par1 Five centres and countryside centres. We hope that the guide looks forward to key challenges for the 21 st might be marketed in educational circles too. Century, including an agenda for action. 26 - Natalie Bennett, English Nature Earth Heritage magazine is published twice a year to promote interest in geological and landscape conservation.

Limestone pavement is one oflhe geomorphologlcal treasures of the United Kingdom. However, this country's efforts 10 protect its beautiful heritage from the ravages of extraction for use in gardens and commercial landscaping are creating pressures elsewhere. See pages 8-9,

(Photo by Simon Webb)

UKRIGS :~---"'" SCOTTISH NATURAL JOINT~ ~ HERITAGE NATURE~ ENGLISH C~- CONSERVATION CYIlj.;lIf(I·IIl(J.....1.1drYIlIrI.J '1~~~1 COMMITTEE G£OCOI'lSERVATION NATURE C-lIuntrysidt· (lIulU:il fllr w"lcs 1

ROYAl SOCIETY I'l)R NAT 'RE CllNSFRVATIDN -