Quarry features on new Clitheroe geotrail

Opening of the new viewing platform with Lanehead quarry manager Sam Wrathall, (right) and, from the left: James Russell of Ribble Valley Borough Council; Jonathan Haine of Lancashire County Council and Jennifer Rhodes.

And to help promote the trail Hanson Cement has provided funding for a leaflet – the Clitheroe Geotrail Guide – as well as creating a viewing point and footpath to allow easy access from the Ribble Way.

The guide was launched at a meeting of the Ribblesdale works liaison committee. Two interpretive boards – one about cement making and the other highlighting the local geology – will be erected at the viewing point.

The new trail is part of a series produced by GeoLancashire and the Lancashire group of the Geologists’ Association aimed at people with no specialist knowledge to help interpret the local geology and landscape.

The series also includes Preston, Brockholes, Ribchester, Dinckley Gorge and Clitheroe, with a Long Preston trail to follow soon.

Each trail is accompanied by a leaflet or a downloadable pdf from the website www. geolancashire.org.uk

The text for the Clitheroe guide was written by LGGA members Jennifer Rhodes and Peter del Strother, a former general manager at Ribblesdale works. There is also a document available about the lime kilns and its relevance to Clitheroe and the cement works.

The LGGA is currently developing a teaching pack for use in schools, museums and by Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

Hanson Cement principal geologist John Peate said: “Lanehead quarry is one of the best locations to view a continuous sequence of over 500m of carboniferous age, Chatburn limestone.

“The sequence comprises hundreds of individual beds of limestone separated by thin calcareous mudstone partings. Many of the beds contain fossils.”