Seven of us joined Paul Kabrna and some friends from the Lancashire area to have a look at the geology which has created the wonderful scenery in the Forest of Bowland.     We looked first of all at the West and East Sykes quarries north of Dunsop Bridge.    They both show very fossiliferous Hetton Beck limestone, which dips steeply and also has overfolding due to sea bed slumping.     East Skyes quarry also has some sharp asymmetrical folds, the origin of which puzzled us, though they appear to be tectonic rather than being due to soft sediment deformation.    Hall Hill quarry to the south of Dunsop Bridge, shows a largely unfossiliferous lime mud mound, draped by bedded limestone which was full of fossils.

The valley side next to the road north of Dunsop Bridge exposes the base of the Pendle Grit and the Upper Bowland Shales, so we checked for marine bands and found some fossils in the blackest shale bands.     It was strange to see shales, which are similar to those in West Yorkshire, tilted steeply because of the major anticline which runs north-south through the Trough of Bowland.

Thanks to Paul and his group for making us so welcome in Lancashire.

Meet Alison Quarterman at Morrison's car park, Meltham (SE 100107), below the rock exposure, at 2.00pm for a short, level walk.     Wellies are essential for seeing the fault and its features clearly.     Finish approx 4.00pm

This is a joint meeting with the West Yorkshire Geology Trust.     It would be useful to discuss whether and how this site could be managed so that more local people and geology students could use it.