The Wrekin, Shropshire, UK
Jenny and me on the Wrekin Summit for sunset.


Photography: Go Pro 4

Geology:
The crest of the Wrekin's ridge and its northwestern slopes are formed from various rocks of volcanic origin assigned to the Uriconian series, of Precambrian age. The 'Uriconian Volcanics' include rhyolites, tuffs and agglomerates. These rocks – layers of ancient lava flows laid down in a volcanic island arc are approximately 680 million years old.

Dolerite dykes intruded the extrusive volcanic rocks around 563 million years ago. A variety of the intrusive igneous rock granophyre, known as Ercallite forms the northeastern shoulder of the Ercall. It was put in place around 560 million years ago and is overlain by Cambrian rocks of sedimentary origin.

The southeastern side of the ridge is largely formed from sandstones and shales of Cambrian age. They include the early Cambrian Lower Comley Sandstone and Lower Comley Limestones together with the Wrekin Quartzite, outcrops of which also occur to the northwest of the ridge.

The lower ground to the northwest comprises sandstones and mudstones of late Carboniferous and Permian age whilst to the southeast are a succession of rocks of early Carboniferous age including limestone, the Little Wenlock Basalt and the Lydebrook Sandstone.

Structurally, the Wrekin together with the Ercall forms part of the Church Stretton Complex where different geological terrains meet. The fault system trends north-northeast:south-southwest.