The Lickey Hills Country Park
Covering an area of 524 acres, the Lickey Hills have attracted thousands of visitors each year from both near and far. From walking to cycling, orienteering to geocaching, the hills offer something for everyone in the family.
History
The Barnt Green Road Quarry was in use during the 19th century, continuing well into the 20th century, with the Lickey Quartzite rock being collected. The rock was used as an aggregate due to its hard nature, and was mostly used as a road stone to surface and mend local roads. The Lickey Quartzite was also one of the materials used in the building of the Frankley reservoir dam.
During WWII, the quarry was used as a barrage balloon mounting. A barrage balloon would have been used to protect a certain area against attack by aircraft. This barrage was used to protect the nearby Austin Aero works, which produced military vehicles, ammunition and aircraft, making it a major target for the German bombers.
Geology
The Barnt Green Road Quarry is mostly made up of Lickey Quartzite and Barnt Green Volcanic Formation rocks. The quarry itself forms part of an anticline - this is where the ground folds up due to increased pressure and deformation.
On the eastern side of the Lickey Hills there is also a number of fault lines between rock types of different ages, ranging from the Ordovician period to the Triassic period. This, as well as the formation of the anticline, has caused major movements in the rock beds. This can be seen by looking at the cliff face of the quarry. By following a layer of rock at the south end of the quarry and following it round, you will see that it doubles back on itself. This is known as an overfold structure.
More information on the geology of the Lickey Hills can be found at the Lickey Hills Visitor Centre (see waypoint).
The Cache
The listing coordinates will take you to the quarry viewing area. Here there are notice boards, from which you will get some of your answers. To go into the viewing area, go through the small gate to the left of the larger gate (which goes up to the quarry itself).
DO NOT GO INTO THE QUARRY ITSELF - PLEASE STAY WITHIN THE VIEWING AREA.
To claim this cache go to GZ and email me the answers to the following questions:
At GZ:
- Fault lines between Triassic-aged and Ordovician-aged rocks run roughly in a north-south direction to the east of the quarry viewing area. Walking the distance between the entrance gate and the interpretation panels, you will straddle approximately 238 million years of geological time. What is this distance?
- Describe the colours of the rocks that can be seen in the cliff face at the south end of the quarry.
- Estimate the height and width of the cliff face.
- How many folds can you see within the cliff face?
- Which rock type can be seen at the southern end of the quarry that according to Charles Lapworth were 'rising out from below the Lickey Quartizites', and describe how this rock type was made?
- Feel free to upload photos of you and/or your GPS at the quarry. (Not required but desirable)
There is no need to wait for a reply to the email you send me. If you do not send me an email within 1 week of putting a 'Found' log on this page then it may be deleted.
Please Note: Previous visits to GZ DO NOT class as finds - you must have visited after 29th June 2015.
Free parking can be found nearby at the Lickey Hills visitor centre (see waypoint). See the Lickey Hills website for more information on car park and visitor centre opening times. For a shorter walk with no steep hills, you may also park in Reservoir Road (see waypoint).