A group met the car park of W T Knowles & Sons Pipe Works, Elland for an extensive and very enjoyable visit around the works. The pipe works was originally located on the hillside to take advantage of the shale rich clays of the Coal Measures. These are now no longer economic to mine and some of the raw material is now obtained from the brickworks in Elland, the clay is the wrong quality to make bricks and so is a waste material.

Many of the processes are still undertaken in the traditional way. Three of the kilns are fired by hand using coal, it takes a week from loading the clay products to unloading after firing. Much of the moulding is also still done by hand especially the more elaborate chimney pots. Many of these are exported to the USA where they are in great demand.

Big, dramatic and picturesque, mountain ranges testify to deformation of the continental crust. But this deformation is complex. Different parts of continents are prone to different amounts of deformation and the same continent can behave differently through time. The key issues are temperature and, curiously, erosion. We can look at these issues in the collision between Asia and the Indian subcontinent, using the evolution of the 8000m peak, Nanga Parbat, as a natural laboratory.

The title of the talk reflects its main theme - metamorphism, with particular reference to the Alps. We will examine why and how metamorphism occurs in the first place, before reviewing some new research seeking to understand how metamorphic basement rocks are brought back to the surface.

A mountain belt's youth is dominated by the progressive smearing (accretion) of material from the under-thrust plate onto the over-riding one; this results in crustal thickening, surface uplift and growth of the mountain belt. These early stages can be seen in the topography and geology of Taiwan. Before long, a feedback is developed between uplift, orographic precipitation and erosion such that a steady state form is converged upon; this middle-aged development is seen in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. During the latter stages of a mountain belt, plate convergence and crustal thickening slow down, and erosion starts to dominate; this is when climatic fluctuations become important. This interplay is illustrated by the European Alps where the deteriorating climate of the last 5 myr has accelerated erosion and revitalised an otherwise decaying landscape.

This talk will look at a number of topics: plate reconstructions post- and pre-Jurassic; continental tectonics versus plate tectonics; how to spot an old orogen and difficulties in their reconstruction. Some British examples will be used to illustrate the characteristics and legacies of old mountain belts. This will include the Caledonian-Variscan belt and its role in the assembly of the British Isles; the Lewisian Complex - a typical piece of continental basement and the influence of old orogens on the post-Variscan history of Britain and adjacent regions.

A very gentle walk along the Torrs Gorge to see Carboniferous sandstones and impressive river scenery, as well as the Millennium Bridge.
Meet Alison at Torr Top car park (free for 2 hours) at 2.30 p.m.
There is a visitor centre and café near the gorge to complete an undemanding afternoon's geology.
We can organise the sharing of lifts to simplify parking at New Mills if you let Alison know that you are going.

The accommodation is bed and breakfast at a farm just outside Ravenstonedale, as our original choice of accommodation cannot fit us in for this weekend. The cost is more than we had hoped, at about £50 each for bed and breakfast.
There are still spaces so if anyone else would like a place, please see Alison.
This area is splendidly positioned on the Dent fault, with Silurian slates on the west and Carboniferous sediments to the east. We will be able to explore a variety of sites to see what this unfamiliar area has to offer.