Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds.
Two of these books investigate the building stones used in Gloucester and Cirencester, the others look in detail at the geology, landscape and geomorphology of the Cotswolds, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
GLOUCESTER IN STONE Joe McCall
ISBN 978-0-948444-37-1 Thematic Trails 1999. £2.40
A5. 40 pages. 28 photos. 11 figures.Four compass-point streets radiate from
Gloucester city centre. The first short walk, Eastgate Street, is, in essence a
mental tool-kit for identifying some local common building stones and their
history – a skill which can then be applied to any of the three following
compass direction walks.
CIRENCESTER
IN STONE, a town trail Joe McCall and Philip Copestake 2008
ISBN 978-1-904530-09-1 Gloucestershire Geology Trust
2008
£4.99
A5 49 pages 100 colour illustrations including figures and maps. Cirencester in
Stone describes an easy to follow trail linking 23 buildings and archaeological
sites that show the many fascinating geological features displayed in the
building stones of Cirencester, such as spectacular fossils, minerals and
structures. The book is an accessible, lavishly illustrated guide to the variety
of attractive building stones that have been brought to the town from Roman
times to the present day, and that contribute so much to the visual appeal of
the historic Cotswold town of Cirencester.
THE GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE COTSWOLDS
Andrew Goudie & Adrian Parker.
ISBN 978-0-9529662-0-3 Cotteswold Nat. Field Club.
1996. A5.139 pages. 54 figures. £10.00
This introduction to the physical landscape of the Cotswolds includes chapters
on the Jurassic geology, the Quaternary including glaciation and river terraces,
the valley systems, mass movement phenomena and the form of the escarpment and
its outliers.
GEOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE Philip Powell. Dovecote
Press. Wimbourne 2
005
ISBN 978-1-904349-19-8 pp. 103 coloured plates, 27
maps, 5 tables. £12.95
The author states, “The object of this book is to explain something of how the
rocks (of Oxfordshire) were formed and their arrangement.” This is achieved
within a well-illustrated account of such interest and clarity that the
receptive audience will range from the established geologist to those who have
an intelligent, but non-specialist knowledge of the landscape of the county and
how it was formed. The author is careful to conclude by bringing the story up to
date by including Quaternary landscape changes, acknowledging that, “It should
be kept in mind that Oxfordshire as we know it today has been shaped only in the
last few thousand years.” A well rounded book which will find a place on the
shelves of those who have a fascination in the subtle interplay between geology
and landscape in this gentle county.
The above book is currently out of print
Gloucestershire Uncovered Trail Guides
A series of trail guides exploring the Geology, landscape and natural heritage of Gloucestershire.
SOUDLEY VALLEY RURAL GEOLOGY TRAIL
(Forest of Dean) Gloucestershire Geology Trust
ISBN 978-1-904530-00-8 12pp, 11x24cm, 6 colour plates,
5 maps and figures £1.95
The Soudley Valley, near Cinderford, exposes nearly
100 million years of Earth's history in the rocks exposed in quarries and
cuttings on either side of the valley. Rocks range from Devonian sandstones,
mudstones and conglomerates, to Carboniferous coal seams, containing well
preserved plant fossils.
CLEEVE HILL RURAL GEOLOGY TRAIL (Cotswolds)
Gloucestershire Geology Trust
ISBN 978-1-904530-01-5 12 pp, 11x24cm, 17 colour plates, 5 maps and
figures
£1.95
Cleeve Hill is the highest point of the Cotswolds, with views across the Severn
Vale to the Malverns, and west across the rolling Cotswold Hills. The numerous
old quarries on Cleeve Hill provide the most complete sequence of Middle
Jurassic Inferior Oolite rocks in the country, including some not seen anywhere
else.
LECKHAMPTON HILL RURAL GEOLOGY TRAIL
(Cotswolds) Gloucestershire Geology Trust
ISBN 978-1-904530-05-3 12pp, 11x24cm, 13 colour
plates, 5 maps and figures £1.95
Leckhampton Hill is a country park owned and managed by Cheltenham Borough
Council and provides the thickest sequence of Middle Jurassic Inferior Oolite
rocks along the Cotswold Escarpment. The guide includes information on the
industrial heritage and history of the hill, which has been the site of
extensive quarrying and civil unrest in the past.
ROBINSWOOD HILL RURAL GEOLOGY TRAIL
Gloucestershire Geology Trust
ISBN 978-1-904530-02-2 12pp, 11x24cm, 4 colour plates,
7 maps and figures £1.95
Robinswood Hill is an outlier of the Cotswolds, now a country park, owned and
managed by Gloucester City Council. The main quarry on the hill provides the
best inland section of Early Jurassic clay and siltstones and was once used to
supply raw material for Gloucester brickworks. The many springs that emanate
from the hill supplied the first running water to the city of Gloucester.
CRICKLEY HILL GEOLOGY AND LANDSCAPE TRAIL
Gloucestershire Geology Trust
ISBN 978-1-904530-06-0 12pp, 11x24cm, 14 colour
plates, 5 maps and figures £1.95
Crickley Hill is an important area for geology, biodiversity and archaeology.
The cliffs of Crickley Hill provide the thickest section through the ‘Pea Grit’
in the Cotswolds, beech woods and limestone grassland provide a diverse
range of habitats for wildlife and there are the remains of hillforts dating
back to the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages.
STONEY FURLONG AND CHEDWORTH VALLEY GEOLOGY AND LANDSCAPE
TRAIL Gloucestershire Geology Trust 2007
ISBN 978-1-904530-10-7 pp 12, 11x24cm, 18 colour
plates, 6 maps and figures £2.00
The old quarry and railway cutting known as Stony Furlong exposes part of the
White Limestone (Great Oolite Group), and Chedworth Valley is one of many deeply
incised valleys of the Cotswolds, fed by springs emanating from the limestones
in the valley sides. The trail explores the uses of local stone, from building
and roofing, to aggregate and walling.
SOUTH CERNEY GEOLOGY AND LANDSCAPE HERITAGE TRAIL Gloucestershire Geology Trust
2008
ISBN 978-1-904530-17-6 pp 10, 11x24cm, 18 colour
plates, 5 maps and figures £2.00
The pretty village of South Cerney has a wealth of recorded history going back
to the Bronze Age, yet it is the geology on which the village stands that has
determined its character. This guide leads a walk around the village to see how
the rocks have shaped its landscape and development.It can be linked to a
second trail of similar length in nearby Keynes Country Park.
KEYNES COUNTRY PARK GEOLOGY AND LANDSCAPE HERITAGE TRAIL
Gloucestershire Geology Trust 2008
ISBN 978-1-904530-16-9 pp 10, 11x24cm, 18 colour
plates, 6 maps and figures £2.00
The Cotswold Water Park is one of the most rapidly changing landscapes in
Britain today. Sand and gravel extraction leaves large pits that are allowed to
flood to create lakes, used for leisure and as wildlife havens. The gravels were
deposited here by a major river system during the Ice Ages when man started to
settle the area. Removal of soil and gravel has not only yielded a
treasure trove of archaeological remains, but also revealed a fascinating
natural history story stretching back 165 million years.
HUNTSMANS QUARRY AND WILDLIFE TRAIL
Gloucestershire Geology Trust 2008
ISBN 978-1-904530-19-0 pp 8, 11x24cm, 7 colour plates,
4 maps and figures £2.00
This trail is located just north of the village of Naunton, in the heart of the
Cotswolds. You will see a disused quarry face, now a Site of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI), footprints from the 150 million year old dinosaur
'Megalosaurus', and learn about the flora and fauna inhabiting the area today.
You will find out what the stone here is used for, and how the land is restored
once quarrying has finished.
FOSS CROSS QUARRY GEOLOGY GUIDE Gloucestershire
Geology Trust 2008
ISBN 978-1-904530-18-3 pp 12, 11x24cm, 24 colour
plates, 8 maps and figures £2.00
The quarry at Foss Cross was active during the first part of the twentieth
century extracting White Limestone for use as an aggregate in construction work
and as ballast on the old Cheltenham to Southampton railway line. The White
Limestone Formation is part of the Great Oolite Group, dating from c. 165
million years ago, and different beds in the quarry face demonstrate different
features and a range of fossils.
COATES AND THE THAMES & SEVERN CANAL / THE SOURCE OF THE
THAMES GEOLOGY AND LANDSCAPE HERITAGE TRAIL Gloucestershire Geology Trust
2008
ISBN 978-1-904530-15-2 pp 12, 11x24cm, 21 colour
plates, 8 maps and figures £2.00
This guide explores the area around the village of Coates looking at landscape
and heritage features and their relationship to the geology of the area. Either
a 3km or 5.5km trail can be followed, with the option of diverting to look at
the source of the River Thames. During your walk, you will see rocks dating back
c. 165 million years and will learn how the composition, location and fracturing
of these rocks has given us building stone and springs, dry valleys and a major
river, engineering difficulties and one of the most important aquifers in the
UK.
CHEDWORTH RAILWAY CUTTING GEOLOGY TRAIL
Gloucestershire Geology Trust 2008
ISBN 978-1-904530-20-6 pp 12, 11x24cm, 22 colour
plates, 6 maps and figures £2.00
The railway cutting running behind the Roman Villa at Chedworth exposes a
faulted section through the upper part of the Inferior Oolite Group. The rocks
contain numerous fossils and the railway line is now a wildlife reserve, owned
and managed by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Active rock forming can be seen
in the cutting where a spring is depositing tufa over the side of the cutting.