reading rocks

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This is a journey from moors above the middle reaches of the River Tees near Barnard Castle to its mouth where it empties into Hartlepool Bay. Along the way the plan is to look at some prehistoric rock art at Barningham, celebrate the merits of sand and gravel and a hear a cautionary tale about flood risk, revisit the salt deposits of Teesside and in Hartlepool Bay hear about some graphic evidence of times when our coastline was very different 

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The first of our journeys is along the River Tees. The Tees has its headwaters way up in the Pennines, in the Carboniferous rocks just east of Cross Fell, but downstream of Cow Green Reservoir it cuts through some of the oldest rocks in Northern England – that’s why its the first or the rivers in this series. On our way downstream we will explore some different bits of the Whin Sill and some rocks it baked, the making pencils from ancient slates and take a closer look at High and Low Force, iconic sites of the Northern landscape. But let’s head for Widdybank Fell near the dam at Cow Green.

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The episode title of this section of the Roman Rock Trail isn’t perfect – as we are starting in west Durham in a place called Lanchester, then returning to the Wall at Heddon – a village which owes its position to its hard sandstone bedrock resisting glacial erosion more than the surrounding area. And then onto Benwell. A place not on the current Hadrian’s Wall Trail but from what I hear it will be in the near future. As will the final stop, South Shields Fort – popularly known as Arbeia. On the way we will look at Roman water engineering and perhaps iron production, examine some well exposed sandstone, delve more into the mysteries of the exploitation of coal and finish with a more obscure use of rocks – pigments.

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Series three of these podcasts was a journey - the Roman Rock Trail. That started in the west on the Solway and in seven episodes took us east to South Shields Roman Fort. This fourth series will also take us on a journey, and not one but four - down the four major rivers in the north - The Tees, the Tyne, the Eden and the Wear. We will stop off at around 30-40 places that have something worth knowing about the geology those rivers cut through.

 The first of our journeys is along the river Tees, The Tees actually has its headwaters way up in the Pennines, in the Carboniferous rocks just east of Cross Fell, but downstream of Cow Green Reservoir it cuts through some of the oldest rocks in Northern England – that’s why its the first or the rivers in this series. On our way to Stanhope we will explore some different bits of the Whin Sill and some rocks it baked, the making pencils from ancient slates and take a closer look at High and Low Force, iconic sites of the Northern landscape. But let’s head for Widdybank Fell near the dam at Cow Green.

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This episode initially takes us from Chesters on the Wall to Hexham. South of the Wall but very much a gateway and one with some important recycled Roman rocks. Then back to close to the Wall at Fallowfield before jumping back south to Roman Corbridge – Coria or sometimes Corstopitum. The geology will be as diverse as the geography. From the rocks that made millstones to a cavalryman's tombstone, 

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All of these podcasts are geological but this episode is three-quarters pure rock. First the plan is to look closely at the rock that provided the mortar for the wall – limestone – did the Romans use it to sweeten these northern soils too – they can be pretty acid. Next its more whin Sill – I am starting to wonder if there’s too much on this rock already, but it does play a huge role in the landscape and on Roman plans and they say you can’t get enough of a good thing. The Whin has a part to play in a trip to Coventinas Well too, but a subtle part. And finally we are off in search of a very modern rock – one that starts soft and goes hard and one the Romans had a very special job for. 

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Time to descend into and out of one of the classic components of this frontier landscape - one of the "gaps". You have already experienced a few and today there will be a few more. But your legs need a break so we are going to deviate south of the Wall too. To see a ditch, then go find about two mineral resources that were used extensively by the Romans - coal and iron - but what do we know about them.

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We are starting at Bewcastle Fort around 10 kilometres north of Hadrians Wall – well that’s as the crow flies. But then we will be returning the Wall and some of its most dramatic landscapes and archaeology. From a ruined medieval Thirlwall Castle near Greenhead village – built completely of re-purposed Roman stones – we climb up onto the escarpment of the Whin Sill – 295 million years ago it was an intrusion of molten rock that then solidified into a hard rock called dolerite. It resisted erosion by 1000m thick ice sheets and stands proud as one of the rocky icons of the northern landscape. 

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Our journey east continues, we are about one and a half kilometres north east of Lanercost just over the line dividing the red St Bees Sandstone bedrock from grey brown Carboniferous rocks – although there is no bedrock to see here – its covered by a variable thickness of glacial deposits. Those thick stony clays sand and gravels may well explain why the first incarnation of Hadrian’s Wall in the western sector was made of earth and turf and not stone. They also mean its essential to look at the building and wall stones to see get a feel for the bedrock. 

You could abandon the car and walk between the places in the 4 stories in this episode from Hare Hill to Appletree, Harrows Scar and Willowford Bridge. Its only around 8 km one way, pretty flat with great views and some brilliant archaeology including passing Birdoswald Fort. The dedicated Romanists and hikers amongst you could take in the Fort and the Roman inscriptions at Combcrag gorge on the way back - you’ll maybe remember that from Series 2.

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Series 3 is  an extended Hadrian’s Wall rock trail with little side trips and the first episode will start just north of a little seaside town called Maryport on the southern coast of the Solway Firth and head north and then east. We will take in salt making, how the Romans defended an estuary at Burgh Marsh, a large Roman building in Carlisle whose drains have produced a fantastic collection of semi-precious stones - intaglios; and finish at a Roman quarry in a gorge of the River Eden at a place called Wetheral. You could always follow along on Google Maps and maybe even get the car or bike or boots out and do it for real !