The above co-ordinates are for the National Trust Car Park on Kingsford Lane. From here take the route to through the woods towards the Rock Houses, which is around a 500m walk. The route can be (very) muddy after rain and although is passable with a buggy I wouldn’t recommend trying to get a wheel chair down this way. There is also parking at N52 27.025 W002 14.632 which allows easier access for push chairs and wheel chairs but the final part of this cache would be difficult for push chairs and not passable for wheel chair users. For more information on this please visit: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/kinver-edge/visitor-information/
The Geology
The rocks here are dune sandstones deposited in the Triassic Period some 200 million years ago. At the time, there was only a single land mass called Pangea and the area around Kinver was located around the equator. Much like subtropical deserts today, they were formed by wind blown deposits and thick beds there built over time.
In order to claim this Earthcache, please email me the answers to the following questions:
At N52 26.995 W002 14.525 you will find yourself at the entrance to the Rock Houses. Carved out of the sandstone, the rock houses were inhabited until the 1950s. Describe the exposure here in the following terms:
- What colour are the rocks and what are they made of?
- How well lithified are the sandstones? What can be seen on the ground to support your answer? Are the grains well rounded or angular?
- The outcrop here shows some well defined bedding planes. How thick are the beds at this location? What is the angle and direction of the dip of the beds?
- There is also a distinct type of cross bedding to be found here called herring bone or trough bedding which helps define these deposits as dune sands. Please describe this type of bedding
To complete this Earth Cache please follow the footpaths to the view point N52 26.915 W002 14.565. There are a couple of routes to get to this location both clearly marked. Do not try and navigate directly to the waypoint as it is steep and dangerous. I managed to get a push chair all the way round but there are some big steps along part of the route and it is quite rocky underfoot. There are some traditional caches also in the area including GC17MPJ on the edge series “Poison Ivy” and GC34CT8 Over The Edge which are actually a good markers on the way to the view point.
On a clear day there is a fantastic view from this location. Once at the location please provide me with the following information via the message centre:
- What is the bearing in degrees to the outcrops at the Rock Houses?
- On top of the Kinver Edge there are slightly different rock formations to that of the Rock Houses. These are the Bunter Sandstones which over lie the dune sandstones. What key difference is there between the two deposits (you may need to research this online or, if you look under your feet there are clues lying all around).
It is an ideal location for photographs as the view is panoramic.