88 [rroc. B.N.F.C., 



GOBBINS CLIFF PATH. 



(Half-day Excursion.) 



The final excursion of the Club took place on Saturday, 

 27th September, the place selected being the Gobbins Cliff 

 Path, recently opened by the enterprise of the Northern 

 Counties Railway. The day being an exceptionally fine, 

 bright, autumnal one, the members of the Club and their 

 friends turned out to the number of 126, and left by the 

 12-50 p.m. train for Ballycarry Station, with the Vice-Presi- 

 dent and Mr. Robert Patterson, Hon. Secretary, acting as 

 guides. Owing to the numbers being so largely in excess of 

 those expected and prepared for, the party had to be divided 

 at Ballycarry, and the cars had to do double duty, starting 

 first with sixty and then returning for the remainder, and 

 even then each car had to carry seven passengers and the driver. 

 The sub-division allowed the first party to start at the near 

 end of the path, and the cars then carried the second portion 

 to near Hill's Cottage, where both rejoined and commenced 

 the Cliff Path proper. On this walk several of the members 

 pointed out and explained the various points of interest, in 

 the geological formation, with its beautiful sections of amyg- 

 daloidal basalt, studded on every conceivable portion with 

 zeolites sparkling in the sunlight; the great dykes; the long 

 red layers of iron and ochre punctuating, as it were, the chap- 

 ters in the history of the earth's formation; the great sea 

 caves; the long line of raised terraces, showing a gradual up- 

 ward movement of the crust, and the wearing away of portions 

 of the cliff and the consequent formation of islands, bays, 

 heads, and recesses. The botanists of the party soon found 

 the beautiful Sea Spleenwort (Asplenium marinum), and were 

 loud in their praise of the precautionary measures taken for 

 its safety. Amongst other things noticed were the winter 

 homes of the common garden snail (Helix aspersa) hollowed out 

 in the chalk. These came in for a large share of close atten- 

 tion. One member of the Club handed in the following list 

 of birds he had noticed during the afternoon, viz. : — Song 



