North-east Ireland

This trip will explore the British and Irish Palaeogene Igneous Province surrounding Carlingford Lough at Slieve Gullion, Carlingford and Mourne, including a range of volcanic features, from a caldera-forming ring complex to spectacular cone-sheets. We will see a variety of igneous rock types, including basalt, rhyolite, gabbro and granite and explore the textures that form during magma mixing. We will also look at some of the regional geology, including the local Silurian metasedimentary rocks, formed on the floor of the Iapetus Ocean and deformed during the Caledonian Orogeny, when northern and southern Ireland became joined together. We will see the effect the hot magmas had on these rocks, baking and melting them around the intrusions. More details and some pictures can be seen here.

There are still places available on this trip; if you would like to join it, or wish to have further details, please email the residential excursion secretary.

The price will be announced when the numbers are known and the accommodation arranged.

We will travel by private car and ferry, in order to keep costs to a minimum. Accommodation will be B&B in the Carlingford area (3 nights).