Geological Sites | Leeds
| Bradford | Calderdale
| Kirklees | Wakefield
 STATUS: RIGS
OTHER DESIGNATIONS: Upton Cutting is part of the Upton Colliery Local
Nature Reserve
COUNTY: West Yorkshire
DISTRICT: Wakefield
OS GRID REFERENCE: Wrangbrook Cutting SE 495 135 to SE 497 138
Upton Cutting SE 480 132 to SE 485 133
OS 1:50,000 Landranger 111 Sheffield and Doncaster
OS 1:25,000 EXPLORER 278 Sheffield and Barnsley
BGS 1:50,000 SHEET 77 Huddersfield
FIRST DESIGNATED by West Yorkshire RIGS Group in 1996
DATE OF MOST RECENT SURVEY West Yorkshire Geology Trust November 2007
SITE DESCRIPTION
Wrangbrook Cutting: extensive deposits of the Cadeby Formation (Lower
Magnesian Limestone) of Permian age are exposed along a 400m section
of abandoned railway cutting. The strata are horizontal with parallel
beds of sediments up to a metre in thickness.
Upton Cutting: the rocks are horizontal Cadeby Formation magnesian limestones,
although there is a gentle dip to the south in some sections of the cutting.
There is a fault between the Permian limestones and the Upper Carboniferous
shale to the west, which is not visible at the west end of the cutting.
However, the change in gradient of the landscape on either side and thus
on the depth of the cutting gives a good idea of roughly where the fault
runs.
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS:
The line is the Hull and Barnsley Railway which was opened on 20th July
1885. It served the Upton Colliery site until the mine closed in 1964.
The stone extracted from the railway cuttings may have been used locally
for aggregate.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE:
Wrangbrook Cutting would need extensive conservation work before students
could visit the site in safety.
Upton Cutting is much more accessible and could be managed for educational
use at all levels. The Upton Colliery site is being designated as a Local
Nature Reserve and there are opportunities for geological interpretation
boards on the site. Upton Primary School is close by and the area is
much used for walking by local people.
AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS:
Both cuttings are much overgrown now, though Wrangbrook Cutting is much
less accessible and has had rubbish dumped in it, so is not attractive.
Upton Cutting, on the other hand, is used frequently by walkers and
is much less overgrown, so is an attractive part of the local countryside.
ACCESS AND SAFETY:
Wrangbrook Cutting: despite being overgrown the site is accessible, with
care, as far as the tunnel entrance. The site requires clearing to
improve access into the cutting and along the rock exposures. Cars
can be parked adjacent to the site off Wrangbrook Lane. There is a
steep, narrow path into the west end of the cutting. Some rubbish has
been tipped, including a burned out car halfway along the track.
Upton Cutting is accessible from the footpath at the western end and
is a through footpath on the south side of the Local Nature Reserve.
There is parking next to Upton Library and primary school. There are
no slopes or steps from the car park next to the library, so the site
could become accessible by wheelchairs, although the path is not smooth.
The cutting is far less overgrown than Wrangbrook Cutting. There are
many faces of exposed rock about 5m high, most of which are accessible
from the base. The faces are stable and hard hats would not be needed.
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