Nick of Pendle. It can be VERY WINDY!!!!
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The Nick of Pendle, is a place known to many. Some come here to park and just look at the view, some come to have a coffee and read the paper. Others come to park up, and then walk up Pendle. For others it is a place to rest, having walked up from Sabden or Clitheroe. Little do we realise that the rocks that we plonk our bums on, or that we have a quick glance at whilst headdown into the wind and rain, are a special part of our geological history.
The rock that you see is known as Pendle Grit, a type of sandstone laid down millions of years ago during the Namurian stage of the Carboniferous period. The Carboniferous is a period in our geological history that lasted from 359 million years ago to 299 million years ago. It was preceeded by the Devonian period and followed by the Permian period. The rock that you see was laid down during the Namurian sub division of the Carboniferous period, it lasted between 326 and 313 million years ago. It is during the Namurian that the rocks known as Millstone Grit were laid down. You hear this type of rock mentioned a lot in the Pennines. Millstone grit rocks are part of a group which comprises over 30 differently identified sandstones. The oldest types of millstone grit, are known as Pendleian, which relates to the earliest sub stage of the Namurian period. Pendle grit is the oldest, and lowest in the succession of rocks known as the Pendleian and thus Namurian. Now, how was it laid down? Sandstone is a sedementary rock, this means that the grains of sand that make up the rock were laid down and then compressed over time to make the rock that we see today. At the time that Pendle Grit was laid down, there was a feature known as the Pennine basin. This reached from the lowlands of Scotland to the Midland, and sediments were deposited within the basin. The Pendle Grit was deposited in the deep water at the foot of a submarine slope, the sand came from a river delta that flowed into the basin. At that time the temperature was not as we know it know. The Nick of Pendle is an upland area, that can be exposed to lashing wind and rain, so whilst you are either sat in your car, or fully clogged up in waterproofs, though when the rock was deposited it was much warmer. As you look round, you will notice that the different layers of rock are at an angle. The different layers are known as strata. The seperation that you can see between the layers are known as stratification planes. They are horizontal where sediments are deposited as flat-lying layers, and they exhibit inclination where the depositional site was a sloping surface. You can see examples of the different strata nearby, and also if you go to the brow of the road and cross over you will come to a small quarried area, which gives further examples of stratification planes and strata. For those of you who are interested in history, if you go onto the moorland beyond the small quarried area to the waypoint, and this takes you to an area of what are potentially WW1 or WW2 trenches. They are now shallow, but walk along their lines takes you back to those days. You can imagine Tommy Atkins up here, digging in, cursing the Pendle Grit and also the weather. To log your find, please answer the following questions and contact Hillgorilla with the answers. (1) What colour is the Pendle Grit? (2) What does it feel like? (3) As an option please take a picture of: (i) Yourself or your GPS at the cache site. (ii) An example of the stratification. (iii) An example of the Pendle Grit. (iv) In the trenches, (4) What angle do the rocks lie at? Now for the name, it can be very exposed up here, and VERY VERY WINDY so you need to go prepared for an upland area. Waterproofs , warm clothing and good outdoor footwear are recommended. PLEASE BE CAREFUL, AND DO NOT CLIMB ON THE ROCKS. PLEASE BE CAREFUL NEAR THE QUARRIED AREAS AS THERE ARE DROPS. KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON CHILDREN. IT IS A POPULAR PLACE, THE ROAD IS ALSO VERY BUSY - BE CAREFUL. IT IS ROUGH AND SLIPPY UNDERFOOT IN PLACES. Sources of information: Internet search about the geology of the area. Local knowlegde. Learning about geology from my son, who is learning about it in geography at school.It is amazing what homework can do for these aging brain cells! The Great War Forum.
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