The Mendips will Rock again this October

Look out for events taking place across the Mendip Hills this autumn as the hugely popular Mendip Rocks! festival of geology returns after a two year break.

The festival is a partnership between Somerset Earth Science Centre, the Mendip Hills AONB Service, and The Mendip Society, and will run throughout October with a wide range of fun and inspiring events planned, suitable for a range of ages and interests in geology.

The festival will launch with “A Blast from the Past!” family open day at Westbury Quarry on Saturday 1st October. The quarry is a great place to see wildlife and geology up close and was the film location for the BBC’s Deadly Dinosaur and Deadly Predator’s children’s TV shows. There will be stalls and activities run by project partners and the Bristol Dinosaur Project, plus there will be an abseiling tower for the most daring families and a chance to blow up a vehicle, by kind permission of Alford Technologies! Guided walks will be led by the Hawk & Owl Trust and geology and archaeology experts, discussing recent cave digs at the quarry and early mammal bone finds from the last ice age.

 
The Somerset Earth Science Centre will be hosting a museum open day during the festival to provide the public with an opportunity to see their fascinating collection of Mendip fossils, rocks, and minerals. People are invited to bring in their own fossil finds for experts to help identify. To celebrate the Geological Society’s Earth Science Week, the Centre will also host an afternoon of specialist geo lectures on Saturday 15th October.

Also back this year will be escorted tours of working quarries in the Mendip Hills, including the purer limestone quarried at Batts Combe in Cheddar, and Halecombe and Whatley, near Frome.

Lou Sumbler, Festival Co-ordinator at the Somerset Earth Science Centre, said:
“The Mendip Hills are a unique and very special landscape. The festival provides great opportunities to get out and see some of the Mendip Hills’ best kept geological secrets, with many events being held at sites that are not usually open to the public. There is something for everyone, from family fun days, fossil and geo discovery walks, tours in working and disused quarries, an after dark tour of Wookey Hole caves, as well as specialist geology lectures and much, much more!”.

Jim Hardcastle, Manager of the Mendip Hills AONB Service, said:
“We are delighted to be able to deliver Mendip Rocks! again this year as part of our celebrations to mark the 50th Anniversary of our designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is an opportunity to share the special qualities of the Mendip Hills with local people and to reach new audiences. Many visitors are not aware of the fascinating geological history and formation of these incredible hills, so we are excited to have such a range of events taking place this year.”

Most events require booking – to book online and to download the events guide, please visit: www.mendiphillsaonb.org.uk/news/mendiprocks