Shibden Hall and Beacon Hill, Halifax
geological walk, Saturday 17th October
We had a bright autumn day for a Calderdale Countryside Services walk to look at the rocks and landscapes around Shibden Dale and Beacon Hill. A small group heard about the local rocks which were formed 315 million years ago in the Carboniferous deltas deposited on a continent which lay close to the equator. The views from the Barrowclough Lane above Shibden Dale show how the West Yorkshire landscape has been shaped by alternating sandstone and mudstone layers. Because coal was also formed at this time, we looked at evidence for old mines in the valley, observing the ventilation furnace, now a scheduled monument, built in the 1830s above Cunnery Wood to ventilate the mine tunnels below. Godley Cutting, along the A58 close to Shibden Hall, is undergoing engineering works at the moment because sandstone blocks threaten to fall into the road. Mouchel, the engineering company involved, have devised a system which protects the road with steel netting. However, the rock exposures are a Local Geological Site, one of 70 in West Yorkshire, so a section of the cutting has been cleaned up and left clear of netting so that beds of mudstone, sandstone and a coal seam, as well as several coal mine adits, are visible. The company geologist was present to tell us about the complex issues involved in the work and we enjoyed an interesting discussion.
Looking at the Elland Flags on Beacon Hill
