Preston Montford

Shropshire/Welsh Border

Outdoor Classroom

Geology Topics

Preston Montford Field Centre is situated on the River Severn, 8km west of Shrewsbury. To the south lie the Shropshire Hills, where a full sequence of deposits from Pre-Cambrian to Carboniferous may be examined. The north Shropshire Plain is lower lying and comprises younger rocks, mainly Permo-Triassic and Triassic, with a thick layer of drift deposits.

Each fieldwork day is set up as an investigation, with the students making observations and taking measurements in the field in order to draw conclusions and, where appropriate, gather evidence to prove or disprove hypotheses. Please remember that this leaflet is just an outline of possible field work days – all of these are tailored to the specific requirements of the group. Other field days for geology are currently being developed and new suggestions are always welcome.

Bridgnorth ½ day

Examination of this Permian sandstone in order to get a full rock description. Use of rock description and sedimentary structures to determine the environment of deposition and whether or not this deposit is right way up.

The Wrekin Area 1 day

This day focuses on Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian rocks, with particular examination of the boundary between the two. This day gives the students an opportunity to describe igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks by visiting the Ercall and Maddock’s Hill quarries. The sequence and environments of deposition of the sedimentary rocks may also be deduced. Faulting is another topic that is important on this day as it affects the extent of the exposures of each of the rock types.

Stiperstones 1 day or 2 days

The Stiperstones is a ridge of Ordovician rocks in south Shropshire that provide excellent locations for mineral identification, sedimentary rock descriptions and structural mapping of a fold. This location also provides an excellent opportunity for coursework, investigating the relationship between factors such as mine location and evidence of faulting, mine location and rock type, etc.

Llangollen 1 day

This day gives students the opportunity to investigate the differences between beds of Carboniferous limestone on Eglwyseg Mountain in order to help them to understand that different beds of the same rock type may differ to reflect minor changes in the environment of deposition. This investigation includes detailed examination of the beds for changes in texture, changes in fossil densities, changes in fossil assemblages, and alteration from life to death assemblages, reflecting changes in the energy levels of the environment while this limestone was deposited.

Church Farm Quarry ½ day or 1 day

Examination and collection of loose pebbles of Ordovician limestone in this quarry for examination under microscope allows students to determine the fossil assemblage in this rock. From this information, they can find out more about these fossils and their environment through resources in our library. The conclusion of this day is presentations by individuals or groups of students on a fossil or group of fossils that they found in the quarry, complete with all the information they could find about that organism’s requirements (e.g. habitat, mobile or sessile, feeding mode, etc.).

Berwyn Mountains 1 day

This day looks at the impact of glaciation, with reference to the underlying geology and how that affected the movement of ice along the valley. Sediment fabric analysis will also allow the students to determine the mode of deposition of two recent deposits.