Ffestiniog Travel

A Study Tour in association with Wilmslow Guild Centre for Adult Education

Wednesday 10 April to Tuesday 16 April 2013

The popular holiday destination of Anglesey was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, for its lovely beaches and interesting natural history, and more recently as the UNESCO Geopark of Geomon, for its unique geology. The ancient rocks which underpin this beautiful island were formed more than 600 million years ago in deep oceans towards the south pole. Plate tectonics moved these rocks northwards into tropical seas where continents were squeezed together to produce the complex patterns of folds and faults seen in the cliffs around Rhoscolyn and Holyhead. The younger sandstones and fossiliferous limestones of eastern Anglesey were then deposited and subsequent ice ages and seas level changes carved out the landscape seen today.

The Study Tour will be 7 days long, travelling by own cars on a self-drive basis throughout. A group arrival will be arranged in Anglesey.

Our association with the Wilmslow Guild goes back over 15 years and we have been proud to have helped the Guild to develop its programme of specialist tours. Each tour is accompanied by a tour leader who is a specialist in the chosen subject and, whilst they are not strenuous tours, we should mention that they are an educational experience as well as a holiday.

The tour leader will be Dr. Christine Arkwright. Christine is a geology tutor with the Open University and Wilmslow Guild and has led many field trips and study tours in the UK for undergraduate summer schools and adult education courses.

The tour is open to the public as well as Guild members.

Day 1   Travel to Anglesey

We meet at the Hotel Cymyran, Valley, where we will be staying on a half board basis.

Days 2 to 6   Exploring Anglesey

Rhoscolyn and Rhosneigr – metamorphic sediments with complex folds and faults.

Llanddwyn Island – a tectonic plate in miniature with amazing pillow lavas.

Parys Mountain Mine – colourful copper mineralisation and industrial archaeology.

Red Wharf Bay – Carboniferous limestone, sandstones and fossils.

Lligwy Bay and Menai shore – Devonian and Permian red sandstones.

On these days, we will also visit places with a more recent story to tell – iron age round houses at South Stack and the Telford Museum at Menai Bridge. Spring flowers will be abundant and there should be puffins, razorbills and many more seabirds nesting on the cliffs at South Stack where the RSPB has a centre.

Day 7   Homeward bound

The tour concludes officially after breakfast but there is an option to visit Caernarfon to ride the Welsh Highland narrow gauge steam railway into the Snowdonia National Park one way to Beddgelert. There are stunning views as the train climbs past the foot of Snowdon and on to Beddgelert. Transport will be provided back to Caernarfon to rejoin your car.