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RIVER LANDSCAPES SINCE THE ICE AGE

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust works to record and protect geology and landscape and to increase public awareness working with local communities and associated community groups.

The project initially began in November 2002, and since then has written five trail guides describing the geology and landscape of these areas:

1. Byton and Kinsham trail describes how the River Lugg was diverted during the Ice Age.
2. Wye Gorge trail looks at the formation of the gorge, the rock sequence in the area and King Arthur's Cave.
3. Hampton Bishop trail looks at the flood defence measures in the area between the Wye and the Lugg, at features such as Red Bank Cliff and river terraces formed during the Ice Age.
4. Queenswood and Bodenham trail looks at the rocks in Queenswood Country Park , the modern day river Lugg and the deposits left after the Ice Age.
5. Ross-on-Wye trail looks at the old river cliffs in Ross, the use that has been made of the local rock for building stones and an abandoned former valley of the River Wye.

Information panels are being erected along each of the trails. Local communities and community groups have been involved in the project helping with the research, providing information about the area, attending talks and displays and going on guided walks. Local people have helped to clear a footpath and to create a viewpoint on Wapley Hill.

Also as part of the project, twenty Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Sites (RIGS) have been identified. These sites are designated for their scientific, educational, historical or aesthetic value. They show a variety of interesting fluvial and glacial features, such as gorges cut when river valleys were blocked in the Ice Age, or rivers that are changing their course and creating oxbow lakes.

River Landscapes Since the Ice Age Project aims to make the general public more aware of the story of the formation of the beautiful landscape and interesting geology to be found in Herefordshire. This does not have to be done only with a conducted walk, as the weather resistant trail guides provide sufficient information for self-guided walks. (They are available in Tourist Information Centres across the county).

Moira Jenkins
Special Projects' Manager
Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust
Geological Records' Centre
University College Worcester
Henwick Grove
Worcester
WR2 6AJ
Tel: (01905) 855184
Fax: (01905) 855132
Email: m.jenkins@worc.ac.uk

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust website: www.worc.ac.uk/eht

Abberley and Malvern Hills Geopark website: www.worc.ac.uk/geopark