A field weekend for September 2006: The Malverns:
Friday 15th – Sunday 17th September 2006
The geology of the Abberley and Malvern Hills, with Moira Jenkins.
The field trip will look at some of the varied geology of the Abberley and Malvern Hills Geopark. On Saturday we will visit the Malvern Hills and the geological SSSI at the Gullet where there was a shoreline in Silurian times. In Gullet Pass there is Cambrian conglomerate and on the hills above are Precambrian Malverns Complex and Warren House Formation volcanic rocks, including deformed pillow lava, ignimbrites and rhyolites. Spread over Castlemorton Common below are the Pleistocene Malvern Gravels, tjaele gravels containing angular fragments of a variety of local rocks which were spread over the Triassic Eldersfield Mudstone Formation when there were permafrost conditions in the area.
On Sunday we will go to the Abberley Hills, further north on the line of the Malvern Axis, a line of structural weakness through a lot of geological time. I hope we will be able to visit Shavers End Quarry which exposes overturned strata in the Silurian Aymestry Limestone Formation and faulting. A variety of fossils can be collected here. A walk onto Abberley Hill takes us to exposures of Permian Haffield Breccia. There are deposits of calcareous tufa at Southstone Rock overlooking the beautiful Teme Valley.
For anyone who can stay on into Monday can visit some sites in Herefordshire.
There will be a pub lunch on each of the days or you can take your own sandwiches. On the Saturday evening we’ll have a dinner in the Abbey Hotel, which can be booked for non-residents.
Book accommodation at the Abbey Hotel (4 star), mentioning Denis Bates’ party. £100 per night dinner, bed and breakfast in a double room; £80 for a single room.
Abbey Hotel, Abbey Road, Great Malvern Worcestershire, WR14 3ET Tel.01684 892332. They will accept small dogs (up to Labrador!).
Other hotels close to the Abbey include
Mount Pleasant Hotel (2 star), Belle Vue Terrace, Great Malvern Worcs WR 14 4PZ
The Foley Arms (3 star) 14 Worcester Road, Malvern WR14 4QS 01684 573397. Will take dogs by arrangement.
The Cotford Hotel (2 star), 51 Graham Road Malvern WR14 2HU, 01684 572952 Will take dogs by arrangement.
Great Malvern Hotel (2 star), Graham Road, Malvern WR14 2HN 01684
560514.
Pembridge Hotel, 114 Graham Road, Malvern Worcs WR14 2HX 01684 566885.
Please let Denis know if you are coming; where you’re staying, and booking of dinner for the Saturday evening.