Geology Camp

This course is designed to develop an appreciation of the basic skills and knowledge of earth science in a fun and supportive environment.

Please take a look at the example timetables on this page as the course content may differ slightly depending on location.

Our residentials also give you the chance to develop a range of transferable skills. These types of skills help across many areas of life and are particularly good for including in job or education applications.

Here are some of the transferable skills that are likely to be covered in this residential:

• Communicating with others
• Working as a team
• Managing your time
• Taking the lead
• Resilience
• Reliability
• Keeping focused
• Problem solving</li>
• Decision making

We want to ensure participants get to share in their experience with those of a similar age. Please consider what age the attendee will be on the course date you choose and check they fit in the age category for that date when booking. (Please see each individual course at the bottom of this page for age ranges) 

When you book, it is essential that you enter the age and attendees name in the Order Notes at the checkout.  If the attendee is under 18, the booking must be made by a parent/guardian.

When attending the residential dates which welcome 16-18 year olds, all participants will be expected to follow the behaviour and conduct rules which will be in place to safeguard young people.

See our Residential FAQs page if you’d like to know the answers to our most frequently asked questions.

If these course dates do not suit you, we run similar courses at many of our other centres.

Example Timetable

Dale Fort

Arrival 4pm

Day 1

Evening - Introduction to the course and ice breakers.

Day 2

Geomorphology at the Stackpole Estate
You will take in the structures and fossils at Stackpole Quay before embarking on a cliff top journey looking for features of a karst landscape and evidence of coastal erosion. A trip to the spectacular Green Bridge of Wales is included.

Evening - Geology quiz

Day 3

Ordovician volcanoes, metamorphism, Caledonian folding and fossils in North Pembrokeshire
The Preseli Hills source of the Stonehenge bluestones, the stunning pillow lavas and evidence for explosive volcanic eruptions near Strumble Head will be observed before visiting the Blue Lagoon at Abereiddy to hunt for graptolites and trilobites. We may also look for evidence of the transport of the famous Pembrokeshire “bluestones” to Stonehenge.

(Cwm Meibion Owen, Poppit Sands, Porth Maen melyn, Abereiddi Bay)

Evening: follow up from the day and next day’s location.

Day 4

Pre Cambrian, Cambrian and Ordovician rocks of the St Davids peninsula and St Brides Bay
We will perform a group mapping project on igneous rocks at Porthclais. Precambrian igneous and volcanic rocks, including those used to construct St Davids Cathedral will be studied and the Cambrian/Precambrian unconformity will be examined in the St David’s area. Evidence for the later Variscan collision that formed the supercontinent of Pangea will be examined at Druidston.

(Porth Clais, St Davids, Whitesands, Druidston Haven)

Evening: follow up from the day and next day’s location.

Day 5

Fold, Faults and Fossils at St Anns head, Marloes and Broad Haven
Three classic locations, which have provided many photographs for both books and exam papers!

Evening - Campfire

Day 6

Our last morning will be spent logging sedimentary rocks of the Old Red Sandstone at the stunning location overlooking Milford Haven

Depart 12pm

Blencathra

Day 1

Welcome to the centre

Introduction to the Lake District  - Get to know the rest of the group with icebreaker games and an introduction to the Lake District Landscape and Geology on a local walk from the centre.

Evening

Geological History of the Lake District - A classroom introduction to the geological history of the Lake District.

Day 2

Canoeing - Canoe on the picturesque Derwent Water. This will offer an opportunity for rest and reflection, as well as a chance to develop teamwork, leadership, and communication skills.

Ghyll scrambling - Scramble and climb up a Lakeland stream, with plenty of opportunities for jumping in and getting wet!

Evening

Speed dating with rocks - Test your rock ID skills with this interactive session using hand specimens.

Please note: to ensure safe and quality learning experiences for participants, the timetable may alter depending on weather conditions and local factors at centres.

Day 3

Borrowdale Volcanics: a classic mountain day from Buttermere will take us over Wainwright’s favourite mountain Haystacks to investigate the violent volcanic episodes recorded in the rocks of the central fells. See the economic uses of volcanic rock in the Lake District today at Honister mine.

Evening

Using Technology - A look at technologies available to geographers & geologists such as GIS to introduce ice flow, glacial landforms, and bedrock geology.

Day 4

Sedimentary rocks -  Explore environmental change through time by visiting a range of sedimentary outcrops in the East Lakes and Eden Valley. You will learn how to produce a sedimentary log and how scientists reconstruct past climate change using geological evidence.

Evening

Campfire talks - A chat around the campfire exploring geological, geographical, environmental, and outdoor education career pathways.

Day 5

Metamorphic rocks - The alteration of rocks through temperature and pressure is a fundamental part of the processes involved in mountain building. We will conduct a transect from Blencathra to Sinen Gill to investigate the metamorphic aureole.
Return to the centre to sign Duke of Edinburgh books.

Depart 3pm.

• 
  Expert Tuition
• 
  Free Wi-Fi
• 
  Full Board Accommodation
• 
  Hot and Cold Drinks
• 
  In Course Transport
• 
  Picnic Lunch

What to Bring

You will need to be prepared for full days outside whatever the weather. In order to stay safe and comfortable you will need:

• Walking boots with ankle support*
• Waterproof jacket and over trousers*
• Lots of warm layers
• Hat and fleece</li>
• Suncream
• Rucksack
• Towel
• Wash kit
• Drinks bottle/flask and lunch box
• Personal medication
• Torch
• Plenty of warm clothing

All geological field kit will be provided, but you will need:

• • • Hardback notebook – a waterproof survey book is ideal

  <

li>Pencil –

propelling is advised to keep a sharp point

This residential is only open to young people who will be aged between 16 - 18 years old at the time of attending. 

We want to ensure participants get to share in their experience with those of a similar age. Please consider what age the attendee will be on the course date you choose and check they fit in the age category for that date when booking. (Please see each individual course at the bottom of this page for age ranges)

When you book, it is essential that you enter the age and attendees name in the Order Notes at the checkout.  If the attendee is under 18, the booking must be made by a parent/guardian.

When attending the residential dates which welcome 16-18 year olds, all participants will be expected to follow the behaviour and conduct rules which will be in place to safeguard young people.