Limestone pavements are rare. They are called pavements because they are flat, and like paving stones, they are divided up by cracks in the rock. These pavements have a very long history.
The limestone was formed millions of years ago on ancient sea floors, and in fact you may be able to see fossil shells in these rocks. But the pavements are quite recent. In fact they go back to the last ice age, just 10,000 years ago.
The way they were formed began when glaciers covered the land. As the glaciers moved, they scraped. The rocks embedded in the ice acted like sandpaper on the land below, smoothing and polishing. So that was stage one – a smooth limestone surface created by glaciers. The weight of the glaciers also cracked the limestone along natural crack lines in the rock. At the end of the Ice Age, the ice slowly melted. This exposed the smooth, but cracked limestone.
Rain soaked down into the cracks, and it did something interesting. It began to eat away at cracks in the rock. Rain is like a weak acid. It can dissolve limestone rock over time. So the flat limestone began to get more and more cracked and pitted. Every time it rained, rainwater drained into the cracks. More rock got dissolved in the cracks, and they got deeper.
The blocks of stone in the pavement are called “CLINTS”. The deep cracks are called “grikes”. They have become home to species of plants that need portection. And that is exactly what they find in this pavement environment.
There used to be many more limestone pavements. Then gardening enthusiasts decided they would like a decorative pile of rocks in the corner of their gardens. So the conveniently pre-cracked pavements were chopped out, broken up, and sold to happy gardeners. It is illegal to remove limestone pavement from here and indeed from anywhere in the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe, should people want to 'beautify' their gardens.
At N54 12.000 W 02 55.710 quite near the pavement is a boulder that was carried a long distance by the glacier to its current location. Boulders that have been carried like this are called "erratics".
To prove you have visited this site, please email the cache owner the answers to the following questions BEFORE you log the cache.
"WHAT IS THE APPROXIMATE WIDTH OF ONE OF THE GRIKES (cracks)?"
"THE ERRATIC BOULDER IS NOT MADE OF LIMESTONE - CAN YOU SAY WHAT KIND OF ROCK IT MIGHT BE MADE OF?" (Hint - it was once part of a sandy beach)
Not essential - a photo of you on the pavement would be nice.
Also not essential, but if you see any more limestone pavements please let me know.