Scarcroft Hill Railway Cutting

Geological Sites | Leeds | Bradford | Calderdale | Kirklees | Wakefield

STATUS: Local Geological Site
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
DESIGNATION SHEET UPDATED August 2009

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.