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The trail around Greenheugh Point begins in spectacular exposures of the Devonian Old Red Sandstone, which was deposited by erosion of the great Caledonian Mountains that arose from the collision of European and North American landmasses.

In my headlong rush around the point, I nearly stepped on a nesting shorebird. It never moved as we walked by.

The Old Red Sandstone exhibited many changes over short distances, with thinly layered areas alternating with conglomerates and outstanding crossbedded sandstones.

In the fog and haze, we had our first view of the point. Although our time was limited, the next point looked accessible, and so we hastily ran down the beach, trying to get as close as we could.

We quickly became aware that the rock beneath our feet had changed! It was now a graywacke sandstone. We knew this was the rock that lay beneath the unconformity. It seemed that we had found an exposure of the unconformity, albeit a much more poorly exposed than the one at Siccar Point. Just the same, I was thrilled at the discovery.

Our progress was stopped by inaccessible cliffs and a lack of time. We made it to within 400 meters of our goal, and felt satisfied at the outcome. Siccar Point is the rugged point of rocks in the farthest distance on the left side of the photo.

See a higher resolution view of the point here

See a high resolution view of the breccia at the unconformity contact zone here

See a high resolution view of the crossbedded Old Red Sandstone here

And finally, the instructor on an outcrop of the Old Red Sandstone here

Our next destination was Melrose, with the beautiful ruins of the Abbey, and the Eildon Hills. Some of us were a little tired after the run along the beach...

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