Clowne Crags and the Linear Park

Clowne Crags

The reconnaissance of the section of the Clowne Branch Line Greenway, from Clowne town centre to the coal seam and back, took 1¾ hours and, with plenty of discussion having taken place amongst our group of six, the timing fitted in well with my idea for the Sheffield U3A Geology Group to stop in Clowne for lunch.

The Greenway in Clowne town centre

It might not be the most scenic place for the group to take lunch, on the old railway platform, but there is the option to grab a sandwich and a drink in the town centre; however, with our small group breaking up there, Paul and I decided to carry on with the second leg of the walk – to explore the Linear Park and Markland Grips.

An extract from the geological memoir

From this point onward, Paul May and I were in the hands of Jim Russell, who leads various walks around the area and or first stop was to see Clowne Crags, a relatively small outcrop of partially slipped limestone blocks at the head of a shallow valley that is occupied by a brook that runs eastward to Holinhill Grips.

Clowne Crags

The blocks are similar to those that I had seen at Anston Stones Wood, which have slid down a much deeper and steep sided valley by the process of cambering during the Quaternary Period. The distinct ‘honeycomb’ texture, as described in the geological memoir, is also seen at Anston Stones Wood and at Roche Abbey, and I have always assumed that these are formed by dissolution of the limestone.

A slumped block at Clowne Crags

Continuing along the Linear Park along the old Midland Railway cutting towards Creswell, further examples of the Cadeby Formation can be seen, which are generally thin bedded like those seen along Greenway West.

A channel of sand

We only stopped in a few places to take a good look at a large channel of sand that cuts through the thinly bedded limestone, a very large ivy stem and an orange organic growth on the limestone, which none of us had seen before.

Views along the Linear Park

At one place, I noticed that the limestone appeared to be wedge bedded, which is typical of the upper part of the Cadeby Formation - the Sprotbrough Member – but this was the only time that I saw this along the Linear Park.

Wedge bedded limestone