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Glaciated Landscape Systems Unit fieldwork at Acheninver Hostel, Scotland.
Fieldwork for this unit is based in the mountainous area between Ullapool and Achiltibuie on the Coigach Peninsula in North West Scotland. It is in our opinion the most scenic area in the whole of the UK where students will be awed by the mountains, seascapes and wildlife.
The fieldwork can be very physically demanding as most of the field study sites are remote from roads. It is thus important that staff and students are briefed and suitably equipped for walking across rough, wet and uneven ground. The longest walk is into the main corrie on Ben More Coigach (to Locahn Tuath) and this involves 8km of walking with 200m ascent along a narrow path over very rough ground and with a number of river crossings to negotiate.
Fieldwork at Camas Mor Beach.
The fieldwork at this location involves studying some superbly exposed superficial deposits and areas of glacially-eroded bedrock illustrating excellent striae. We start by measuring the orientation of the striae and plot these onto a base map. We then do a study of the geological composition, the sorting, roundness and clast orientation of some superbly exposed superficial deposits to ascertain their likely origin. These deposits lie directly upon the glacially eroded bedrock and have preserved the small scale striae from contemporary weathering and marine erosion. The glacially eroded bedrock continues under the current sea-level and there are indications of marine influence in some of the superficial deposits. The intended outcome of this field activity is to develop a chronology of events to explain the origin of this assemblage of glacial and fluvial-glacial landforms.
Fieldwork close to Acheninver Hostel, Achiltibuie.
There are numerous examples of glacial erosive and depositional landforms within a short walking distance of our residential base at Acheninver Hostel. They provide ideal opportunities for individual projects for the NEA coursework and Higher Assignments. There is also a fantastic walk from the hostel up onto the summit ridge of Cairn Conmheall, which provides a superb viewpoint across a wide corrie and the surrounding ridges.
Fieldwork at Lochan Tuath on Ben Mor Coigach.
The fieldwork in the area around Lochan Tuath on Ben Mor Coigach provides an unrivalled opportunity to see landforms and a landscape of glacial erosion. Both ice-sheets and valley glaciers have contributed to shaping this landscape and the fieldwork will explain this complex story using evidence at a variety of scales including the geological composition of moraines, location of ice moulded rocks and observation of the slopes and cliffs to identify trim-lines and mass movements. This is truly a stunning location and well worth the long walk to get here.
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