Matlock Bath and the Heights of Abraham
7th September 2011 |
During a stay with my sister in Derbyshire we visited the Heights of Abraham, a tourist attraction high on the western slopes above the River Derwent at Matlock Bath, accessed by cable car. There are various exhibitions of rocks, minerals and fossils and guided tours of the Masson Cave can be taken - there are no stalactites and stalagmites here, but galena, sphalerite and other minerals can readily be spotted, and these were exploited in the 19th century. The National Stone Centre at Middleton, near Matlock, also has interesting displays of rocks, minerals and fossils, and a set of Geosteps (as shown below), with rocks ranging from Pre-cambrian sandstone from Powys in Wales at the bottom to Palaeogene basalt from Antrim at the top. |
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| The Heights of Abraham, on the west side of the Derwent, is accessed by cable car from the east side. |
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| The view north up the Derwent Valley to Matlock, from the cable car. |
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| The view south along the Derwent Valley, from the cable car. |
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| Typical Carboniferous Limestone, with fossils, in the Masson Cave. |
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| The Geosteps at the National Stone Centre at Middleton. |