About ten of us enjoyed another trip up the disused railway track at Meltham to see the glories of Folly Dolly Falls.     A recent search in the Kirklees photo archive turned up a wonderful photo from 1922, showing a spectacular cascade which tumbled about 20 feet down the horizontal bedding planes of the Huddersfield White Rock.     The photo shows very few trees, so the falls were probably visible from the train, which was why they were a local tourist attraction in earlier times.

The geology is still interesting, however, with a fault separating the sandstones from a dipping shale exposure.     This is recorded to have fossils, but it is too dark under the trees to investigate fully nowadays.     Other features include a narrow gully filled with clay (called gouge) which shows that the shale was broken up by pressure during the faulting process.    There are signs of reddening down the fault plane, but the slickensides which were recorded in past geological reports are now lost under mosses on the waterfall.

Due to the generosity of Shaun Berry at Johnson Wellfield Quarries, Crosland Hill, the Trust now has an office (called the Geological Records Office for West Yorkshire) with a phone and some storage space.    The grant from Natural England has enabled us to buy a computer.     We are taking geological walks in various places around West Yorkshire and running some events aimed at children, as well as surveying some useful geological sites for education and recreation.

We have started collecting some books and other resources on the geology of West Yorkshire, which can be used by members.     Do you know of any books or leaflets that we should have in our library?

If you would like to keep in touch with our activities, please fill in a membership form, which will entitle you to receive by email a short newsletter.    The website has illustrations by our secretary and treasurer Richard Bell. If you would like to keep in touch with our activities, please fill in a membership form, which will entitle you to receive by email a short newsletter.    The website has illustrations by our secretary and treasurer Richard Bell.

The West Yorkshire Geology Trust