Volcanoes, Beaches & Ancient Seas: A Geology Tour of Gullane with @ScottishGeologist
Join @ScottishGeologist for a stunning coastal geology tour around Gullane, East Lothian—where wide sandy beaches, rocky headlands, and classic Scottish geology come together. This area offers an exceptional snapshot of Carboniferous volcanism, sedimentary environments, and Ice Age landscape change, all in an accessible, walkable setting with big views across the Firth of Forth.
What to Expect
🌋 Carboniferous Volcanic Activity
Explore volcanic rocks formed around 340 million years ago, when this part of Scotland lay near the equator.
Examine basaltic intrusions and lava flows exposed along the shoreline and at Gullane.
Learn how magma forced its way through soft sediments, baking and altering them at the margins - very good examples of chilled margins.
🪨 Sedimentary Rocks from Ancient Seas and Deltas
Walk across sandstones, mudstones, and limestones deposited in warm, shallow seas, lagoons, and river deltas.
Identify features such as bedding planes, ripple marks, iron nodules, cross bedding, deformation beds and fossil-rich layers that record shifting environments through time.
🦴 Fossils and Past Life
Look for marine fossils—including shells and crinoid fragments—in limestone beds and loose blocks.
Discover how these fossils help reconstruct a tropical Carboniferous coastline very different from today’s Scotland.
🌍 Structural geology and plate tectonics
Analyse faults and learn about brittle deformation.
Learn about stresses associated with convergent, divergent and transform plate boundaries.
🌊 Coastal Processes in Action
Observe wave-cut platforms, rock pools, and eroded cliffs that give textbook exposures of the geology.
Discuss how modern coastal erosion continues to reveal new sections of rock each year.
👣 Hands-On Geology
Practice reading the rocks in the field: distinguishing igneous from sedimentary units and tracing contacts.
Use everyday features—beaches, cliffs, headlands—to link big geological ideas to real landscapes.
Who Should Attend?
Perfect for beginners, families, students, and anyone curious about Scotland’s coastal geology.
Ideal if you enjoy learning outdoors with minimal scrambling and maximum scenery.
Event Details
📍 Location: Gullane beach , East Lothian
🗓️ Date: Sunday 5th April 2026
⏰ Duration: 10:00-12:00. If 10:00-12:00 sells out I will offer another tour between 12:30-14:30
🎟️ Price: £25pp meet us there
🥾 Terrain: Beach, rock platforms, and coastal paths (tide-dependent) - some rock scrambling - however not necessary for those who aren’t up for ‘scrambling’.
📏 Distance: 2 miles
Why Join This Tour?
Led by @ScottishGeologist, this tour turns a beautiful day at the beach into a journey through volcanoes, ancient seas, and Ice Age Scotland. Gullane’s geology is clear, varied, and wonderfully accessible—making it one of the best places to learn how to read the rocks.
Book Your Gullane Geology Tour
🪨 Ancient lava
🌊 Coastal rock platforms
🦴 Fossils underfoot
🧊 Ice Age landscapes
Gullane proves that world-class geology doesn’t need a mountain—sometimes it’s right by the sea.
Volcanoes, Beaches & Ancient Seas: A Geology Tour of Gullane with @ScottishGeologist
Join @ScottishGeologist for a stunning coastal geology tour around Gullane, East Lothian—where wide sandy beaches, rocky headlands, and classic Scottish geology come together. This area offers an exceptional snapshot of Carboniferous volcanism, sedimentary environments, and Ice Age landscape change, all in an accessible, walkable setting with big views across the Firth of Forth.
What to Expect
🌋 Carboniferous Volcanic Activity
Explore volcanic rocks formed around 340 million years ago, when this part of Scotland lay near the equator.
Examine basaltic intrusions and lava flows exposed along the shoreline and at Gullane.
Learn how magma forced its way through soft sediments, baking and altering them at the margins - very good examples of chilled margins.
🪨 Sedimentary Rocks from Ancient Seas and Deltas
Walk across sandstones, mudstones, and limestones deposited in warm, shallow seas, lagoons, and river deltas.
Identify features such as bedding planes, ripple marks, iron nodules, cross bedding, deformation beds and fossil-rich layers that record shifting environments through time.
🦴 Fossils and Past Life
Look for marine fossils—including shells and crinoid fragments—in limestone beds and loose blocks.
Discover how these fossils help reconstruct a tropical Carboniferous coastline very different from today’s Scotland.
🌍 Structural geology and plate tectonics
Analyse faults and learn about brittle deformation.
Learn about stresses associated with convergent, divergent and transform plate boundaries.
🌊 Coastal Processes in Action
Observe wave-cut platforms, rock pools, and eroded cliffs that give textbook exposures of the geology.
Discuss how modern coastal erosion continues to reveal new sections of rock each year.
👣 Hands-On Geology
Practice reading the rocks in the field: distinguishing igneous from sedimentary units and tracing contacts.
Use everyday features—beaches, cliffs, headlands—to link big geological ideas to real landscapes.
Who Should Attend?
Perfect for beginners, families, students, and anyone curious about Scotland’s coastal geology.
Ideal if you enjoy learning outdoors with minimal scrambling and maximum scenery.
Event Details
📍 Location: Gullane beach , East Lothian
🗓️ Date: Sunday 5th April 2026
⏰ Duration: 10:00-12:00. If 10:00-12:00 sells out I will offer another tour between 12:30-14:30
🎟️ Price: £25pp meet us there
🥾 Terrain: Beach, rock platforms, and coastal paths (tide-dependent) - some rock scrambling - however not necessary for those who aren’t up for ‘scrambling’.
📏 Distance: 2 miles
Why Join This Tour?
Led by @ScottishGeologist, this tour turns a beautiful day at the beach into a journey through volcanoes, ancient seas, and Ice Age Scotland. Gullane’s geology is clear, varied, and wonderfully accessible—making it one of the best places to learn how to read the rocks.
Book Your Gullane Geology Tour
🪨 Ancient lava
🌊 Coastal rock platforms
🦴 Fossils underfoot
🧊 Ice Age landscapes
Gullane proves that world-class geology doesn’t need a mountain—sometimes it’s right by the sea.
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