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| A general view of Cedar Road Quarry in 1997 |
The first time that I saw this site, way back in 1997, a very brief survey clearly demonstrated that the extensive and easily accessible rock outcrops makes this an ideal site for educational purposes, at all levels. At the time of my visit, a vehicle and a couple of workmen were being gainfully employed in cutting grass, pruning a variety of shrubs and other invasive vegetation - and taking away the large amount of rubbish that inevitably accumulates in very many forgotten geological sites like this.
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| Sandstone and Mudstone - 2007 |
On my next visit, 10 years later, whilst producing the Doncaster Geodiversity Assessment, it seemed obvious to me that this former Adventure Playground was no longer actively managed by the local authority - with beer cans and medical syringes just being a few pieces of social debris that could be found there.
Apart from a few brambles, which stopped me from getting as close enough to a rock outcrop as I would have liked to have done, my former observations concerning the educational value still held true - as there was plenty of rock to be seen.
Apart from a few brambles, which stopped me from getting as close enough to a rock outcrop as I would have liked to have done, my former observations concerning the educational value still held true - as there was plenty of rock to be seen.
At this moment - during winter - I had both the time and the technological benefit of using a Global Positioning Device to pinpoint the various places of geological interest that I had seen before, and could still easily see. I also discovered a few Quaternary rocks that I hadn't noticed before.
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| Glacial Till and Glaciofluvial Deposits |
Although the Sherwood Sandstone Group, of Triassic age, forms the bedrock beneath 70% of
the borough of Doncaster and it does form gentle escarpments and other
topographical features in places, most of it is buried by unconsolidated Quaternary
sediments. In the remote eastern part of the borough, this
very friable sandstone has been exploited, along with the overlying sand and gravel, for aggregates and it is well exposed in several
active and redundant quarries. However, except where seen in railway cuttings, exposures
of rock in the public domain are extremely rare.
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| A general view of Cedar Road Quarry in 2007 |
When returning again, this month, with students from XP School, I could hardly believe my eyes. Taking into account a very warm, wet year that has disrupted so many of the annual cycles of plants and birds, amongst other things, I just couldn't see a single place where they could readily undertake any of their allotted tasks - without cutting through the overgrowth.
