Some towns have all the luck. A thousand years ago Southwold, in Suffolk on England’s east cost, was a fishing village dwarfed by Dunwich, a major port town to its south. Nowadays Southwold is a thriving seaside town and Dunwich is just a few houses, one pub and a museum. Its priory, leper hospital and… Continue reading The town eaten by the sea
The hungry sea
Things have been quiet over here for a while. I’ve been singing a lot (Olympic torch ceremony, recording) plus other things have been taking up my remaining time and energy. I feel a burst of energy now as I’m going off on holiday soon, to Suffolk in the east of England. Part of me still… Continue reading The hungry sea
Cycling in the Pennines – 300 million years ago
The north of England is dominated by rocks of Carboniferous age, which give it a distinctive scenery and history, where local coal fuelled the world’s first industrial landscape. The geology is extremely well known, because of the importance of the coal deposits, but also because of the continuing excellence of the British Geological Survey. A recent… Continue reading Cycling in the Pennines – 300 million years ago
The biggest pile of sand the world has ever seen
The Moine, a set of sedimentary rocks found in furthest north-west Scotland have enjoyed at least three cycles of metamorphism and deformation. My only sample from here is a migmatitic gneiss, so when I heard about people studying sedimentology in the Moine, my mind was a little bit boggled – gneisses have lost all trace… Continue reading The biggest pile of sand the world has ever seen