Those of us lucky enough to have heard Dave’s talks before, would have anticipated another geologically encyclopaedic walk through the complicated geology (and pubs!) of the North Somerset coast. We were not disappointed.

The area under review, from Minehead in the west to Bridgewater in the east, Wellington and Taunton in the south, embraces the Brendon Hills, south of Minehead, and the Quantock Hills, inland from Kilve.

This is an area of great geological diversity which is so different from the rest of the country.  it boasts some of the most beautiful and varied landscapes in the country: the stark wilderness of Haddon Hill, the big skies of the Somerset Levels and the wave-cut platform at Kilve together with the stunning views from the hard Hangman Sandstone of Dunkery Beacon, North Hill above Minehead, and the elevated Quantock ridge.  Dave showed many slides to describe the topography and explain how the uplands are founded on the tough metamorphosed Devonian rocks of the Quantock and Brendon Hills.  These are separated by the fertile Vale of Stogumber eroded into bright red New Red Sandstone laid down in the deserts of the Permian (app. 250Ma) and Triassic (app.200Ma) Periods.

At the end of the Permian (app.250Ma), Britain lay about 20 degrees north of the equator at the heart of the supercontinent of Pangea in the hot desert climatic belt.  The Mesozoic Era embraced the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (app.250 – 100Ma) when the sinking rift valley, which today is the Bristol Channel, formed the low coastal areas where we now find Minehead, Williton, Watchet etc.  Taunton is in a sedimentary basin, the Vale of Taunton dene, south of which is a plateau incised by the rivers Exe and Tone which flow East – West and drain at 90º to the rock structures.

​The large area of lowland, containing today Steart point, near Bridgwater, is just above sea level but was below sea level during the last Ice Age.  The Somerset levels were laid down app. 10,000 yrs ago.

These and many other features are described in fascinating detail in his book “The Quantocks and North Somerset Coast” and is a compelling – and highly recommended – read.
Book: The Quantocks and North Somerset Coast. Dave Green, Crowood Press, www.crowood.com. £16.99