Recent Events Summer/autumn 2008

Castle Hill Heritage Day

Sunday 14th September: On Heritage Day WYGT had a display stand in the Tower on Castle Hill, Huddersfield (right). This was visited by over 100 people, many expressing an interest in the local rocks, & a number purchased the Castle Hill Trail Leaflet. Over half were young people for whom the fossils, volcanic lava & polished stones proved a real attraction.

Busy Time for the Trust in August

WE HAVE RUN four events in West Yorkshire during August, attracting a total of about 100 people. Guided walks to Hell Hole Quarry in Heptonstall, and to Folly Dolly Falls at Meltham near Huddersfield, were very well-attended, perhaps because of the extravagant names that both sites enjoy.

Hell Hole Quarry (left) is a huge sandstone quarry, which would have provided plenty of high quality building stone for the houses and mills in Hebden Bridge and we also had a good look around Heptonstall at how sandstone is used for building.

Folly Dolly Falls is a waterfall which used to attract large numbers of visitors to Meltham in the Victorian period. Now, water management practices have caused the diversion of the stream so it is easier to see the interesting geology without curtains of water falling from above.

A building stones walk around the centre of Huddersfield one evening was very enjoyable and we toured the area around the railway station, with its wonderful Victorian buildings and pavements made of local sandstones. The more recent shop fronts show off many polished igneous rocks, such as granites and gabbros. We enjoyed the wonderful Elterwater slates which now grace the Wetherspoon’s pub on John William Street. There is a free guide to the Building Stones of Huddersfield available from local Tourist Information Offices.

Anglers Countryside Centre, in Waterton Country Park, near Wakefield, was the venue for a day of children’s activities, including dinosaur drawing and modelling and looking at rocks, fossils and minerals.