Salthills Quarry Geology Trail

Image: © Gary Rogers Taken: 29 Mar 2009

Face of abandoned limestone quarry. The site of the old quarry is now largely occupied by an industrial estate but there is a geology trail running round its perimeter. The limestone contains crinoid fossils, ancient sea cretures that lived around 340 million years ago at a time when this area was under a shallow sea near the equator. Small fragments can be gathered from the surrounding area and in situ examples are clearly visible in the quarry face. A small area of limestone grassland around the quarry is now actively managed for its biodiversity and a geology trail has been laid out. From a historical perspective, a commemorative plaque on Lincoln Way tells how "All the soil and woods of Salthille was given to the Burgesses of Clitheroe and their heirs to make their profit thereof in the best manner they can" by Henry De Lacy, Earl of Lincoln in 1307.

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