By Bas Bodewes, University of Hull
The 26th of April 2019 marked the first day of the BSG postgraduate fieldtrip, the first fieldtrip in several decades. Revitalising the postgraduate fieldtrips all started to flow about a year ago, somewhere around the BSG annual meeting in 2018. And according to the past tweet-updates, places were in high demand. Still, with storm Hannah looming on the horizon and forecasted to track straight over our campsite on the higher ridges of the Peak District, the challenge was set.
Warned by the forecast, I decide to leave early with my camping gear and waterproofs to explore the surroundings of Castleton, while the weather was still acceptable. I arrived at a nice camping farm, greeted by a small lamb and barking guard dog and found a lush green field with some stone walls to pitch my tent. I then enjoyed the last chance to glimpse sunshine, for what turned out to be over 30 hours! As the campsite was deserted bar the tent of one fellow geomorphologist, I walked up a small mountain to keep warm and see some of the surroundings. On the way up I walked past a couple of sink-hole like features, guarded by a few aggressive sheep. On the top, the views of the surrounding valleys, enhanced by purple coloured skies and incoming rain showers was worth the walk.
Upon return, the campsite was alive with both familiar and new faces of fellow BSG postgraduates who were chaotically effective in setting up tents. Despite some of them never having used those tents before. Once everyone was settled and the corner of the field transformed into a proper basecamp, it was time to get some food. Two villages further we managed to find our hope at a local Indian in a village, aptly named Hope, an evening meal which was much appreciated by everyone, after a long day that started for most of us in the office.
Stuffed up from a good meal we returned to the campsite (Hope was a bit too deserted to stay longer), where the wind had picked up and showers became more frequent. As we were enjoying the luxury of an extra tent to sit in, we were able to shelter from rain and wind. That said, the tent was loudly flapping and with the storm strengthening we all tried to find a way to handle this storm. Whether it was an early jump into a warm sleeping bag, the relative safety of a car, or just the company of some fellow postgraduates. Special credits to the two persons who tried to set-up tomorrow’s program, but were chased away by cows in the dark.
Next morning all tents were still standing (just…, some had survived wind-induced flexibility far above expectation!), although several tents did not withstand the rain and got very wet inside. Gladly, an extensive camping breakfast was served that morning, including a wide range of cereals, fruit, pastries, drinks, all served with fresh and hot coffee and tea! A breakfast that brought everyone back up to a substantial level to withstand the challenges of the day to come.
The challenge we found in a small tent was a riddle to solve, regarding two missing scientists: A PhD student and his supervisor. Both the student and his supervisor went missing on this farm, the student a couple of days ago, the supervisor the day after, while she was searching for the student. Divided into two groups it was a race to use geomorphologic clues to discover their whereabouts. Despite eagerly diving into the materials and clues in the tent, both groups took their time to leave the campsite (or was it just to avoid the pouring rain?). Once on our way, fully dressed in waterproofs, realisation came that cold, wet and windy weather is not the most effective weather to track and follow geomorphic clues. Our group found that out quickly when we diverted our route from Windy Knoll (the origin of the name was pretty clear!) towards the highest point in the area, Mam Tor. Towards the top we became more and more subject to wind, some stretches we had to stretch our body horizontally into the wind to avoid being blown over. It was an experience, but we all realised it would be futile to search for a clue here. On the way down, and slightly more sheltered from the storm, the benefit of an elevated view of the local geomorphology proved useful. Unclouded we could see our next goal in front of us, highlighted by the bright fluorescent colours of the other group’s waterproofs! Round one to them! They proved to be adept at sieving clues from a bucket of sand, while soaked by wind and rain.
Further along our path we found a dry cave which served home-made hot drinks, all we needed for the last stretch towards the end of our quests. Accidentally, both teams arrived at a bridge, to fish together for our last clue! This clue led us towards a pub in Castleton, however at that stage all of us were so battered by the wind and rain that we forgot the purpose of our quest and just went straight for a warm and dry place with food and drinks. Perhaps that is what it all was about, whatever the goal, academics always end up in a pub!
A quick shower at the campsite and it was time for our final dinner of this field trip. This time food was provided courtesy of the BSG (Thank you!). We all silently agreed upon staying in this place the entire evening, we’d had enough rain and wind for one day. Back at the tents, most of us were already fast asleep when the rain suddenly stopped just after midnight.
The next morning was a huge change, those that woke up early were rewarded by a clear blue sky, with tents basking in the sunshine. Even before breakfast got prepared, the wall next to the tents turned into patchwork of drying sleeping bags and clothing. A bit of sunshine sparked everyone up, and with another decent breakfast, we were ready for our next challenge, a mine and cave tour where a very specific and local mineral called Blue John was mined. Inside, we found out that it was again wet and dripping. It turned out the seepage time was about 8 hours, so despite the sunshine outside, we got another bit of yesterday’s rain falling down upon us! While we ventured deeper through the complex, with impressive purplish veins of Blue John, we slowly arrived in the natural cave. Here waterfalls of limestone were formed on sloping walls flanked by hundreds of stalagmites and stalactites.
Outside in the bright sunshine, we all got our own gift, a personal reminder of our nicknames set in stone (or plastic). After a celebration of our adventurous fieldtrip we got back to the campsite and, as a well-organised group we quickly packed our camp. With a quick but nourishing lunch, we had to split up and head homebound. My train was the first to leave and as there was no one joining my direction, there was enough time to contemplate the last two days. It was a great fieldtrip, a good way to meet new people all doing similar things with more or less similar interests. Through bad weather and worse, we proved what it takes to be a field geomorphologist: resilience, motivation and teamwork. Geomorphologically, experiencing these forces of wind and rain first hand gave us insight into the processes that shape the landscape (or at least our tents…). Still, considering we survived this storm on the top of the Peak’s, if any of us desires to go on such fieldtrip again, no weather is going to stop us.
With that said, any volunteers for organizing next year’s fieldtrip? Most likely you’re going to have better weather, but otherwise just make sure we all join again and you’ll have a great group to beat any challenge!
All images were taken by Richard Mason unless otherwise stated.
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