Weekend Excursion to Llangollen, 5th –7th June 2009

Leaders: Drs Hilary Davies & Jacqui Malpas, Professor Cynthia Burek

With the sun shining in Leicester, we set off looking forward to a great weekend of Lower Palaeozic and Carboniferous geology, and a chance to socialise with the other 15 members of the Section attending the excursion. But the sunny morning had turned to rain on our arrival in Llangollen and grey skies and heavy rain were the order of the weekend. Those members able to arrive early on the Friday afternoon partook of a steam train ride up the Dee valley on the Llangollen Steam Railway. Our leader Dr Hilary Davies intended that we collect leaflets* from our base at the Royal Hotel to permit us to ‘do’ geology from the train, but unfortunately we didn’t see these until after we arrived back in Llangollen.

(Left) Minas Morgul? No, Castell Dinas Bran in ‘inclement’ weather (photo © Joanne Norris)

Not too dispirited by the weather, two thirds of the party ventured up Castell Dinas Bran hill on Saturday morning for our first outing, with Hilary leading at a brisk pace. We stopped on the way to look at the Silurian Vivod Beds (thickly bedded greywackes) in the River Dee which form the centre of a syncline. We also viewed a large glacial erratic block of local (i.e. Welsh) origin, and halted to take in the views over the valley and get a feel for how the landscape responds to the changes in geology. At the top of the hill, the search for graptolites in the overpicked quarry exposing Dinas Bran siltstones was considerably circumscribed by the driving rain, so we made our way back down the hill and into Llangollen for lunch and a change of clothes. The third of the group that stayed at the hotel made a wise choice.

A bedraggled Geology Section at Brymbo © Andrew Swift

Saturday afternoon saw us driving to outcrops of Carboniferous limestone at Trevor Rocks, where large corals were prominent. The party then traversed Eglwyseg Mountain and the moor to visit a fossil forest at Brymbo (Wrexham) on the site of massive iron and steel works, closed in the early 1990’s. The preservation of the tree-like lycopods, Calamites (similar to modern-day horsetails) and Stigmaria (Lepidodendron roots) was magnificent, with fine details of the anatomy clearly seen. Unfortunately, due to a lack of financial support, much of the site was open to the elements, with only large sheets placed over the prized specimens to provide some sort of protection. The specimens that had been collected were made available for us to view in the North East Wales RIGS workshop. Those interested in industrial archaeology also found much to interest them at the locality. Our grateful thanks were given to Dr Jacqui Malpas for allowing the Section to visit this site and for supervising us.

The annual Section dinner was held on Saturday evening at the Old Corn Mill pub in Llangollen. It had a lovely setting by the Dee, with a nice ambience in which to enjoy a fine meal. The Chairman proposed the customary toast to the Section.

On Sunday we headed off to the England-Wales border at Farndon, where Professor Cynthia Burek took us on a georamble to examine Triassic cliff exposures along the River Dee, including the Chester Pebble Bed. That was on the English side, then we crossed the bridge into Wales to see structures associated with the Holt-Coddington fault at Holt Castle quarry. Cynthia arranged for us to have lunch at the Sandstone, a pub with a suitably geological name. Unfortunately at this juncture one individual lost touch with the party. Sorry Mike. After lunch, a few hardy souls ventured into Chester to visit the museum and then follow a geological trail viewing some of Chester’s building stones. However, most decided to call it a day and head for home after the meal in the Sandstone, especially those with car problems (no names, etc). The feeling amongst the party at the end of the excursion was, as ever, very positive about the weekend despite the most inclement weather.

* NEWRIGS. Steaming through the past, A geological rail trail of the Dee Valley, Llangollen.

Joanne Norris