Over Long Leave a small, but perfectly formed, group of Geologists headed off to the wonderful Isle of Arran on the West coast of Scotland to fulfil the AS Level course requirements and have a fun few days immersed in some thrilling Geology. The weather gods were kind and we were able to cram an amazing amount into our short stay on the Island.
On arrival we settled into our comfy digs at the Lochranza Field Study Centre before heading off to the nearby beach exposure to get our eye in – the fact that it was pitch dark and eight o’clock in the evening did not seem to deter anyone – head torches out!
The following day we had an excellent bimble round the shore, looking at the structural geology, before paying homage to Hutton’s Unconformity – one of the world’s top geo-tourist sights. A brief drive over the hills to the east coast allowed us to examine the Carboniferous sequence and work on environmental interpretation, before returning in time to look at the contact with the central granite and the remains of an ancient sea bed.
Our last full day on the island was mostly taken up with the igneous feature on the west and south of the island, where loads of data was collected for future analysis.
Due to the winter timetable for the ferries, we had to set off early the following morning, but this gave us some time to explore the geology of the Ayrshire coast and collect some more data for analysis.
As ever, everyone was incredibly enthusiastic and managed to cope with long days in slightly damp conditions and a somewhat over-excited trip leader, with great humour – squeezing every last rock out of the time available. Thanks also to Mr Scarisbrick for joining us as an additional staff member – he now can count himself an honorary rock-botherer.
