Two New Nick Chidlaw Courses

Nick Chidlaw wants to run two courses early next year. The format of the courses is that he sends enrolees a digital document for them to study for two weeks; then follows a week for people to ask Nick questions by email. Then Nick sends everyone the most informative questions and answers.

The courses are:-

A YOUNG OROGENIC BELT: COLLISION OF THE INDIAN TECTONIC PLATE WITH ASIA  

Tutor: Dr Nick Chidlaw 

Reading Period: Monday 15th – Sunday 28th January 2024 (2 weeks)

Dialogue Period:  Monday 29th January – Sunday 4th February 2024 (1 week)

Tuition fee £33.00 per person.

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AN ANCIENT OROGENY: THE GRAMPIAN OROGENIC BELT, NORTHERN SCOTLAND

Tutor: Dr Nick Chidlaw

Reading Period: Monday 5th - Sunday 18th February 2024 (2 weeks)

Dialogue Period:  Monday 19th – Sunday 25th February 2024 (1 week)

Tuition fee £33.00 per person.

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In both cases the closing date for enrolment is Sunday 7th January.

Nick has prepared a document which has all the details. You can get a copy HERE.

Nick Chidlaw Field Course 

Nick Chidlaw has asked me to publicise this Field Course he is organising in late November.

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Title:   CONTRASTS IN THE MIDDLE JURASSIC STRATA OF THE COTSWOLDS:  deposition at the margin and near-centre of a subsiding pre-North Atlantic rift basin 

Saturday 19th November  9.00 am - 4.00 pm (sunset at about 4 pm). 

During the Middle part of the Jurassic period, around 170 million years ago,  the crust that became the British Isles was located at about 45 degrees north of the equator and the global climate was much warmer than today, with very limited evidence for ice in the polar regions. The British crust formed a series of islands surrounded by shallow seas, at times only a few meters deep. The islands were well-vegetated and populated by a wide range of animals, dominated by the dinosaurs. In the shallow seas life was also highly varied and included a variety of shellfish and larger animals including marine reptiles. 

At this time, the  Atlantic Ocean had not yet opened; Africa and and South America were joined together and the North Atlantic was beginning to open between what is now north west Africa and the eastern seaboard of the United States. To the north, the crust remained joined, but was characterised by a mosaic of active rift basins in which sediment accumulated in greater quantities than intervening areas where less subsidence took place.  In the British area, many of these basins and intervening areas were present; here, rifting had been most active during the preceding Triassic, but was continuing to influence subsidence and sedimentation in the Early and Middle Jurassic. 

In the west of England and south west Midlands, one of these basins, known as the Severn Basin, was present; it was uplifted and eroded on its north west side in later geological times, so that some of its infill was removed by erosion. Its Middle Jurassic strata now form the Cotswold Hills.  The marginal faults of the rift basin are north-south orientated; those on its western side run along the east side of the Malvern Hills and Forest of Dean, and continue southwards just to the west of the Cotswolds in the Dursley - Wotton under Edge area; those on its eastern side lie along the Gloucestershire - Oxfordshire border.  

This course looks at extensive exposures in the Inferior Oolite Group of Middle Jurassic age in the Cotswolds: one near the western margin of the Severn Basin at Breakheart Quarry, near Dursley, and the other near the centre of the Basin, at Leckhampton Hill, near Cheltenham.  The Inferior Oolite Group of the Cotswolds is divided up into many rock-stratigraphic units, enabling detailed comparisons to be made between one area and another. At the two locations to be visited can be demonstrated how the strata change in thickness and type, with some of the rock units not present at the basin margins. Breakheart Quarry is to be visited first in the morning , then we travel to Leckhampton Hill for the afternoon.   

No previous knowledge of geology or the area will be assumed for those wishing to enrol on the course.   

A handout outlining the day’s programme, including location sketch map, illustrated geological history and written log of the succession of strata, will be forwarded in advance of the course to those enrolled.

Note that enrollees will need to:

*     Arrange their own transport

*     Bring a packed lunch and any refreshments (e.g. flask of coffee, fruit juice, mineral water etc.)

*     Wear strong footwear with good tread and ankle support, and have waterproof clothing if weather is poor.

*     Hard hats will be needed at the second location for this course - they will not be needed for the first. If you do not have a hard hat, I can lend you one (let  me know in advance).

Attendees will be insured against accident for the duration of the course. 

Tuition fee: £30.00 

Contact tutor Dr Nick Chidlaw nickchidlaw@gmail.com to enrol and for any queries. 

Deadline for course viability: Friday 4th November . If the course has become viable (minimum of 10 enrolments) by this date, enrolments will be able to continue until Saturday 12th November.

Breakheart Quarry, Dursley, Glos.  View showing the lower quarry and impression of the extensive nature of the workings. Here it is possible to walk across sea beds that have been bored into by marine organisms and which have the remains of oysters attached . Quarrying has long ceased; the  site is now a run by a registered charity Breakheart Community Project; it is open to the public.  

Workings in the upper part of the quarries on Leckhampton Hill, Cheltenham, Glos.  We examine this section, together with others below and above. The Hill  has many footpaths, giving full public access.

Two Nick Chidlaw Field Courses 

Nick Chidlaw has asked me to help publicise two 1-day field courses he would like to run in June. 

One is a repeat of the Mendips course which featured earlier in the year. Details of that can be found HERE. The admin details of the June course are given below.

The other course is a walk in North Somerset, looking at Variscan folding and thrusting.

Here is what Nick has written about the courses.

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Note that the two courses are to run on the same weekend, but are independent of each other  - you can choose to enrol on one or both, according to your interests and availability. Both courses are in the same general geographical area, which may be suitable for anyone who's home is located elsewhere; they could decide to attend both courses and arrange accommodation between the two. 

Saturday 11th June   A LINEAR WALK IN NORTH SOMERSET: Variscan folding and thrust faulting 

Image: Google Earth oblique view in the area of the village of Clapton in Gordano, near Portishead. In this area, strata of early Carboniferous age have been thrust-faulted onto the top of younger late Carboniferous strata, along the extensive Clevedon Thrust.  In the Vale of Gordano, the thrusted rocks have been eroded into several remnants, forming 'klippen' . The purple dot marks a location where the strata in the klippen are exposed.    

Sunday 12th June   ASPECTS OF MENDIP GEOLOGY: Early Carboniferous open shelf seas, Late Carboniferous rivers, metalliferous mineralisation in the Jurassic

Image: former opencast lead mine working exposing early Carboniferous strata at Ubley Warren on the Mendip plateau. 

Each course would run 10.00 am - 5.00 pm. Course fee is £30.00 per person.

No prior knowledge of geology or the study area is assumed.  Attendees will be covered by insurance during the duration of the course. 

If you / anyone else you know would like to attend, please forward a cheque to me at the address below. If you would prefer bank trans, I can send you details. 

8, Silver Street,

Dursley,

Glos.

GL11 4ND.  

There is a handout for both courses that those enrolled would receive in advance, so they can read up about what will be covered and be in a good position to get the most out of each day when it runs. The handouts contain numerous colour images; due to printing costs, I can email you a Word Doc with the coloured images in that you can print out yourself and bring the printout to the course; otherwise I can post you a black and white printout, which is perfectly serviceable. 

Do let me know if you would like to receive the Word Doc which you would print out in colour yourself. 

If you wish to have the black and white printout instead, do let me know and provide me with your postal address, so I can send this to you a week or two before the course is due to run.    

Viability Deadline

The deadline for the minimum number of enrolments for each course (10) is Thursday 12th May. If the minimum of enrolments for each course is reached by 12th May, arrangements for that course will be able to continue. If not, the course(s) will be cancelled and fees returned soon after. For each viable course, enrolments can continue up to 1 week (Saturday 4th June) before the course dates. 

Please see details below. I hope the courses are of interest and to hear from you soon. 

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A LINEAR WALK IN NORTH SOMERSET: Variscan folding and thrust faulting 

In the Bristol- Mendip area, the present day landscape represents partially-exhumed landforms of Late Triassic age. This course looks at these landforms and underlying geology in the Portishead area. Rocks of Triassic age form a veneer over older ones: these latter, once horizontally-lying, became rucked up into folds, and dislocated along extensive  thrust faults, during the Variscan Orogeny some 300 million years ago.  Exposures of Early and Late Carboniferous, and Triassic strata are examined, both inland and on the coast, and Quaternary deposits in the Vale of Gordano are discussed. The walk is about 5.5 miles in length, beginning on the Cadbury Camp ridge to the south of Portishead, and ending on the sea front at Woodhill Bay, Portishead.  A lunch break is included, as is an afternoon break at the Windmill Inn above Woodhill Bay. 

Covid consideration

This course involves vehicle sharing. We meet at Woodhill Bay, Portishead, leaving most vehicles there, and drive in the minimum of vehicles to the start point of the linear walk on the Cadbury Camp ridge.  Drivers are returned at the end of the day to their vehicles left at the walk start point.  I have run this course more than once before in 2021, indicating there are people who consider car sharing to be safe; to help this safety, in the vehicles we wear masks, and ensure hands are sanitised before and after travelling,. Driving with open windows is a further precaution. It is appreciated that views on the risk of catching covid vary greatly between people, and that only those who consider vehicle sharing (with precautions mentioned above) will consider enrolling on the course.

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ASPECTS OF MENDIP GEOLOGY: Early Carboniferous open shelf seas, Late Carboniferous rivers, metalliferous mineralisation in the Jurassic 

The Mendip Hills, rising to 325m above sea level, and located in the counties of Somerset and North Somerset in the west of England, are underlain by mostly sedimentary rocks and mostly of Devonian, Early Carboniferous and Triassic age. They record deposition as the British crust moved slowly northwards from the southern tropics, across the equator, and into the northern tropics. Rivers laid down deposits during Devonian times, and in the Carboniferous, marine environments were present, followed by coal forests on delta and river plains. At the end of the Carboniferous, about 300 million years ago, the British crust was involved in a major plate tectonic collision, known as the Variscan Orogeny: the once-horizontally lying Devonian and Carboniferous strata were pushed up into a series of enormous dome structures elongated east - west, producing a mountainous terrain. By Mid Triassic times, about 240 million years ago, the mountains had been much worn down and coarse bouldery and sandy deposits were being laid down in wadis and valleys, eventually building up to bury the Mendip area. In the following Jurassic period, more sediments were laid down on top, in marine environments. In Middle Jurassic times about 170 million years ago, crustal stretching opened fissures in the Mendip area, up which hot metal-bearing fluids rose from deeper in the crust, cooled and crystallised. The metals included lead ore, of much importance subsequently to mankind. The nature of the ore deposits enabled the first large scale workings (opencasting by the Romans) to be highly productive, but later in time the ores were found to become more scarce at depth. Historic mining records refer to the ore occurring as 'stones of lead', and uncertainty of what exactly this meant was finally resolved by Mendip cave explorers in the 1980's.  

This course examines evidence for the shallow tropical sea at extensive exposures in the rocky dry valley of Burrington Coombe, and discusses the lead mineralisation at Ubley Warren on the Mendip plateau (no lead ore can be seen in exposures now); the final part of the day visits the Deep Leap Reserve on the Hills above Wells, where Late Carboniferous sandstones equivalent in age to the Millstone Grit of the Pennines can be examined.    

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A Nick Chidlaw Field Course 

Nick Chidlaw wants to hold a one day Field Course in the Mendips on the 12th March and would like to know the level of interest. These courses have a great reputation and this one sounds pretty good! All the details Nick has sent me are given below.

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I am proposing to run the above next month if there is sufficient interest and availability to make the course viable. I have run the course before, and was gratified attendees indicated that they enjoyed the proceedings and learned a lot.

Course date: Saturday 12th March. The course would run 10.00 am - 5.00 pm. Course fee is £30.00 per person.

No prior knowledge of geology or the study area is assumed.  Attendees will be covered by insurance during the duration of the course. 

If you / anyone else you know would like to attend, please forward a cheque to me at the address below. If you would prefer bank trans, I can send you details. 

8, Silver Street,

Dursley,

Glos.

GL11 4ND.  

There is a handout that those enrolled would receive in advance of the course, so they can read up about what will be covered and be in a good position to get the most out of the day when it runs. The handout has numerous colour images in it; due to printing costs, I can email you a Word Doc with the coloured images in that you can print out yourself and bring the printout to the course; otherwise I can post you a black and white printout, which is perfectly serviceable. 

Do let me know if you would like to receive the Word Doc which you would print out in colour yourself. 

If you wish to have the black and white printout instead, do let me know and provide me with your postal address, so I can send this to you a week or two before the course is due to run.    

Viability Deadline

The deadline for the minimum number of enrolments (10) is Saturday 26th February.  Maximum number of enrolments on the course is 30.  If the minimum of enrolments is reached by 26th February, arrangements will continue; if not, the course will be cancelled and fees returned soon after. If the course is viable, enrolments can continue up to 1 week (Saturday 5th March) before the course date.  

Please see details below. I hope the course is of interest and to hear from you soon. 

Regards,

Nick Chidlaw

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ASPECTS OF MENDIP GEOLOGY: Early Carboniferous open shelf seas, Late Carboniferous rivers, metalliferous mineralisation in the Jurassic 

The Mendip Hills, rising to 325m above sea level, and located in the counties of Somerset and North Somerset in the west of England, are underlain by mostly sedimentary rocks and mostly of Devonian, Early Carboniferous and Triassic age. They record deposition as the British crust moved slowly northwards from the southern tropics, across the equator, and into the northern tropics. Rivers laid down deposits during Devonian times, and in the Carboniferous, marine environments were present, followed by coal forests on delta and river plains. At the end of the Carboniferous, about 300 million years ago, the British crust was involved in a major plate tectonic collision, known as the Variscan Orogeny: the once-horizontally lying Devonian and Carboniferous strata were pushed up into a series of enormous dome structures elongated east - west, producing a mountainous terrain. By Mid Triassic times, about 240 million years ago, the mountains had been much worn down and coarse bouldery and sandy deposits were being laid down in wadis and valleys, eventually building up to bury the Mendip area. In the following Jurassic period, more sediments were laid down on top, in marine environments. In Middle Jurassic times about 170 million years ago, crustal stretching opened fissures in the Mendip area, up which hot metal-bearing fluids rose from deeper in the crust, cooled and crystallised. The metals included lead ore, of much importance subsequently to mankind. The nature of the ore deposits enabled the first large scale workings (opencasting by the Romans) to be highly productive, but later in time the ores were found to become more scarce at depth. Historic mining records refer to the ore occurring as 'stones of lead', and uncertainty of what exactly this meant was finally resolved by Mendip cave explorers in the 1980's.  

This course examines evidence for the shallow tropical sea at extensive exposures in the rocky dry valley of Burrington Coombe, and discusses the lead mineralisation at Ubley Warren on the Mendip plateau (no lead ore can be seen in exposures now); the final part of the day visits the Deep Leap Reserve on the Hills above Wells, where Late Carboniferous sandstones equivalent in age to the Millstone Grit of the Pennines can be examined.     

Former lead ore opencast workings at Ubley Warren on the Mendips. 

Two 4-Day Field Trips

Two 4-Day Field Trips in South West England

Nick Chidlaw is offering two field trips in the south west in the second half of September. He provides some background information followed by more particular details.

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Examination of the geology of south west England indicates that it was largely developed within a zone of plate tectonic collision. A key feature is the intensely folded and faulted nature of many of the rocks; these structures indicate that the rocks were compressed from a generally S to N direction in the geological past. This caused them to buckle up into rows of folds aligned approximately east-west, in many cases overturned to the north. Faulting of the rocks mostly took the form of high-angle ‘reverse’ and low-angle ‘thrust’ dislocations, along which extensive sheets (‘nappes’) of crust were carried over the top of others in a dominantly northerly direction. There is also evidence of major ‘strike-slip’ faults, where the crust either side of a near-vertical fault has moved in opposite directions relative to one another. One such fault locates north Devon some 400 km south east of its present position, in the Ardennes region, prior to such movement. It is now recognised that Devon and Cornwall are part of two discrete areas of crust that have highly contrasting geology to each other and that, although now juxtaposed, originated in different places and were created under different conditions. These are the ‘Cornubian Terrane’ (occupied by most of Devon and Cornwall), and the ‘North Armorican Composite Terrane’ (the northern margin of which occurs on shore in parts of south Devon and Cornwall). The rocks of the former terrane in the study area are mostly a variety of sedimentary rocks of Devonian age (419 – 359 Ma) which have been mildly metamorphosed; the latter terrane in the study area is mostly composed of rocks of a similar age, but which were originally ocean crust, and have been metamorphosed to a much greater degree. The highly deformed geology of south west England was created by plate tectonic collision, culminating at the end of the Carboniferous period in the ‘Variscan Orogeny’.  

 

Rocks formed subsequent to the Variscan Orogeny are widespread in south west England, and were created under crustal tension. In Permian times, mountainous land created by the plate collision, underwent extensive weathering and erosion, depositing coarse-grained sediments on slopes. De-compression of the orogenic belt allowed crustal melting at depth and the rising up into the higher crust of silica-rich magmas to form extensive granite intrusions together with smaller intrusions and volcanics, and causing alteration and metalliferous mineralisation of the adjacent rocks.    

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Please note that these field trips are independent of one another - you can decide to attend either or both, according to your interests and availability.

 

Some potential attendees may wish to attend both trips; there is a gap of 5 days between these trips, creating the opportunity for those people to stay in the south-west, and explore Devon and Cornwall ‘on holiday’ during this time.  

 

The two trips visit sites that are mostly coastal, and due regard to tidal conditions has been made, to enable maximum time available to study the rocks safely. 

 

Tuition fee is £85.00 per person per field trip.

 

If you / anyone else you know would like to attend either or both of these courses, please forward cheque payable to me to:

 

Dr N Chidlaw

8 Silver Street

Dursley,

Glos.

GL11 4ND

 

Bank transfer can be arranged if you do not use cheques - let me know.

 

Please provide me with your postal address - I will then be able to send you your trips handout(s) in good time before the trips run, should they become viable.

The deadline for the minimum number (10) of enrolments for both trips is Tuesday 13th August.  Maximum number of enrolments is 30. If the minimum of enrolments is reached by this deadline, the arrangements will continue; if not, the course will be cancelled and fees received will be returned to those who have sent them in, soon afterwards.

Please note that for each course you will need to:

Arrange your own transport and accommodation (such as B&B) if you live beyond commuting distance - tutor can advise

Bring your own packed lunch(es) each day, and any refreshments (e.g. flask of coffee, fruit juice, mineral water, high energy snacks etc.)

Wear strong footwear with good tread and ankle support, and warm waterproof clothing if weather is poor

Wear hard hats when below rock faces (bring one, or request from the tutor in advance of the trip(s) to borrow one)

You would be insured against accident for the duration of both trips.

Please see details of the two trips below. I hope this proposal is of interest to you, and to hear from you soon.

Regards,

NICK CHIDLAW.

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GEOLOGY BETWEEN THE BOLT PROMONTORY AND DARTMOOR, SOUTH DEVON (Thursday 19th – Sunday 22nd September; 10.00 am – 5.00 pm each day)

 

This field trip focuses on the varied geology of the Bigbury Bay area, and at Plymouth and the nearby south west margin of Dartmoor. We examine rocks of both the North Armorican Composite Terrane and the Cornubian Terrane, and the boundary between; post-orogenic sediments are studied, as well as the south west margin of the Dartmoor granite and its effect on the adjacent ‘country’ rocks when it was intruded.

 

View of Outer and Inner Hope villages, Bigbury Bay west of Salcombe. Here, the North Armorican Composite Terrane (which continues south into France) and the Cornubian Terrane (occupied by most of Devon and Cornwall) meet. The boundary, (‘Start Boundary Fault’) lies on the left (north) side of the promontory extending out to sea on the left of this picture. The rocks south of the fault in this picture are heavily sheared, leading to the creation of the cove.  

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FIELD GEOLOGY ON THE LIZARD PENINSULA, CORNWALL  (Saturday 28th September – Tuesday 1st October; 10.00 am – 5.00 pm each day)

This field trip, located on the Lizard peninsula to the south of Falmouth, includes the southern margin of the Cornubian Terrane, and the northern margin of the North Armorican Composite Terrane. The nature of the boundary between the two will be examined. Deep water ‘turbidite’ sediments, highly deformed, and rocks formed by undersea landslides, both mildly metamorphosed, characterise the Cornubian Terrane rocks here. The North Armorican Composite Terrane rocks are composed mostly of the Lizard Complex, a much deformed and dismembered fragment of Devonian oceanic ‘lithosphere’ (crust and uppermost mantle).  Such remnants of oceanic rocks, that became driven up onto continents through plate tectonic activity, are known as ‘ophiolites’.   

View of Kynance Cove on the south west side of the Lizard Peninsula. Here, peridotite rock from the Devonian earth’s upper mantle has been extensively altered to variably-coloured serpentine. The least-altered peridotite on the Lizard is black on colour (due to finely-disseminated magnetite). Much of the alteration may have occurred in Devonian times, when the ocean crust was under tectonic tension, allowing sea water to penetrate down into these upper mantle rocks, causing the ‘serpentinisation’.   

Two Field Courses with Nick Chidlaw

Two Field Courses with Nick Chidlaw

Sandhurst Hill north of Gloucester

Nick Chidlaw has sent me the following:- 

July 2019 – Severn Vale north of Gloucester and escarpment of the mid Cotswolds

Two 1-day field courses. These are independent of each other – enrolment can be on either, or both courses, according to interests / availability. 

Tutor: Dr Nick Chidlaw

Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st July 2019

10.00 am – 5.00 pm each day

ICE AGE & HOT DESERT: TWO GEOLOGICAL WALKS NEAR GLOUCESTER Saturday 20th July

The Severn Valley immediately north of Gloucester comprises a rural landscape of farmland and scattered villages, punctuated by abrupt, flat-topped hills, and extensive tracts of valley floor over which the tidal rivers flows south. The geological history of the area is fascinating and contrasting. The oldest strata, c. 200 million year old, were laid down in hot deserts which gave way to shallow tropical seas; they can be seen in a cliff along the river. The hill tops preserve glacial deposits, and on the valley sides below is found a legacy of past valley floors now remaining as a series of ‘terraces’, as the river progressively incised its course. These hill top and terrace deposits were laid down during the Ice Age of recent geological time. Towards the end of the last glaciation, the river here was flowing in a ravine below its present level. With the ending of the Ice Age some 10,000 year ago, and the associated rise in sea level, the river has built up its broad clayey plain, frequently prone to hazardous winter floods. This course comprises a morning walk (c. 4 miles) and an afternoon walk (c. 3 miles), both gently-paced with frequent stops to discuss the geology and landforms.

A GEOLOGICAL WALK IN ESCARPMENT COUNTRY, MID COTSWOLDS: Jurassic strata and landforms near and far Sunday 21st July 

The steep escarpment of Jurassic rocks in the mid Cotswolds looks north-west across the broad low-lying Severn Vale, to the Welsh Borderland hills and beyond. This mainly rural, highly attractive landscape overlies a geological legacy of repeated tectonic plate collision and extension, uplift and erosion, going back to Precambrian times. On this course you can learn to recognise these landforms, know of their underlying geology and understand how both came into being. Walking c. 4 miles between Doverow Hill near Stonehouse across the valley of the River Frome to Selsley Common, we examine exposures of Early and Middle Jurassic strata in old quarries and pits, and lane cuttings. These rocks, many of which are highly fossiliferous, were laid down in warm tropical seas overlying an active rift complex. In the Ice Age of recent geological times, the River Severn and its tributaries progressively incised their courses, and landslides occurred on the escarpment as it came into being; these landslides continued to take place, notably at the end of the last cold climatic episode c. 10,000 year ago, with some local movement continuing today.    

Attached photograph is of Sandhurst Hill  near Gloucester: this flat-topped hill (88m OD) has a veneer of glacial till and associated outwash deposits, laid down by a glacier during the Anglian Glaciation (480,000 – 420,000 years ago). Sandhurst Hill is a remnant of what was the valley floor of the Severn Vale at that time, since deepened by erosion to its present level.  

No prior knowledge of geology, or the areas to be studied, is assumed. Attendees arrange their own travel, and if they do not live locally, arrange their own meals and accommodation – tutor can advise.

Meeting locations provided to those enrolled.

Volunteer drivers will be needed to facilitate the planned walking on both courses – please indicate if you would be willing to be a volunteer driver when enrolling

Tuition fee £27.00 per person per course.

If you/ anyone else you know would like to attend either or both these courses, please forward cheque payable to me to:

Dr N Chidlaw

8, Silver Street,

Dursley,

Glos.

GL11 4ND

Bank trans can be arranged if you do not use cheques – let me know.

Please provide me with your postal address – I will then be able to send you your course handout(s) in good time before the courses run, should they become viable.

Deadline for minimum number (10) of enrolments for both courses is Saturday 18th May. Maximum number of enrolments is 30. If the minimum of enrolments for either or both courses is reached by this deadline, arrangements will continue; if not, the course / courses will be cancelled and fees received will be returned soon afterwards to those who have sent them in. Once viable, enrolments on the course can continue up to 1 week before they are due to run (Saturday 13th July)   

Any queries, contact tutor nickchidlaw@gmail.com  

Charnwood with Nick Chidlaw

Precambrian Geology at Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire.

Nick Chidlaw has asked me to publicise this course. We are very happy to oblige!

Charnwood Old Cliffe Hill Quarry - buried landscape

Lifelong Learning 4 day course

Precambrian Geology at Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire 

Tutor: Dr Nick Chidlaw

Saturday 22nd – Tuesday 25th June 2019

10.00 am – 5.00 pm each day

In the eastern English Midlands, the generally subdued relief is conspicuously interrupted by the craggy, locally—wooded hills of Charnwood Forest, a few miles north-west of Leicester. Here are found rocks formed from explosive volcanic eruptions about 600 million years ago, together with lavas and igneous intrusions. Within rocks that were once volcanic ashes have been found world-famous fossil sea pens and jellyfish, predating the earliest known shelly fossils.

Attached photograph is of Old Cliffe Hill Quarry, where the South Charnwood Diorites are worked for aggregate. Here, the Diorites are intruded into the Bradgate Formation, both formed in the Ediacaran Period. A late Triassic desert land surface is preserved in profile, overlain by the Mercia Mudstone Group. 

No prior knowledge of geology or the area is assumed. Attendees arrange their own travel, meals and accommodation – tutor can advise.

Meeting location provided to those enrolled. The course is organised through Cardiff University. It carries assessment, which is very difficult to fail! Attendees usually find assessment on these courses useful for consolidating what they have learned.

Tuition fee is £165.00 (concessionary fee available £ 132.00)

Enrolments can be found by ‘phoning 029 2087 0000 or visiting website www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn

For more information on the course, contact tutor nickchidlaw@gmail.com

Two indoor courses from Nick Chidlaw

Two Indoor Courses from Nick Chidlaw

Nick Chidlaw has sent me the following:-

Information on courses

I am currently offering two 1-day courses for next March; these are indoor-based, and describe field areas where I have run courses and trips in the past. These courses may be attractive to people who are not in a position to visit these areas e.g. insufficient time available because of family / work commitments, or health problems.

Details of each course is provided at the bottom of this message.

Each course would comprise powerpoint-based lectures, together with examination of hand specimens of relevant mineral and rock types, and published geological maps of the field areas. The hand specimens have been collected by the tutor in the field areas described.

A handout outlining the day’s programme containing sketch maps and other relevant drawings, stratigraphic tables and a list of optional reading,  would be provided on each course. No prior knowledge of geology or the study areas would be assumed.  

Please note that these courses are run on the same weekend and in the same venue, but are independent of one another – you can enrol on both if you wish to, or one of them, according to your interests / availability.

Venue for both courses

The Buckingham Room (single storey building by the car park) at The Chantry, 52 Castle Street, Thornbury, South Gloucestershire. BS35 1HB. See website for further details www.thechantry.org.uk

I will provide Information on accommodation options to those who live beyond reasonable commuting distance. 

On each course, attendees would bring their own packed lunch and other refreshments, or go into the town for lunch.  

Tuition Fee 

£27.00 per person for each course.

Payment of Tuition Fee

Cheque payable to me sent to 8, Silver Street, Dursley, Glos. GL11 4ND. Bank Trans can be arranged if required (let me know).

Deadline for viability of both courses 

Saturday 16th February (4 weeks before the courses are due to run).

Both courses to have a minimum of 10 attendees / fee equivalent. Maximum of 30 attendees on each course. If viability for either or both courses is reached, those enrolled will be informed on the deadline date and arrangements will be able to continue. Further enrolments can be made up to 1 week before the courses are due to run. If the minimum number of attendees / fee equivalent is not reached for either course by the deadline, that course will be cancelled and fees received will be returned to those who have sent them in.

Any queries, do get in touch with the tutor nickchidlaw@gmail.com

EVIDENCE FOR A TERRANE BOUNDARY: THE HIGHLAND BORDER, SCOTLAND

Saturday 16th March 10.00 am – 5.00 pm

Many tectonic plate collision zones around the world contain ‘terranes’: regions of crust with well-defined boundaries, that differ significantly in their geological development from neighbouring regions. Ancient long-since stabilised collision zones globally are often composed of a set of interlocking (often fault-bounded) terranes, each of which originated in different places and had different tectonic histories, but which were progressively amalgamated into the  arrangement seen today. The crust of the British Isles is composed of a number of such terranes, brought together by plate collisions that culminated in the ‘Caledonian Orogeny’ (mountain-building episode, Early Silurian – Mid Devonian times). On this course, we trace one of these terrane boundaries along the Highland Border of Scotland between the Isle of Bute (near Glasgow) in the west, to Stonehaven (near Aberdeen) on the east coast.We will look at the character of the two terranes involved, the nature of the boundary between them, evidence for when the terranes were separated, and for when they finally became joined.

GEOLOGY OF THE HOLM ISLANDS, BRISTOL CHANNEL

Sunday 17th March 10.00 am – 5.00 pm

This indoor day focuses on the geology of the small relatively inaccessible islands of Steep Holm and Flat Holm, located in the Bristol Channel Between Weston super Mare and Cardiff. The islands, on which rock exposures are widespread, are composed of a variety of chiefly fossil-rich tropical marine shelf and lagoonal limestones of Carboniferous age, deformed by major earth movements during that geological period. Stratal dips of up to 70 degrees occur, and both large-scale and small-scale folds are present, together with thrust and reverse faults. Later, in Middle Jurassic times, crustal extension permitted hot saline mineralizing fluids to rise into fissures on what is now Steep Holm, forming veins of galena and baryte.  The bedrock geology underlying the Bristol Channel around the islands and between Weston and Cardiff will be described, providing a basis for establishing the geological history of the islands; this includes such contrasts as their presence as discrete limestone hills within desert lake flats during Late Triassic times, and their location either side of a deep ravine containing the River Severn 10,000 years ago.

Two new Nick Chidlaw one day courses

TWO ONE-DAY GEOLOGICAL FIELD COURSES IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE , MID NOVEMBER

Nick Chidlaw has sent me an email about two courses he intends to run in November. Both are in Gloucestershire and both look interesting. See his email below.

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Information on courses

Please note that these course are independent of one another - you can decide to attend either or both, according to your interests and availability.

Tuition fee is £27.00 per person per course.

If you / anyone else you know would like to attend either or both of these courses, please forward cheque payable to me to:

Dr N Chidlaw

8 Silver Street

Dursley,

Glos.

GL11 4ND

Bank trans can be arranged if you do not use cheques - let me know.

Please provide me with your postal address - I will then be able to send you your course handout(s) in good time before the courses run, should they become viable.

The deadline for the minimum number (10) of enrolments for both courses is Thursday 1st November (just over 2 weeks before the courses are proposed to run).   Maximum number of enrolments is 30. If the minimum of enrolments is reached by this deadline, the arrangements will continue; if not, the course will be cancelled and fees received will be returned to those who have sent them in, soon afterwards.

Please note that for each course you will need to:

Arrange your own transport (and accommodation such as B&B if you live beyond reasonable commuting distance - tutor can advise)

Bring your own packed lunch(es), and any refreshments (e.g. flask of coffee, fruit juice, mineral water, high energy snacks etc.)

Wear strong footwear with good tread and ankle support, and warm waterproof clothing if weather is poor

Wear hard hats when below rock faces (bring one, or request from the tutor in advance of the course(s) to borrow one)

You would be insured against accident for the duration of both courses.

Please see details of the two courses below. I hope this proposal is of interest to you, and to hear from you soon.

Regards,

NICK CHIDLAW.

ICE AGE & HOT DESERT: (Saturday 17th November)

The Severn Valley immediately north of Gloucester comprises a rural landscape of farmland and scattered villages, punctuated by abrupt, flat-topped hills, and extensive tracts of valley floor over which the tidal river flows south. The geological history of the area is fascinating and contrasting. The oldest strata, c. 200 million years old, are very gently folded into a basin structure and were laid down as hot deserts gave way to shallow tropical seas in Late Triassic / Early Jurassic times. They are exposed in cliffs along the river. The hill tops and valley sides below preserve deposits laid down by a glacier and meltwaters during the Ice Age. At this time, the river progressively cut down its course, at one time reaching below its present level. With the ending of the Ice Age in Britain some 10,000 years ago, and the associated rise in sea level, the river has built up its broad clayey plain, frequently prone to hazardous winter floods. This course comprises a morning walk (c. 4 miles) and an afternoon walk (c. 3 miles), both gently-paced with frequent stops to discuss the geology and landforms.   

Volunteer drivers amongst the field party will be required to facilitate the planned walking - do let me know when enrolling if you can help in this regard. 

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A GEOLOGICAL WALK IN ESCARPMENT COUNTRY, MID COTSWOLDS: Jurassic strata and landforms near and far (Sunday 18th November)



The steep escarpment of Jurassic rocks in the mid Cotswolds looks north-west across the broad low-lying Severn Vale, to the Welsh Borderland hills and beyond. This mainly rural, highly attractive landscape overlies a geological legacy of repeated tectonic plate collision and extension, uplift and erosion going back to Precambrian times. On this course you can learn to recognise these landforms, know of their underlying rocks, and understand how both came into being. Walking about 4 miles between Doverow Hill near Stonehouse across the valley of the river Frome to Selsley Common, we examine exposures of Early and Middle Jurassic strata in old quarries and pits, and lane cuttings. The Early Jurassic rocks here, mostly soft, muddy and sandy sedimentary deposits, were laid down in warm tropical seas overlying an active rift complex before the North Atlantic Ocean basin opened to the west; the overlying Middle Jurassic strata, mostly limestones with highly fossiliferous beds, were deposited when the seas became shallower and clearer and the crustal rifting died down. In later geological times, the Jurassic strata came under north-south tension, causing the rocks to develop parallel sets of faults running east-west, and displacements to occur. During the Ice Age, the River Severn and its tributaries progressively incised their courses, and landslides occurred on the escarpment as it came into being; these landslides continued to take place, notably at the end of the last cold climatic episode.



Volunteer drivers amongst the field party will be required to facilitate the planned walking - do let me know when enrolling if you can help in this regard.  

The Bristol Avon and its Hot Springs

The Bristol Avon and its Hot Springs: a river's course peculiar

Nick Chidlaw has asked me to publicise this new course. It looks very interesting.

July – field course studying the landforms and underlying geology of the river Avon valley between Trowbridge and Clifton, Bristol

 

2 day course:

 

The Bristol Avon and its Hot Springs: a river’s course peculiar

 

A weekend late July: 21st and 22nd

 

10.00 am – 5.00 pm each day. 

 

Tuition fee is  £45.00 per person

 

Deadline for course viability: 23rd June

 

Enrolments can be made and further details requested by contacting tutor Nick Chidlaw nickchidlaw@gmail.com 

A field weekend examining the course of the river between Trowbridge, Wiltshire and the gorge at Clifton, Bristol. In this tract, the Avon repeatedly enters upland via a gorge, instead of crossing adjacent lower ground. Along its course at Bath and Hotwells, Bristol, occur hot springs. The course focuses on these curious / unusual features, and considers possible causes. One published proposal in fairly recent years, that the course and its hot springs may have been a product of active fault movement during the Ice Age, has since been refuted by the absence of geophysical evidence. 

For the course, a handout outlining the two-day programme, including location sketch maps, optional reading list, and outline geological history, will be forwarded in advance of the course to those enrolled.

Nick Chidlaw course rescheduled

Determining Geological Structure and History from Published Geological Maps

The planned running of this course had to be cancelled because of the bad weather at the start of this month. It will now be run in mid April. I presume it will still be at The Chantry, Thornbury.

Nick writes:-

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April – Indoor course on interpretation of published geological maps

2 day course:

Determining Geological Structure and History from Published Geological Maps

A weekend mid April: 15th and 16th

10.00 am – 5.00 pm each day. 

Those studying geology, either formally or informally, sooner or later will likely come across published geological maps and these, although often visually impressive with their variety of colours and complexity of drawn lines, can be daunting to interpret. The course is suitable for those with a basic overall knowledge of geology, as well as those with more experience. Attendance on the course should provide those present with confidence in successfully interpreting parts of many geological maps in the future, and so broaden their understanding of this key form of geological data communication. 

This course, arranged to run on the weekend of 3rd and 4th March, was postponed due to poor weather and travel conditions. Anyone who may have wished to attend the course on those dates but could not be available, may now be so for the rescheduled dates. 

Tuition fee is  £45.00 per person

Enrolments can be made and further details requested by contacting tutor Nick Chidlaw nickchidlaw@gmail.com 

Deadline for new enrolments: Saturday 7th April 

South Wales coal geology

Field Geology of the Late Carboniferous Coal Measures Strata in South Wales

Nick Chidlaw has sent me details of a course he is running in late June / early July. It looks rather interesting.

Lifelong Learning 4 day course:

Field Geology & Opencast Mining of Coal in South Wales

Two weekends in late June / earliest July: 23rd / 24th and 30th / 1st July

10.00 am – 5.00 pm each day. 

This course visits impressive locations, both natural and man-made. We study natural exposures and former quarries in river gorges, large-scale working opencasts, a working sandstone quarry, and a disused opencast site. The course enables examination of much of the full stratigraphic extent of the Coal Measures in the main south Wales coalfield, and an appreciation of their deformation (including thrust faulting) during the Variscan Orogeny.

The attached picture shows Margam Opencast (east of Swansea) during the 2000’s. It gives an idea of the scale of these opencast operations and the opportunities they provide to study and collect from strata little-exposed elsewhere.    

Please note you will need to make your own travel and accommodation arrangements (tutor will advise), with meeting times and places to be confirmed.

The course is organised through Cardiff University. It carries assessment, which is very difficult to fail! Attendees usually find assessment on these courses useful for consolidating what they have learned.

Tuition fee is  £165.00 (concessionary fee is available £132.00)

Enrolments can be made by phoning 029  2087  0000 or see website www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn 

For more information on the course content, contact the tutor Nick Chidlaw nickchidlaw@gmail.com 

Update for Nick Chidlaw's Course

Update for Nick Chidlaw's "Geological Maps Interpretation Course"

Nick has revised the announcement of his forthcoming course.You can see it HERE.

Understanding Geological Maps

A New Course from Nick Chidlaw

Nick writes:-

Those studying geology, either formally or informally, sooner or later are likely to come across published geological maps and these, although often visually impressive with their variety of colours and complexity of drawn lines, can be daunting to interpret. This proposed course focuses on a number of key geological structural settings, familiarising attendees with these, and so enabling them to recognise similar settings on geological maps they may come across in the future; the course equally shows attendees how to elucidate from the maps the succession of processes that affected the rocks in these structural settings, thereby outlining their geological history.


The course would be suitable for those with a basic overall geological knowledge; those with greater knowledge would also be welcome to attend. Attendance on the course should provide those present with confidence in successfully interpreting parts of many geological maps in the future, and so broaden their understanding of this key form of geological data communication.



Venue for the course
The Chantry, Thornbury, in South Gloucestershire. This is an excellent venue I have used for a number of indoor courses before.

Proposed dates
Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th March 2018

Tuition fee per person
£45.00 per person

Payment of tuition fee
Cheque payable to me sent to: 8, Silver Street, Dursley, Glos. GL11 4ND. Bank Trans can also be arranged – let me know if you wish to do this.

Number of course attendees for viability
Minimum of 10 enrolments or fee equivalent. Maximum of 20.  

Fees Deadline for viability
Minimum of 10 enrolments to be received by:

                                                    Thursday 1st February 

Should the minimum of enrolments not be reached, the course will be cancelled and fees received will be returned shortly afterwards to those who have sent them in. If the minimum of fees is received, those who have enrolled will be notified that the course is to run; enrolments will be able to continue up to 2 weeks before the course runs, i.e. up to Saturday 17th February.  

Accommodation
If the course becomes viable, I will advise attendees who are travelling beyond commuting distance of sources of information for them to book accommodation suitable for their own preferences and budget. 

Many thanks for your attention to this proposal. 
If you have any queries, do let me know.


Hope to hear from you soon.

Two courses

2 Courses on Offer

Nick Chidlaw is offering two courses to run in mid November. He gives full details below.

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I am proposing to run the above in mid November, if there is sufficient interest and availability to make the courses viable. I have run both of them / versions of them several times in the past, and I have been gratified that attendees have indicated they enjoyed the proceedings and learned a lot. 

These courses are located in south-west and north-west Gloucestershire. Some people who live a substantial distance from this area may be interested in both, and the courses are therefore being offered on the same weekend to allow attending to be more workable; both courses are independent of each other, so either or both courses can be enrolled on, depending on people’s particular interests and availability. As the courses are being offered at this particular time of year, it will be necessary to run them an hour earlier than most other field courses I run, to avoid darkness early in the evenings. These November courses would have meeting times of 8.30 – 8.45 am, registration and introduction 8.45 – 9.00 am, and course running times of 9.00 am – 4.00 pm. 

Each course has a fee of £27.00 per person.

If you /anybody else you know would like to attend one or both of these courses, please forward a cheque payable to me to:

Dr N. Chidlaw,

8, Silver Street,

Dursley,

Glos.

GL11 4ND.

Please provide me with your postal address – I will then be able to send you your course handout in good time before the course/courses run.

The deadline for the minimum number (10) of enrolments for each course is Wednesday 1st November (just over 2 weeks before the courses are proposed to run). Maximum number of attendees for each course 30. If the minimum number of enrolments is reached by this deadline, the arrangements will continue; if not, the courses will be cancelled, and fees received will be returned to those who sent them in, soon after. If the courses reach viability by 1st November, enrolments can continue up to 1 week (Friday 10th November) before the courses are due to run. 

Please see details of the two field courses below. I hope this proposal is of interest to you and to hear from you soon.

Regards,

NICK CHIDLAW.

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STUDY THE NEW RED DESERT

Part of the cliff of the River Leadon near the village of Redmarley D’Abitot, exposing fluviatile deposits of the Bromsgrove Sandstone (Early/Middle Triassic)

Date: Saturday 18th November 9.00 am – 4.00 pm

This field course is located in north-west Gloucestershire; it visits a number of exposures in Permian and Triassic continental strata deposited under an arid tropical climate, part of the ‘New Red Sandstone Supergroup’. The course takes attendees up through the succession from oldest to youngest, examining key changes in the sedimentary environment over time. These deposits include upland screes and dune sandstones, river sandstones and gravels, and lake deposits; you’ll see evidence for sporadic marine incursions into the desert, which became increasingly common over time. No prior geological knowledge or of the study area would be assumed.

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THE EBB AND FLOOD OF AN ANCIENT SEA

A view down part of the exposures at Tintern Quarry on the Wye gorge; the strata seen in this image are mostly ‘peritidal’ deposits containing stromatolites, mudflake breccias, oncolites and palaeokarst

Date: Sunday 19th November 9.00 – 4.00 pm

This course is located in south-west Gloucestershire on the gorge of the River Wye c. 3 miles N of Chepstow; extensive exposures would be examined in a large disused quarry and along track cuttings in adjacent woodland throughout the day. This is known as ‘Tintern Quarry’, and is located by Tidenham Chase. The village of Tintern is c. 2 miles to the NW. 

An examination of the earth’s geological record indicates the distribution of land and sea has been far from constant. Movements of the crust have caused land areas to rise above and fall below the sea, and global sea levels have varied with the waxing and waning of polar ice sheets, and uplift of ocean spreading ridges when particularly active. On this course, you will be shown how to interpret an episode of marine retreat and replacement by rivers, then a subsequent re-advance by the sea, in the Early Carboniferous strata exposed. No prior knowledge of geology or the study area would be assumed.

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For each course, a handout outlining the day’s programme, including location sketch maps, optional reading list, geological history, written or graphic logs detailing the rocks to be studied, will be forwarded in advance of the course to those enrolled.

Please note that for each course you will need to:

·         Arrange your own transport (and accommodation such as B&B if you live beyond commuting distance – tutor can advise)

·         Bring your own packed lunch, and any refreshments (e.g. flask of coffee, fruit juice, mineral water etc.).

·         Wear strong footwear with good tread and ankle support, and have waterproof clothing with you in case weather is poor.

·         Wear a hard hat when below overhead rock faces (we will often be examining natural cliffs / quarry faces). If you do not possess a hard hat, let me know in advance and I will provide you with one for the day.

You would be insured against accident for the duration of each course.