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THE GEOLOGY, BOTANY & MARINE BIOLOGY OF ARDNAMURCHAN

All of this course is on the flat coastal areas and should be easily attainable for anyone who does not have significant mobility problems. There is so much to see and do, the pace will be very sedate as we constantly stop to observe

7 DAYS

May & June 2007

Course Director; Martin Summers

Day one

The introductory walks starting from the study centre will set the multi – disciplinary theme for the course. We will look at how everything interrelates. The shore is of Jurassic heavily fossiliferous strata intruded by volcanics of many kinds. The boulder shore reveals pristine marine biology. Several different orchid species are present as well as notables such as globe flower. All of this course is on the flat coastal areas

Day two

A captivating and remote shore walk taking in the varied habitats beneath the towering ancient volcano of Ben Hiant, 528m. We look at river gorges, ancient oak woodlands, boulder / scree slopes and the ever changing inter - tidal zone below a raised beach. The woodland is wonderful – ravens reside on a high cliff face above scree slopes and trees shaped by the sea. Wood vetch flowers in profusion on the scree - shore and wet flushes occur with orchids. The Lapland Marsh Orchid grows in Ardnamurchan – only identified as a distinct species late last century. Eagles and otters are likely to be seen in this little visited area that has shown itself to present a “ Volcanic Riddle” As well as volcanics, Triassic “flashflood” desert rocks are seen here – some superb sun – cracks are visible when uncovered by the sea. Jurassic limestones and ancient Moinian rocks occur showing crossbedding.

Day three

We visit the Triassic / Moinian unconformity at Ockle below the impressive Sill which forms the point. The ever changing contacts between the Jurassic limestones and igneous rocks are well exposed here along the shore. Fossils are evident plus large crystals and columnar jointing. There are abundant Early Purple Orchids and the striking cliffs have spreads of yellow Roseroot towering overhead. Folding in Moinian rocks is crossed by volcanics on the eastern shore at Ockle. Good marine biology and excellent botany. Fascadale beach is easily visited with nearby parking and has excellent volcanic agglomerates, often greenish. Kilmory also has excellent volcanics, including “rafted” Jurassic limestones

Day four

– Rubh‘ a‘ Mhile, Mingary Castle – 2 miles, rocky shore, flat. An easy ramble to see the Triassic / Moinian unconformity on this low lying peninsula. This location is excellent for discovering the many different age relationships between the volcanics / sediments – and has surprises ! Sun cracks. Varied flora, including unusual rose / horsetail, plus some good pools to view marine life. Otters often here. “Night Shift”event. Bats, moths – and nightjars, which are commonly heard here. Their whirring sound is unique. The area behind the centre has superb woodland habitat in a deep ravine for locating the moth trap – weather permitting this will be set regularly during the week.

Day five

Camas – nan - Geall / Ben Hiant A shoreline walk to explore beneath the volcano, seeing lava flows and pyroclastics ( ash, bombs, agglomerates ) - evidence of this once explosive peak. Standing amongst the huge agglomerate blocks it is easy to imagine what the eruptions would have been like. It is possible to find agates in the flows. Superb folding in the sediments of a previously shallow sea are a shoreline attraction.

Day six

Group choice day –

Accommodation and catering

This will be in local self catering cottages, two caravans or B & B according to preference. Typical Costs including accommodation and tuition and evening meal will be approximately £395 for two sharing a caravan or up to £485 - £550 B & B depending upon choice of accommodation. Pick up from the London - Fort William sleeper can be arranged at a small extra charge.

For further details contact Trevor@trevorpotts.com

Or

Martin Summers : martinsummers@berealston0.fsnet.co.uk - 01822- 841176

Martin lives in Devon and has successfully run a number of course like this one @ Slapton FSC. He works as a freelance environmental studies teacher for a number of schools and agencies in Devon and Cornwall. He has been a very keen biologist since he was a child even the his degree is in geology.

A teacher of 20 years experience he specialises in making courses practical, easy to follow and often humorous.

Update 13 July 2006

The Study Centre Classroom is now open. On the 13 July the first of 5 Thursday morning sessions was held for children aged 8yrs and older. The children learnt a little about the seashore adjacent to the croft. They also looked at the diversity of local flowers and had a look at tadpoles and small frogs in a freswater pool.

Update 1 June 2005

Work on the Study Centre Classroom is at a temporary halt now the campsite is in full swing over the May bank holiday week, although the roof is nearly finished. Work will re-commence as time permits but a realistic opening for the classroom is more likely to be sometime in August.

March. Work to turn the old stone cottage into a classroom for the Study Centre is well advanced. The gable end has been replaced, the internal walls have been re-pointed and skimmed, the new windows are fitted and the roof has been stripped ready to re-cover. The weather is now holding progress up, with gales and driving rain

Enquiries are already coming in from visiting geologists who will find the classroom extremely useful when they are in the area for six weeks at a time conducting their mapping exercises.

Spring 2004

June 2004 This year there is a fantastic display of fragrant orchids and butterfly orchids on the hillside below the wood. The three trial bracken sites are progressing; Site one sprayed last year was burnt off in April, this has retarded and weakened the new bracken growth that had started to come through. The downside is that the potash from the burning may make the grass grow strong which will block out the light for the violets and orchids; site two was cut last year and just left, this has strong violet, bluebell and foxglove growth. The grass is not particularly strong as it has been shaded by the dense bracken and will take some time to recover. The new bracken growth has been hand cut twice; site three was cut last year and raked down to bare earth and the debris used as a beetle bank. This now has some srong violets and not much else. The new bracken has been hand cut twice.

BEEKEEPING The bees have a had a good April/May but June as usual has been wet and windy. There are now four strong hives and one small necleus hive. It looks as though there will be little flower honey again because of this weather but hopefully there will be a good crop of heather honey as last year. The honey produced is totally organic and free from any pesticides

This exciting new development is based in Kilchoan, 50 miles west of Fort William at the west end of the Ardnamurchan Peninsular and will be open to the public and pre-booked groups.

This location based resource will be a welcome addition to the west end of the Ardnamurchan Peninsular, where there is no dedicated facility for studying the natural history of the area.

Wildlife and Geology

Peters recent research in February 2003 has identified some fine examples of Pitchstone Dykes on the croft and on the hillside above the croft. Work is ongoing into their mineral content and the relationship between these dykes and the layered cone sheets.

February 2003 Still no news on the identity of the fossilised sharks teeth although the investigation is ongoing.

Trevor and Peter attended a Scottish National Heritage (SNH) public meeting in Fort William (100+mile round trip)on the evening of Wednesday 12 February 2003. The evening was designed to give an overview of SNH work followed by discussions in small groups with board members and SNH staff. There was no structure to this and the meeting was drawn to a close with no roundup of what had been discussed. This method may have been helpful to SNH but with no clear outcomes evidently expected, it was mainly a wasted opportunity for us the public and left us wondering what the exercise had all been about.

During last summer a lot of work has been going on with a small team of friends surveying the wildlife and looking at the geology. Apart from the five different Orchids, Martin Summers also found Field Gentians which are not common in the area. Many thanks to Martin Summers at www.msbereed.com for help in identifying the 129 plant species now recorded for the site.

Nautiliods and Sharks Teeth

Most people know of the importance of the area’s geology especially the volcanics. What is not so commonly known is the extent of the sedimentary (limestone and sandstone) geology in the area. In addition to identifying locations for Gryphea, Belemnite and Ammonite fossils, the Study Centre team has recently identified some exceptionally fine example of Nautiliods and also some small sharks teeth. Thanks must go to Peter (McFarlane) and Dougie who found the first sharks tooth in the nearby limestone, closer inspection found about six more. With Peters contacts in the open University and help from Manchester University the species has been identified and it