Geo-natter
2024-08-21 13:30 - 15:00, 2024-09-04 13:30 - 15:00, 2024-09-18 13:30 - 15:00, 2024-10-02 13:30 - 15:00, 2024-10-16 13:30 - 15:00, 2024-10-30 13:30 - 15:00, 2024-11-27 13:30 - 15:00, 2024-12-11 13:30 - 15:00 (Europe/London) and 6 more dates | Kelvin Hall, 1445 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AW, United Kingdom
These informal meetings are the perfect opportunity to meet like-minded rock enthusiasts and chat about all things geological and palaeontological!
A chance to look at rocks and fossils, get your own specimens identified, ask questions about geology and find out what’s happening locally. Tea and coffee provided.

Longniddry to Aberlady shore
2024-08-24 10:00 - 16:00
This is a joint field trip organised by the Edinburgh Geological Society and is an excellent opportunity to catch up with friends and new faces from the east of Scotland.
Leader
Mark Wilkinson, University of Edinburgh
Summary
The shoreline from Longniddry Bents to Aberlady Point exposes the top of the Aberlady Formation and the overlying Lower Limestone Formation, into which is intruded the Gosford Bay Sill. This excursion is intended primarily to illustrate the cyclic pattern of the sedimentation of Carboniferous (Dinantian) rocks exposed between Craigielaw Point and Aberlady Point.
BGS Ref: https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Gosford_Bay-Aberlady_Point,_Edinburgh_-_an_excursion
As part of an age old tradition between EGS and GSG, after the walk you will be invited to join the group for high tea somewhere local (details to follow).
Guidance
We recommend wearing sturdy walking boots with good grip and foot and ankle support. Wear appropriate clothing to account for Scottish weather changes, i.e. bring waterproofs! A packed lunch will be required. If you bring a dog it must be kept on a lead at all times.
Difficulty
Level 3: Moderate. Suitable for people with a moderate level of fitness; c 12 km walk. There are some good paths, but some of the walk is on trackless, bouldery or rocky coastline.
Travel
Private car to the Longniddry Bents car park #3, NT 422776 (note there are three car parks). Please email excursions@gsocg.org if you would like to car share or need a lift.
Facilities
There are public toilets in Longniddry Bents #3 car park.
This is a free event but you will need to book a place for each person attending as places are limited.

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Scottish Geology Festival
2024-09-01 19:00 - 2024-10-06 19:00 | Online and various venues
Scotland’s iconic landscapes and rugged coastlines are the product of more than 3000 million years of evolution. The rocks beneath our feet have sculpted our country’s culture, heritage and industry, creating this special place we call home.
The Scottish Geology Festival is an opportunity to uncover the stories hidden within Scotland’s rocks through guided walks, online talks, beach pebble events, geological exhibitions and more. We hope to see you at an event soon!
Further details, including a full list of events, can be found on the Scottish Geology Trust website.

Dunure beach pebble event
2024-09-07 10:00 - 14:00
Leader
Dr Neil Clark
Summary
A chance to bring the family along if you wish or to come by yourself to enjoy a fun day out examining beach pebbles and agates and learn more about the geology of this Ayrshire coastal location. Dr Clark and other rock doctors will give out information on local rocks, and then there will be a chance to have a hunt for your own interesting finds on the beach where the rock doctors will be on hand to help identify and give more information on any rocks you find.
Travel
Own transport. Parking on-site at Kennedy Park £2.50 per vehicle; toilets, picnic benches and children’s play areas available here.
Please contact excursions@gsocg.org for car-share arrangements.
Facilities
Harbour with cafe, gift shop, pub and toilets 5-10 minutes walk from event.
Difficulty
Level 2: Easy. All levels of fitness and suitable for family groups including children and the elderly.
Price
This is a free event but, to allow us to plan ahead, can you please book a place for each person?

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Greenland mapping project
2024-09-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
Greenland Research Group, University of St Andrews
Undergraduate geology students from the University of St Andrews undertook six weeks of mapping in Qassiarsuk, studying various structures and igneous phenomena for their dissertations. They didn’t just experience fascinating geology but had a proper adventure, from close calls with polar bears, glacial walks and backcountry mountain huts. They thank all their sponsors and particularly the Geological Society of Glasgow for helping them partake in such a magnificent opportunity and are looking forward to sharing their findings with the GSG community.

Rock Docs at the Hunterian Museum
2024-09-28 12:00 - 16:00 | Hunterian Museum, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Come along and join the fun!

Get your rocks/fossils identified by an expert.
Make your own ammonite.
Take part in a dinosaur quiz.
Make a fossil rubbing.
See the famous Bearsden Shark.
Come early and take home a real fossil!

This event is part of the Scottish Geology Festival.

Climate and carbon – control or catastrophe?
2024-10-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
Professor Stuart Haszeldine, University of Edinburgh
Scotland and the UK were cradles of the industrial revolution – built on low cost coal energy creating vast wealth and empire. But since the 1850s and 1930s, and certainly from the 1970s, it has been clear that huge emissions of CO2 from burning fossil fuels are driving global heating, creating ocean acidification, causing sea level rise and accelerating dangerous climate change. Combating that requires: greatly decreased use of fossil carbon, capturing all CO2 released by use of fossil carbon, and replacing all possible CO2 into permanent geological storage. Features of UK offshore geological storage sites will be explained, and can mimic hydrocarbon accumulations. But achieving this at industrial scales of tens of millions tonnes CO2 per year in Scotland and Europe will require commercialisation equivalent to the present North Sea oil industry. Many successful pilot tests have been made, and recent legal victories in UK courts may now presage compulsory storage enacted on coal, oil and gas company producers. The weakest link remains the timidity of global governments to disturb the profitable status-quo, for harder to explain benefits in the 30, 100 and 10,000 year future.
Complete success is possible, but unlikely.
References
Haszeldine, R.S., 2009. Carbon capture and storage: how green can black be? Science, 325 (5948), 1647-1652 (open access). DOI: 10.1126/science.1172246
Hudson, M., 2024. Carbon Capture and Storage in the United Kingdom. Routledge.
Tucker, O., 2018. Carbon Capture & Storage. DOI: 10.1088/978-0-7503-1581-4 (e-book).
Stuart studied geology at the University of Edinburgh, then did a PhD on coal geology at the University of Strathclyde with Roger Anderton. Instead of working on post-doctoral study, he was employed by the British National Oil Corporation in Glasgow for 3 years. Then he returned to teaching and research at Strathclyde, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The first half of his career was helping to produce fossil carbon out of the North Sea. The second half was developing the research to show that CO2 derived from burning fossil carbon could be safely stored deep below the seabed, leading many of the first surveys and investigations of feasibility to create a new industry in Scotland.
The third half of his career has been to investigate large geological storage of hydrogen, removal of CO2 from air with biochar and basalt, and trying to convince UK and Scottish governments to fund the projects of carbon capture and storage they like to support.

"The abyss gazes also into you": exploring the deepest oceans
2024-11-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
Associate Professor Heather Stewart, Minderoo-University of Western Australia Deep-Sea Research Centre
The deepest parts of the ocean are one of the final remaining frontiers of discovery on our planet. Much of the deep ocean is unmapped and draws in explorers, scientists, cartographers and environmentalists, keen to discover its secrets. Underwater seascapes, comparable in size and complexity to our known continents, unknown ecosystems and processes that defy study from the surface means there are many gaps in our knowledge that science is hoping to fill. Due to the challenges of research at even moderate depths, almost every expedition venturing below 3000 m throws up a surprise. Heather has been lucky enough to participate in a number of expeditions to explore the deepest seafloors and will share some of what these diverse expedition teams have learned.
Heather is deputy director of the Minderoo-University of Western Australia Deep-Sea Research Centre and director of Kelpie Geoscience. She has over 20 years of experience in multidisciplinary marine research and exploration, with a focus on characterising the geology and physical character of the seabed and sub-seabed, and has participated in more than 35 marine expeditions globally. Heather is lead geologist for the Inkfish Open Ocean Program, which brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers to make our view of the deep ocean sharper than ever before.

The taphonomy of a pantodont-rich assemblage from the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA
2024-12-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
Dr Paige dePolo, Liverpool John Moores University
66 million years ago, an asteroid hit the earth and kicked off the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction. In the wake of this extinction, many weird and enigmatic mammals began radiating into empty niches. One group, the plant eating, herbivorous pantodonts, quickly grew to be the largest mammals yet known in Earth history. In this talk, we’ll look at a collection of fossils from Torreon Wash in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and think about their taphonomy (what happened to the animals after death). I will then develop an argument for gregariousness within Pantolambda bathmodon (a small pantodont), that illustrates that grouping behaviour is wide-spread within this clade (a grouping that includes a common ancestor and all the descendants of that ancestor).

An artist’s illustration of Pantolambda bathmodon
Paige is a vertebrate palaeontologist and a lecturer in vertebrate biology at Liverpool John Moores University. After completing undergraduate degrees in geology and geological engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, Paige moved to the UK and studied for an MScR in palaeontology and geobiology at the University of Edinburgh. She recently completed her PhD at the same institution. Paige is broadly interested in vertebrates, with work spanning from dinosaur footprints to Triassic marine reptiles to Paleocene mammals and, when she’s not puzzling over fossils, she can be found reading fantasy and sci-fi books or wandering around botanical gardens.
This lecture will be preceded by the society’s AGM.

Rocking the digital world: promoting geology through social media and why it's important
2025-01-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
Luisa Hendry, @scottishgeologist
This talk will explore the power of social media as a tool for promoting geology and engaging diverse audiences in earth science. It will highlight innovative strategies for making geology accessible, relatable, and exciting through platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok and will empasise the importance of doing so. The presentation will demonstrate how social media, by creating engaging, educational and captivating content and building a passionate online community, can inspire a new generation to connect with the natural world and understand its geological foundations.
Luisa, known online as @scottishgeologist, is a Scottish geologist and social media influencer dedicated to making geology accessible and engaging to the public. After graduating from the University of Glasgow in 2015 with a BSc in Earth Science, she has worked as a senior engineering geologist.
In April 2022, Luisa began creating educational and entertaining videos about geology on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, under hashtags such as #tiktoksaboutrocks and #reelsaboutrocks. Her content, which includes informative and immersive explanations of various rock formations across Scotland, has reached millions of viewers and significantly increased her social media following to over 460K followers.
Recognizing a gap in public appreciation for Scotland’s geological landscapes, Luisa founded “Scot Rock Walks – Geology Tours Ltd” in January 2024. This initiative offers geology tours ranging from brief excursions to multi-day trips, aiming to educate participants about Earth’s processes and Scotland’s geological history.
Through her innovative use of social media and in-person tours, Luisa Hendry continues to inspire a broader interest in geology, making the subject accessible and engaging to a diverse audience. With Scotland offering some of the most incredible landscapes where the rocks reveal a complicated geological history, Luisa presents this in an easy and understandable way which has led to opportunities such as: appearing in newspaper articles (the Scotsman, Daily Mail and Press and Journal, BBC); appearing on the radio (BBC Radio Scotland, Heart FM, Hope FM and Sunny Govan Radio); presenting talks on the geology of Scotland for scientific groups, institutions and societies; sponsored trips to GSA Connects and Germany to speak about geology; appearing in documentaries speaking about geology. Luisa shows passion and enthusiasm within her role. Her commitment to inspiring, leading and coaching the next generation of geologists as well as the general public has had a significant impact within the industry and within geology.

Species loss, community collapse and ecosystem recovery during times of mass extinction
2025-02-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
Dr Alex Dunhill, University of Leeds
The Geological Society of Glasgow is proud to host The Palaeontological Association’s Exceptional Lecturer for 2024/25, Dr Alex Dunhill, at a free public lecture. All are welcome
Our planet has suffered repeated mass extinctions that have shaped the evolutionary history of biodiversity through time. Although current state-of-the-art research has given us a thorough understanding of the causes and consequences of mass extinction events, existing research ignores the role of ecosystem structure in providing resilience to environmental change. Ecological theory states that primary extinctions, which are a function of stress type or organism sensitivity, can lead to cascading secondary extinctions where species perish because they are unable to meet energetic requirements from available prey. Extinction selectivity studies always assume extinctions are primary despite ecological theory hinting that many victims of mass extinctions are unlikely to have become extinct as a direct effect of abiotic stress, but probably did so in response to cascading secondary effects. Furthermore, whilst almost all major environmental change events of the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic resulted in catastrophic losses of biodiversity, more recent events in the Cenozoic only lead to modest or no rise at all in extinction rates despite profound environmental changes. A number of Earth system mechanisms have been proposed for the lack of Cenozoic mass extinctions, relating to carbon cycle buffering via supercontinent fragmentation and calcareous nannoplankton evolution. However, it has also been hypothesized that modern community structure was established in the aftermath of the Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K/Pg) mass extinction and thus the lack of Cenozoic mass extinctions is a function of increased resilience of marine ecosystems. In this lecture, I will detail the cutting-edge advancements in ecological modelling that I am applying to the fossil record. This is to investigate how marine ecosystem structure changed through the Phanerozoic and whether modern marine ecosystems are more resilient to major disturbance in comparison to ancient communities in an attempt to shed light on the resilience of marine communities to future climatic stress.
Alex is the Associate Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Leeds and leads the DeepBio@Leeds Research Group. The group’s research focuses on large scale macroevolutionary and macroecological processes through deep time and the accuracy of biodiversity data obtained from the fossil record. Alex is a graduate of the University of Sheffield and has a PhD from the University of Bristol. Prior to his faculty appointment, he was a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Leeds and was previously a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellow in the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath.

The Geology of Colonsay
2025-03-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Lecture Room 407, Boyd Orr Building, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8QW, United Kingdom
The planned talk by Simon Cuthbert on Glenelg and Eclogites has been postponed due to illness and will be rescheduled
Instead David Webster will talk about the geology of Colonsay.
The oldest rocks on Colonsay belong to the Rhinns Complex – named after the Rhinns of Islay where they mainly occur. On Colonsay there is a small fault-bounded outcrop consisting of moderate-grade metamorphic gneiss that was originally an igneous rock formed some 1,800 million years ago in the Precambrian. The majority of the rocks outcropping on Colonsay are sandstones, siltstones and mudstones of the eponymous Colonsay Group that were deposited on top of the Rhinns Complex. However, they are much younger, having been deposited about 800 million years ago probably in a foreland basin setting before the break-up of the Rodinia supercontinent and are likely correlated with the Grampian Group of the Dalradian. The earliest rocks are deep-water turbidite deposits, whereas the later rocks were deposited in shallow marine, deltaic and fluviatile settings. They were then folded and underwent low-grade metamorphism about 470 million years ago in the first phase of the Caledonian Orogeny.
There are a number of faults that cross the island in a NE-SW direction; many of these are splays or offshoots of the Great Glen Fault that runs offshore to the north-west of Colonsay. Movement along them at the end of the Caledonian Orogeny, about 430 million years ago, generated new folds which modified some of the pre-existing structures. During their active phase these faults acted as conduits for magmas that fed volcanoes at the surface and include a spectacular explosion breccia which was used by Dorothy Reynolds (Arthur Holmes’ wife) in support of the then popular ‘granitisation’ hypothesis. A slightly younger and very unusual igneous intrusion can be found at Kilchattan where Holmes carried out some of the first attempts at radiometric dating.
David Webster graduated with a geology degree and worked in the oil industry and then in local government in Scotland before retiring and building a house on Islay, from where he undertook an MSc at Stockholm University on the rocks of western Islay and Colonsay. He has authored guide books to the geology of Islay, Jura and Colonsay and is an active member of the group researching the glacial rocks of the Port Askaig Formation on Islay and the Garvellachs.

Student Grant Awards Lectures
2025-04-03 19:00 - 21:00
Two zoom presentations from students who recently received grants from the Society:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83164648993?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 831 6464 8993
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Kiara Brooksby, Camborne School of Mines, Exeter University.
“Paragenetic evolution of tin-dominated lode systems in the Pool Mining District, Cornwall”
SW England hosts a world-class, W-Sn-Cu-As-Zn-Pb-Li ore field associated with the Early Permian granites of the Cornubian Batholith. In the Pool Mining District, which includes South Crofty Mine, magmatic-hydrothermal mineralisation is largely associated with steeply dipping ENE-WSW striking extensional fault systems (lodes). Recent drilling by Cornish Metals has included boreholes that intercept the principal South Crofty lodes and the Great Flat Lode. This study provides a paragenetic sequence and characterisation of mineralising fluids through detailed core logging, optical microscopy, QEMSCAN (quantitative evaluation of minerals by scanning electron microscopy) imagery, hot cathodoluminescence (an optical and electromagnetic phenomenon in which electrons impacting on a luminescent material such as a phosphor, cause the emission of photons which may have wavelengths in the visible spectrum), microthermometry and LA-ICP-MS (Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) analysis of fluid inclusions. It is the first such study of the South Crofty lode systems for 30 years. These new data, combined with historic descriptions, contribute to a revised model of tin mineralisation within the district.

Kiara obtained her Geology/Earth Science BSc at the University of Glasgow in 2019 before moving onto the University of Exeter, where as a Richard Osman scholar, she obtained an MSc in Mining Geology. In 2021 she began her current PhD research at the Camborne School of Mines, Exeter University.

Ella Davis, Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech.
“Tectonic transport directions and timing of metamorphism in the southern part of the Northern Highlands Terrane, Scotland”
Determining the tectonic histories of ancient mountain belts presents an interesting challenge as we cannot measure the motion and characteristics of collision during mountain building and instead must decipher affected rocks to deduce tectonic evolution. Analyses of the deformed and metamorphosed units in the Northern Highlands Terrane in NW Scotland has played an integral role in understanding the large-scale tectonic evolution of the Scottish Caledonides. However, most of these studies on the deformation, metamorphism, and timing of mountain building events have been focused on the northern half of the terrane. We have extended these kinematic (movement) and isotopic studies to the south to better understand the tectonic transport directions and timing of metamorphism.
We have collected samples from four E-W transects crossing the Sgurr Beag thrust near Loch Monar, Glen Sheil, Kinloch Hourn, and Lochailort as well as from the “Flat Belt”, the structurally simpler eastern extent of southern NHT. Mineral fabrics in samples collected from the western transects show a top-down to the SE shear sense while those collected from the east show a top-up to the NE shear. Shear senses from these western fabrics contradict the shear directions that are well recorded in the north where there is a top to the NW shear sense. It remains to be determined what deformational event caused these different fabrics.
Analyses of U-Pb isotopic ages collected from titanite, monazite, and xenotime show multiple recorded periods of metamorphism in the southern NHT. Radiometric dating on samples from the northern NHT show that the region experienced multiple tectonic events, including the Knoydartian (870-720 Ma) and Caledonian orogenies, the latter divided into Grampian (~475- 460 Ma) and Scandian (~435-420 Ma) events. Our preliminary data shows a Caledonian period of metamorphism ranging from ~450-415 Ma and earlier Knoydartian-related metamorphic events ranging from 750-690 Ma.

Ella is a second year Master’s Student at the Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech where her undergraduate research focussed on quartz microstructures from samples collected in north-western Scotland under the direction of Dr Richard Law. This led to further research to determine tectonic transport directions and deformation environments using small-scale shear structures and quartz fabrics.

Kelvin Valley from Dawsholm to Kelvinbridge
2025-04-09 13:00 - 16:00
Leaders: Iain Allison and Katie Strang
*children welcome and free with an adult*
This guided walk will use the Strathclyde geoconservation group’s leaflet but in the reverse direction. This half-day trip will take an entirely off-road route along the Kelvin River Walkway taking in the geology along the way. Many exposures can be seen across the river and others we can get close to. The rocks are mainly in the Limestone Coal Formation but getting up into the Upper Limestone Formation at Dawsholm – all middle Carboniferous. With a bit of scrambling through vegetation, some plant fossils may also be seen at Dawsholm. We will see fluvial sandstones, some channels and some finer grained beds.
Meet at 1.00 pm at Dawsholm Bridge for a walk SE to Kelvinbridge where the river goes under Great Western Road. Start point is easily accessible by public transportation: by train from Queen Street/Central Station to Maryhill Station then a 10min walk to Dawsholm Bridge; or by bus First buses 60, 60A and 61 (slightly longer walk), Bluebird X10/X10A and West Coast bus 17.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/eJsmHLcP9gpm5Ppd9

Around 5km walk lasting about 3hours, and return to Dawsholm park, if required, is either to walk the return leg or to use public transport to return to Maryhill Station; buses 60, 60A, 61 or 17.
Difficulty Level 2: Easy – All levels of fitness and family groups including children and the elderly
*A moderately long 5km walk but mainly sticking to level paths
Location: Dawsholm Bridge, what3words ///train.muddy.stays

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Portencross
2025-05-02 10:00 - 16:00
Leaders: Austen Brown and David Webster
The rocks exposed around Portencross are mainly sandstones (known across the UK as the ‘Old Red Sandstone’ (ORS) dating back to the Devonian Period (420 to 360 million years ago). The ‘Lower Old Red Sandstone’ was deposited in desert environments in the aftermath of the Caledonian Orogeny when Scotland (on part of the North American continent called Laurentia) collided with England and Wales (on part of the European continent called Avalonia), closing the intervening Iapetus Ocean. The collision was marked by major strike-slip faulting and considerable local volcanism. Later in the Devonian there was a further period of mountain building (the Acadian Orogeny) when Iberia collided into Avalonia further south. This resulted in more uplift and renewed sandstone deposition (the ‘Upper Old Red Sandstone’). On the walk we will examine, compare and contrast the Lower and Upper Old Red Sandstones and also look at some of the igneous rocks.
The trip will be in three sections: a walk from the meeting point at Yonderfield Farm to the east end of Ardneil Bay and back, move vehicles to Portencross, then out-and-back walks to the south and north of Portencross from the main car park at Portencross.
The Strathclyde Geoconservation Group (a Subcommittee of the Society) have produced a draft explanatory leaflet for the central part of the area around the castle and one of the objectives of the trip is to review this leaflet before it’s published. We will also discuss how the locality can be portrayed on the new ‘Geosites’ database being developed by the Scottish Geology Trust.
Transport:
Own transport. Car sharing from Glasgow recommended where possible.
Meeting Place:
At Yonderfield Farm. https://maps.app.goo.gl/bSQ95kSv46fNdsKh6
Late arrivals should go to Portencross carpark and await arrival of the group. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tf7cTnjtPQLrtUqeA
Time:
10:00am – 4pm
Itinerary:
Walk down to east end of Ardneil Bay the to examine the Upper ORS, an igneous dyke, and other interesting features. Return to vehicles.
Move vehicles to Portencross carpark and walk out and back over Farland Point to the NW end of Ardneil Bay
Examine lowest Upper ORS, a large dyke and the ‘inlier’ at Sandy’s Creek. Discussion of the Largs – Portencross Fault.
Return to carpark and have lunch (bring packed lunch).
Walk along shoreline to Portencross Castle (possible visit inside). Various fault lines and the Lower ORS succession.
Follow coastal path to the pier. Various sandstone bodies and a dolerite dyke.
Continue to follow coastal path north as far as gates to Hunterston to examine faults, igneous intrusions and the Upper ORS conglomerates.
Optional walk up Goldenberry hill for spectacular views, Hunterston Power Station, Wirral subsea Interlink and some more local geology (reasonable fitness and agility required)
Difficulty:
Level 1: Multiaccess – “All users including people with reduced mobility.”
Level 2: Easy – All levels of fitness and family groups including children and the elderly
Level 3: Moderate – “People with a moderate level of fitness.” An amount of walking over beach boulders etc
Level 4: Strenuous – “People accustomed to walking rough trails and with a high level of fitness.”
Mostly Level 2, but 3 if the optional hill walk is included. The section from Portencross carpark past the castle is Level 1. Generally the coastal walking here is straightforward and is suitable for those with limited mobility and a return to vehicles can be made at any point.
Distances:
Section 1: Out and back to Ardneil bay from Yonderfield – 2 km
Section 2: Out and back to Farland Point from Portencross car park – 1 km
Section 3: out and back from Portencross car park to Hunterston gate – 3.5 km
Total Walk 6.5 km. (excluding optional hill walk)
Toilets:
While there are no toilets at the location, there are public toilets in West Kilbride (Glen Road), which is a 5-minute drive from Portencross. Suggest using them before arrival and there will be an opportunity at lunch time to drive to the toilets if required. https://maps.app.goo.gl/fjceYuPTQ6NNTRbE9

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Holmwood House
2025-05-22 11:00 - 13:00
Leaders: Kevin Farrell and Neil Clark
A Geological Look at Holmwood House

Holmwood House is a Victorian villa designed by Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, with a kitchen garden and courtyard tearoom. We will have a short tour of the house and a look at how the design of the house links with geology, including the use of earth pigments. We will have a display of minerals used to make pigments and a discussion about how these have been used in the past. Around lunch time we will have some sandwiches and tea and participants can then spend more time exploring the house and gardens if they wish.
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm (You can stay to explore the house and Linn Park for as long as you wish after lunch.)
£15 per person includes entry to the house as well as tea/coffee and sandwiches.
Meet at 11:00 am at Holmwood House car park.
Please note that the planned fossil walk has had to be cancelled due to dangerous access.
Level 2: Easy – All levels of fitness and family groups including children and the elderly

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Necropolis tour
2025-06-11 13:00 - 16:00
Leader: Margaret Greene
Necropolis Hill is one of the highest points of Glasgow. It stands proud simply because it is the outcrop of an intrusion of more resistant igneous rock into the surrounding weaker sandstone. The igneous rock is a type of basaltic lava, known as dolerite. This can be seen in the quarry at the southern side of the Necropolis. The present landscape has been extensively remodelled during the ice ages over the last 2 million years. Broad ice sheets have repeatedly moved out from the mountains to the Firth of Clyde, moving across the Glasgow area scouring the landscape and depositing sand and gravel from west to east. This gives Necropolis Hill its characteristic crag and tail shape of a steep side due to the harder rock on the side facing the Cathedral, then tapering out to the east.
This afternoon trip will explore the geology of some of the remarkable monuments in this cemetery. The architecture, sculpture, views and stories continue to amaze.
The group will meet in Wishart Street under the Bridge of Sighs at 1.00pm to start the visit to the Necropolis (there is a bit of the underlying rock there). The visit will take approx. 2hours. People might want to bring binoculars as there is a good view of the surrounding scenery from John Knox’s column.
Parking in Wishart Street is £1 for 15minutes, but there is a car park in Duke Street and also further down Duke Street there is roadside parking free. There is a station on High street for folk who can take the train.
Toilets are available in the Museum of Religion. People might want to look round that and/or the Cathedral .

Difficulty Level 2: Easy – All levels of fitness and family groups including children and the elderly
*Risk factors – uneven ground and some stairs.
Location: Necropolis, Wishart Street, Glasgow, G4 0UZ,///tested.verge.cove

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