Maltby Crags

The granite war memorial at Maltby Crags

 

I came back from London with some more ideas about Geotourism, having been inspired by seeing the fossil marine reptiles at the Natural History Museum, but it was getting too late in the year to think about planning much more exploration – when I got back to Rotherham during the last week in September.

A serpentinite barometer from The Lizard

The English are well known for talking about the weather – to break the ice  – but, as any visitor from a sunny and hot climate knows all too well, clouds, rain and wind are never too far away in England. Even with an Indian summer, which this year drifted into October, I had to keep my eye on the weather forecast and my barometer before I decided to go out.

On a forecast sunny day, it took two buses and a moderate walk before I arrived at Maltby Crags – another place that I had known about for very many years but had never visited before.

Here, there is another example of a Permian bryozoan reef in South Yorkshire; it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is well described in the Geological Conservation Review, which highlights some of the very best places at which to study the geology of England.

There is, however, a great difference between the points of interest that might be highlighted by a geologist who is undertaking detailed field mapping and research – typically by various institutions and universities – and the leader of a group of Geotourists. On very close examination, the fine details of the reef structure and its fossils can be seen but, for me, it is the larger landforms that provide most interest at this site.

A view of Maltby Crags in the 1957 geological memoir

Having only seen a photograph of Maltby Crags in the 1957 Edition of the Geology of the Country Around Sheffield, published by the Geological Survey of Great Britain, I was surprised to discover that I had to wade through shoulder high bracken, before I could reach many of the rocky outcrops.

Bracken surrounding a bryozoan reef at Maltby Crags

Apparently, Natural England have plans to improve access to this important geological site, which is very popular with many people who like to take a walk here - with or without dogs - as well as the local miscreants.

A general view along Maltby Crags