News

A few places are available on this 3 day field trip which will look at the Palaeozoic rocks with particular emphasis on the mineralization.   The party will gather at Melrose Guest House, Douglas, on the evening of 11th July for briefing and disperse on the morning of Friday 15th July.

Bed and breakfast accommodation has been booked at the Melrose Guest House in Douglas and transport on the Island will be by minibus.   Accommodation is available in twin or one triple bedroom.   There are no single rooms.

Cost £170 per person to cover B&B accommodation for 4 nights and minibus transport for the three days in the field, handouts and leader’s expenses.    Lunch and evening meals are not included.

If you would like to go on this trip please contact our event organizer using the online form available here.

Please report by between 9.45 and 10.00 at the originally arranged point i.e. outside the Tourist Information Office (temporarily closed) at the main Glenridding  car park. You will then be re-directed to a nearby location where you can park for the whole time ( a single all day charge of £3 per vehicle is due in the box by the gate of this location).

We will then walk from this location back to Glenridding pier to start the trip. We will return to the cars for a lunch stop and then walk to the other side of the valley via Side Farm for the afternoon session. This will involve a short ascent up to a rough path which will give us fine views over the surrounding area and access to outcrops of the local volcanic rocks.

Facilities [toilets, hot drinks, shop] are available at Glenridding.  Leader John Rodgers 01768 895743  mob. number removed but be aware there is poor network single around this area.

The World’s Largest Caves, by Richard Walters

The speaker started with some spectacular images of the UK’s longest cave system, across the borders of Cumbria, Yorkshire and Lancashire – hence the Three Counties cave.

He explained his interest in locating, and measuring by laser, the largest cave caverns in the world. The overall largest is the Miao Room in China, where it took seven days underground to record its size.

He explained the technology which enables 3D images of the inside walls of the chambers to be produced. These images can then be rotated and linked to surface topography. After much computer manipulation, animations can show the entrance into the caves, views of the enormous stalagmite formations, and an idea of the extent of the cave, which cavers themselves cannot see at the time. Using simple diagrams, the formation of large caverns was explained.

Water meeting from different channels underground becomes aggressive again, and can dissolve more limestone. Stress on the arch structure of the cavern roof was explained as keeping these enormous cavern roofs standing, while unstressed rocks collapses into loose blocks. The fate of all large cavern chambers is to collapse, especially when chambers have an open roof. Yorkshire’s Hull Pot is believed to be a collapsed cavern.

3D images of the underground workings of Nenthead mines were shown, and finally the 3D laser plotted the inside of the meeting room, together with all CGS members. It was a truly memorable illustrated talk, taking us underground without having to make any effort.

A write-up of the event on 10th February 2016 by Sylvia Woodhead.