Cromarty Residential Trip 22nd – 25th May 2026

Bob Davidson will be joined by Danny Long to lead a 2 day geology/palaeontology themed residential excursion in the Cromarty area.

Bob is a retired oil and gas wells engineer who came to geology through industry, training initially as a geophysical logging engineer measuring sedimentary rock properties around the world. For the past 36 years Bob has been involved in palaeontological research of the classic Devonian fishbeds of Scotland initially under the mentorship of the late Prof. Nigel Trewin. He has collaborated on 19 published works on fossil fish and is a research fellow at Aberdeen University. Bob was awarded an MBE for services to palaeontology in the 2018 new year’s honours list.

Danny is a retired geologist who worked on clastic and carbonate rocks around the world in the oil and gas industry from the early 1980’s. Since retiring, Danny is enjoying getting back to seeing rocks and fossils in the field across Scotland and providing assistance to Bob and other workers taking a new look at the Old Red Sandstone rocks of the Cromarty outcrops.

The excursion is framed around Bob and his colleagues’ recent research around Hugh Miller’s work and that of his son. In addition to the geo/palaeo part it also includes some historical interest including an artesian well and its story and a visit to St Regulus churchyard (known locally as the Pirates graveyard) where we will see an example of Millers’ stonemasonry marking his daughter’s grave. We can also visit the impressive statue of Hugh above the village. There will be a 50/50 split of history/palaeontology and we will be learning about the renewed stratigraphy of the fishbeds and the Moine intrusion.

Bob, Danny, et al have been busy producing new literature on the area, their latest research also allows us to expand the trip to include the Nigg foreshore (hopefully by ferry or we will travel in own cars), a little appreciated locality but with very clear outcrops of the Moine overlain unconformably by a complete sequence of ORS strata containing at least 2 fishbeds. We will visit both foreshores and there will be something for everyone, some of it hot off the press! We will also incorporate a visit to the NTS Hugh Miller birthplace museum in Cromarty.

We will be staying 3 nights at the Old Brewery in Cromarty https://www.cromartyartstrust.org.uk/old-brewery

and costs are as follows:-

£150.00 for 3 nights, per person, Bed only.

Meals can be provided for us in the cafe at the Old brewery as follows;

£15.00 for Cooked or £10 for Continental Breakfast (sat/sun/mon)

£10.00 packed lunch

£25.00 two-course dinner (sat/sun)

*please let Lindsay know by email if you will be taking up the meals, it would be nice to eat together and chat about the days plans in the morning and to chat about the days events in the evenings if possible.

*PLUS £50.00 per person to cover the leaders costs, this will be the DEPOSIT amount due to be paid by 9th March 2026 to confirm your space. After deposit has been paid, no refunds will be given unless we can manage to fill your space.