This in turn determines what they're like to climb, scramble on, or walk
over. Why is Skiddaw slate so slippery? How do tors form? Why is
gritstone so difficult? Why is Lakeland so picturesque, and the granite
lands so grim and forbidding?
Geology is destiny, whether it's the rubbishy nature of gullies and
screes, the sculpting of valleys by ice or the landslip weirdness of
Quiraing on the Isle of Skye. British mountains contain many interesting
and different ingredients: gneiss and granite and gabbro; limestone and
sandstone; schist and slate; the product and the debris of tectonic
shifts, volcanoes, earthquakes and glaciers over many millennia.
This book explains all this to the layman, from an expert but personal
perspective, and will add immeasurably to the fun and satisfaction to be
gained from any day in the hills.
The author
RONALD TURNBULL is a geographer and a walker. Author of
over a dozen highly regarded walking books and guides, he has won seven
awards from the Outdoor Writers' Guild. Ronald lives in Thornhill in
Dumfriesshire.
