Geological Sites | Leeds
| Bradford | Calderdale
| Kirklees | Wakefield
 STATUS: RIGS
OTHER DESIGNATIONS:
COUNTY: West Yorkshire
DISTRICT: Leeds
OS GRID REF. SE 375 414
OS 1:50,000 Landranger 104 Leeds and Bradford
OS 1:25,000 EXPLORER 289 Leeds
BGS 1:50,000 Sheet 70 Leeds
FIRST DESIGNATED West Yorkshire RIGS Group in 1997
DATE OF MOST RECENT SURVEY December 2007 by West Yorkshire Geology Trust
SITE DESCRIPTION:
Good exposures on both sides of a deep abandoned railway cutting reveal
a good section through gently dipping shales, siltstones and sandstone
of the Upper Carboniferous Namurian (Millstone Grit Series) Huddersfield
White Rock.
Fossils of plant debris, bivalves and goniatites can be found in the
shales. The sandstones show trace fossils of worm borings and grazing
trails as well as fine scale cross lamination and ripple marks. Bark
impressions occur in the overlying sandstones.
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS:
The cutting lies on the old Leeds - Wetherby line which was opened in
1876 as a single
track route, doubled in 1906 and then became the first casualty of the
Beeching Plan in
1966.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE:
The cutting is suitable for all ages; primary, secondary, further and
higher education.
The site is good for demonstrating bedding, measuring dip, sedimentological
logging (it is a coarsening upward sequence), interpreting changing sedimentary
environments, weathering and geological engineering.
AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS:
There is an impressive bridge carrying a minor road across the cutting.
ACCESS AND SAFETY:
Access is from Thorner Lane or from Hetchell Woods via the old railway
line, though there are some muddy footpaths and the site is not wheelchair
accessible. Roadside parking is available at both places. The dip brings
most beds to the bottom of the cutting which means the steep and weathered
sections do not need to be climbed. The site could accommodate large
groups.
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