224 ME. AENOLD-BEMEOSE ON THE GEOLOGY OF [May 1899, 



15. Geology of the Ashbourne ^ Buxton Beanch of the London 

 ^ NoETH Westeen Railway : — Ashbouene to Crake Low. 

 By H. H. Aenolu-Bemeose, Esq., M.A., F.G.S. (Read 

 January 4th, 1899.) 



[Plates XVII & XVIII-Sections]. 



Contents. 



Page 



I. Introduction 224 



II. Description of the Cuttings 225' 



(1) Sandy brooke, 



(2) Alders Farm. 



(3) Ashes Farm. 



(4) Bentley Hall. 



(5) Washbrook. 



(6) Tissington. 



(7) Highway Close Barn. 



(8) Crake Low. 



IIL Crake Low Quarry 231 



IV. Petrography of the Eoeks 233 



(1) The thick Ash-bed. 



(2) The Ejected Blocks in the thick Ash. 



(3) The thin Tuffs and Tufaceous Limestones above the 



thick Ash. 



(4) The Limestones, 



I. Inteoduction. 



The railway from Ashbourne to Buxton, when completed, will 

 cover a distance of about 20 miles. It runs nearly due north, 

 passing near the villages of Fenny Bentley, Thorpe, Tissington, 

 Parwich, and Alsop-en-le-Dale, and will enable visitors from the 

 north to reach conveniently some interesting parts of the limestone- 

 district, besides rendering the beauties of Dovedale more accessible to 

 the tourist. 



Por the first 6 miles the railway runs on the Bunter Beds, Boulder 

 Clay, and Yoredale rocks, and for the remaining 14 miles on the 

 Mountain Limestone. The northern section, from Buxton to Parsley 

 Hay, was completed several years ago, and I believe that no geolo- 

 gical description of it was published. The southern section is now 

 in progress of construction. The cuttings as far as Crake Low, about 

 6 miles from Ashbourne, are practically completed, but farther 

 north there are several through which a passage has not yet been 

 made. For this reason, I confine myself in the present paper to 

 a description of the geology of the line from Ashbourne to Crake 

 Low. 



Undoubtedly the most interesting portions are the three cuttings 

 near Tissington, Highway Close Barn, and Crake Low. Sir A. Geikie,' 

 speaking of the latest traces of volcanic activity in Derbyshire, 

 points out that ' though no contemporaneous tuffs have yet been 



Ancient Volcanoes of Great Britain,' vol. ii (1897) p. 13. 



