BOOKS AND MAPS.— Nearly the whole area is included in Sheet 
No. 40, One-inch Ordnance Map (97 N.W. Old Series), which may also be had 
geologically coloured, and also Sheet 14, of the large sheet series. Six-inch maps 
can be seen at headquarters. The Geology is de.'^cnbed in some detail by the 
late J. G. Goodchild, in a guide published by Mr. J. W. Braithwaite, Kirkby 
Stephen. Also included in the guide is a List of •-'lants, and varied information 
on places of interest in the immediate vicinity of Kirkby Stephen. The price of 
the guide is 7d., post free from the Author. 
DISTRICT. — Kirkby Stephen is situate near to the Janet Scarp of the 
Pennines and not far from the Head Waters of the Rivers Swale and Yore which 
drain into the North Sea, and of the Eden and Lune which flow to Carlisle and 
Lancaster respectively. As the Yorkshire boundary is conveniently near oppor- 
tunity is afforded to inspect parts of Yorkshire which the Association has not 
hitherto visited, and it has been suggested that opportunity should be taken to 
investigate the large Tarn at the head of Swaledale and the additional areas 
thereabouts. The train service is convenient, as Kirkby Stephen may be readily 
approached from Darlington, Tebay or Leeds. 
HEADQUARTERS.— King's Arms Hotel, Kirkby Stephen. Tea, Bed 
and Breakfast, (l/G. Early application for rooms should be made direct to the 
proprietor, Mr. W. Hanson. 
ROUTES.— It is suggested that the route on Saturday should be through 
Hartley to Stenkrith Bridge, thence to the Brockram Quarries. 
On Monday to Birkdale Tarn in Swaledale, either direct or via Barras 
Railway Station and Tan Hill Collieries, where is the oldest and highest 
licensed public house in (ireat Britain (l,7"27-ft, above sea level). In either case 
traps will have to be provided so that the return may be over the Boundary Pass 
via Nateby. 
In order to assist late arrivals a notice will be put up at Headquarters 
indicating as far as possible the route intended to be traversed. 
PERMISSION.— Except the Brockram Quarries, for the viewing of 
which permission has been obtained, the whole of the area proposed to be 
visited is free. 
GEOLOGY. — The Geological Section will be officially represented by one 
of its Secretaries, Mr. John Holmes and Mr. J. J. Burton, F.G.S. 
Mr. W. Robinson writes that Kirkby Stephen stands on and is largely 
built of a brecciated conglomerate, locally known as Brockram (broken rock). 
This rock is the lowest of the Permians in the Vale of Eden, and rests uncon- 
formably on the Great Scar Limestone and on various members of the Yore- 
dale series. The Brockram consists of angular fragments of limestone, and is 
embedded in a calcareous or sandy matrix. Ikit how and in what way it came 
to assume that character has long puzzled Geologists, nor has it yet been 
adequately or satisfactorily explained or suggested. It was once thought the 
limestone fragments were ice borne and that glacial conditions prevailed ; after- 
wards it was supposed that the fragments might have fallen as screes from the 
sides of lofty mountains into adjoining deep fiords, and now it is suggested that 
desert conditions may have prevailed, as the grains of sand of which the new 
red sandstones (Permian and Trias) mainly consist are rounded and polished, as 
are usually the components of sand tossed too and fro by desert winds One 
thing is certain, however, that a long interval of time must have elapsed 
between the termination of the carboniferous period and the formation of this 
singular rock. The Brockram thins out in the red sandstones to the North West, 
so that at Penrith the whole formation is represented as Penrith Sandstone. 
Perhaps, however, the most important geological feature seen in the neighbour- 
hood of Kirkby Stephen is the huge fracture of the earth's crust, extending some 
70 miles North and South, and throwing up one side or the other some 
thousands of feet. Towards the North the up-throw of this mighty mass is all 
on the East side of the fracture, whereas to the South of the area the up-throw 
is on the West side. The Town and the Brockram appear to cover the point 
where the change occurs. The cone measures are to be seen at Tan Hill on the 
high ground to the East of Kirkby Stephen. They were, of course, laid down 
long anterior to the Brockram. 
