QUB Geology Department
Easter Field Trip 1970 Mains and Honours
North-West Highlands, South Coast and Isle of Wight
Contents:
Badcall
The geology of this area, which lies between the Kylescue Ferry, now a bridge,
and Scourie village is of Scourian granulites (2600MY), modified by Laxfordian
(1750MY) and Inverian (unknown to me MY) events. The area is low lying, but
with a very high degree of rock exposure. Badcall Bay peppered by rugged
rock islets is particularly stunning. To the south, Quinag and Suilven stick
out from the basement, as do Ben Arkle and Foinavon to the North.
Cows, Badcall Bay (61k)
Farhead Point (61k)
Farhead Point is a good spot to examine the Lewisian structures. I was nearly
swept away by a large wave when I got too close to the sea here! Fortunately
I saw it coming in time to adopt a four point stance and was merely drenched
from head to toe.
Golf, Badcall (69k)
Jake Booth attempting a drive using a my home made hammer which had a Mournes
stonemason's hammer-head grafted onto a sledgehammer shaft. John Gamble is
acting as caddy and ball spotter.
Kylestrome Pier (82k)
Waiting for the ferry at Kylestrome pier. This ferry at Kylescue, between
Badcall and Lochinver, was one of the old swing-deck ferries. It only ran
during daylight hours and the alternate route by road was 120 miles! We were
always glad to see the ferry coming across for us.
In the picture are from left: Den Brownlee, Tom Mason, Rob Alexander, Ian
Johnston and Harry Oliphant
Quinag (70k)
A view of Quinag from Kylestrome. The mountain is Torridonian sandstone.
Ian Johnston is standing on Lewisian gneiss in the foreground.
Glencoul Thrust (41k)
Looking East towards Loch Glencoul from the Kylescu Ferry. The line of the
Glencoul Thrust can be clearly seen in the middle of the promontory. Lewisian
Gneiss at shore level is overlain by Cambrian quartzite and limestone. Both
are overthrust by Moine Schists. The thrust line runs upwards left to right
in this picture.
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Loch Ailsh
This valley runs from the road from Ledmore to Lairg, north to Ben More Assynt.
It is thirty two years since I was there and I can't find the field guide,
but from memory the interest is in the Cambrian rocks and intrusions
which have produced some splendid hybridization. The valley has some wonderful
views.
When we were there the RAF were doing simulated attacks down the valley
and one plane flew down the valley below us while we were eating the
lunch you can see in the picture.
On the third day we were looking at an interesting outcrop in the stream
at the bottom of the valley when a Buccaneer flew over at thirty metres, doing
600mph. About fifteen of us, including me ended up in the water, having jumped
in from the shock!
Loch Ailsh (69k)
Carol Finlay and Hilary Boyd admiring the view looking south
over Loch Ailsh
Toby Rivers, Loch Ailsh
Lunch above Loch Ailsh (42k)
From left: Mickey Thompson, Sue Devonald (Wood), John Gamble, Ray Ayres,
Jake Booth, Ken Jones, Harry Oliphant, Den Brownlee, Pete Osbourne, Clive
Norris, Carol Finley, Hilary Boyd (Carlisle), Falu Olaloya, Toby Rivers, Bernie
Anderson, Jack Preston, Ernie Tamemegi and A.N. Other. (Married names in
brackets where I know them. Apologies to A.N. Other and for any omissions
or errors.)
Ben More, Assynt (52k)
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South Coast
After a week in the far north of Scotland, one of the most rugged and barren
areas of the British Isles, we headed south to Lulworth Cove. We stopped off
in Glasgow Airport to exchange Jack and Ken for Bogie and Billy McKaig. After
an overnight stop
Fossil Hunting, Alum Bay (84k)
Robbie Holmes and John Gamble, confirmed "hard rock" men both, in the rarely
seen guise of fossil hunters. The foreground rocks are cretaceous chalks,
which further left (south) run out offshore to form The Needles. Behind are
near vertical tertiary sands in multiple shades of green, yellow, red and
ochre. The structure is the extension of The Lulworth Crumple, a monocline
running west to east through the area.
Portland Bill (69k)
When you've spent 14 days in a minibus and travelled over 1200 miles, you
tend to lose the plot a little. When we found this big rock above a pool at
Portland Bill, we just had to see how big a splash it would make! From left:
Toby Rivers, Rab Alexander, Tom Mason, Pete Osbourne and Den Brownlee.
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Background
This was an unusual trip for the department. Prior to the 1970 honours year,
and the 1967 intake year QUB only offered a four year honours degree. In
the Geology Dept., third and fourth year classes were always less than
ten in size and the department combined the two years into a single class,
with an "A" and "B" course comprising the two year honours course. One year
would study "A" followed by "B" and the next would do "B" followed by "A".
A similar approach was applied to the field trips, so that in year "A" people
would study stratigraphy and fossils in Yorkshire and wales. In year "B"
people would look at real rocks :-) (igneous, structural and metamorphics).
| Pre 1968 |
1967 onward |
| intermediate |
level 0 |
| subsidiary |
level 1 |
| mains |
level 2 |
| honours |
level 3 |
The 1967 intake year was the first year when the semester system was introduced.
Actually it was introduced in 1968. Suitably qualified school leavers could
start in level 1, receiving an honours degree after three years.
On this trip there were two students who would eventually receive first
class honours. John Gamble received what I think was the first first the geology
department ever awarded in 1970. Hilary Boyd (Carlisle) received a first
in 1971. She was also the first student to graduate after entering at level
1.
Our year, the 1971 graduate year was also the first big year. The department
suddenly found themselves with twenty three third year students and five fourth
year students. In our fourth year, the third year was about 15 people in
size. Some of our year were doing joint arts degrees which meant that the
field trip had to be balanced between hard and soft rocks - they wouldn't
be back for the fourth year.
The honours year had already been to Yorkshire, so that was out The
upshot was that we went to the Northwest Highlands of Scotland for
a week (300miles from Glasgow airport to Lochinver) and then went to the
South Coast of England (750 miles from Lochinver to Lulworth Cove) and then
back to Glasgow (400 miles) to return the minibuses before we got home. We
also stayed in the Lochinver Castle hotel, the most expensive and worst quality
of service hotel it has ever been my displeasure to inhabit.
Jack Preston, Ken Jones and Bernie Anderson had never been to The Northwest
Highlands so that explains why we had three lecturers on the trip. Bogie,
of course ran a tour de force exposition of the mud and glour on the South
Coast Life is strange, ultimately, the only time I was ever paid to be a
geologist, it was the rocks we saw on that South Coast trip that I was studying,
in the form of drill cuttings in The North Sea.
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CLass Lists
Honours 1970
| Jake Booth |
| Den Brownlee |
| John Gamble |
| Harry Oliphant |
| Mickey Thompson |
Mains 1970
| Rab Alexander |
| Ray Ayers |
| Hilary Boyd |
| Joe Breen |
| Pat Cree |
| Sue Devonald |
| Carol Finlay |
| Norton Hiller |
| Robbie Holmes |
| Ian Johnston |
| John B McQuoid |
| Tom Mason |
| Clive Norris |
| Falu Olaloya |
| Pete Osbourne |
| Toby Rivers |
|
|
|
|
|
| Ernie Tamamegi |
| A.N. Other |
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Technical Details:
Photographed on Kodak High Speed Ektachrome (ASA160 reversal 35mm) with Zeiss
Icon Colora camera
Scanned by Primefilm 1800 film scanner at 1800 dpi, proprietary scanner software,
Windows 2000 professional SP1
Scan images approx. 2500x1800 pixels.
Image processing by GIMP 1.125, RedHat Linux 7.0
Documents composed using Mozilla 0.9.7, RedHat Linux 7.0.
Author: Pat Cree, January 2002
Please send all comments, complaints, corrections, or flames to pat.cree@nihe.gov.uk
, not to the webmaster or probubs.com.
If anyone wishes the full size images, or prints, please contact me. I
can e-mail the full size images as jpegs which are 250k to 350k in size. I
will advise cost for any prints. Please indicate the size required.
I can also supply high resolution images capable of being printed at A4
resolution with photo quality, but the file size is around 12 Mbytes. Send
your own blank CDR if you want these.
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Cows, Badcall Bay (61k)
Farhead Point (61k)
Golf, Badcall (69k)
Kylestrome Pier (82k)
Quinag (70k)
Glencoul Thrust (41k)
Loch Ailsh (69k)
Toby Rivers, Loch Ailsh
Lunch above Loch Ailsh (42k)
Ben More, Assynt (52k)
Fossil Hunting, Alum Bay (84k)
Portland Bill (69k)