Through Deep Time: A Geology Tour of the North West Highlands with @ScottishGeologist
Join @ScottishGeologist on a journey into the North West Highlands, one of the most geologically important landscapes in the world. Here, billion-year-old rocks, ancient mountain-building collisions, and world-famous thrust faults tell the story of Earth’s deep past in a setting of breathtaking mountains, lochs, and sea cliffs.
What to Expect
🪨 The Oldest Rocks in Europe
Walk across outcrops of Lewisian gneiss, some of the oldest rocks on the continent at over 3.2 billion years old.
Learn how these rocks formed deep in Earth’s crust and were later uplifted and exposed by tectonic events.
🏜️ Torridonian Sandstones
Discover striking red sandstone mountains such as Stac Pollaidh and Suilven, formed from ancient river and desert deposits around 1 to 1.2 billion years ago.
Examine sedimentary structures like cross-bedding, ripple marks and mud cracks that preserve clues to these long-vanished environments.
🌍 The Moine Thrust Belt
Visit the internationally famous Moine Thrust Zone, where older rocks were pushed for miles over younger rocks during the Caledonian Orogeny ~430 million years ago.
See spectacular thrust fault exposures and understand why this region became a cornerstone of modern geological science.
⛰️ Classic Highland Landscapes
Explore iconic sites such as Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve, where geology meets art and interpretation.
Trace how glaciers sculpted the rugged terrain into corries, U-shaped valleys, and polished rock surfaces during the last Ice Age.
👣 Guided Walks and Field Observations
Enjoy carefully chosen walks and stops to study:
Rock textures and mineralogy.
Fold and fault structures in outcrop.
How geology influences today’s landscape and ecology.
Who Should Attend?
Geology enthusiasts and students keen to see textbook examples in the field.
Hikers, photographers, and nature lovers drawn to Scotland’s wildest scenery.
Anyone curious about how mountains form and why the North West Highlands are a UNESCO Geopark.
No prior geology knowledge required—just sturdy footwear and a spirit of exploration.
Event Details
📍 Location: Ullapool, North West Highlands
📍Pick up locations: outside Costa coffee, 50 George’s square, Glasgow at 10:00 or Inverness train station at 15:30/16:00
🗓️ Dates: Friday 29th May to Sunday 31st May 2026
⏰ Duration: multi-day tour (2 to 3 days)
🎟️ Price:
Places we will visit:
Knocken Crag - The Moine Thrust Fault
Loch Assynt
Achmelvich Bay
Clachtoll beach
Glencoul thrust fault
The Rock Stop (if opened) - The North West Highlands Geopark stop and rock museum.
Kylesku Bridge
Scourie Bay
Laxford Cutting
Smoo Cave, Durness
Ceannabeinne beach, Durness
Rock formations you’ll see:
The Lewissian Gniess - the oldest rocks in Scotland
The Torridonian Sandstones
The Moine supergroup
The Cambrian quartzites including the ‘pipe rock’
The Durness Group
The Ardverck Group
The Dalradian supergroup
And many more 🪨😍
Why Join This Tour?
Led by the knowledgeable @ScottishGeologist, this tour will guide you through some of the most important outcrops in Earth science history. You’ll walk across rocks older than life itself, stand at the site of ground-breaking 19th-century geological discoveries, and see how tectonics, sedimentation, and glaciation shaped Scotland’s wild northwest.
Book Your Highland Geology Experience Today!
The North West Highlands are not just Scotland’s oldest rocks—they are pages in the story of our planet. Come and read them with @ScottishGeologist.
Through Deep Time: A Geology Tour of the North West Highlands with @ScottishGeologist
Join @ScottishGeologist on a journey into the North West Highlands, one of the most geologically important landscapes in the world. Here, billion-year-old rocks, ancient mountain-building collisions, and world-famous thrust faults tell the story of Earth’s deep past in a setting of breathtaking mountains, lochs, and sea cliffs.
What to Expect
🪨 The Oldest Rocks in Europe
Walk across outcrops of Lewisian gneiss, some of the oldest rocks on the continent at over 3.2 billion years old.
Learn how these rocks formed deep in Earth’s crust and were later uplifted and exposed by tectonic events.
🏜️ Torridonian Sandstones
Discover striking red sandstone mountains such as Stac Pollaidh and Suilven, formed from ancient river and desert deposits around 1 to 1.2 billion years ago.
Examine sedimentary structures like cross-bedding, ripple marks and mud cracks that preserve clues to these long-vanished environments.
🌍 The Moine Thrust Belt
Visit the internationally famous Moine Thrust Zone, where older rocks were pushed for miles over younger rocks during the Caledonian Orogeny ~430 million years ago.
See spectacular thrust fault exposures and understand why this region became a cornerstone of modern geological science.
⛰️ Classic Highland Landscapes
Explore iconic sites such as Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve, where geology meets art and interpretation.
Trace how glaciers sculpted the rugged terrain into corries, U-shaped valleys, and polished rock surfaces during the last Ice Age.
👣 Guided Walks and Field Observations
Enjoy carefully chosen walks and stops to study:
Rock textures and mineralogy.
Fold and fault structures in outcrop.
How geology influences today’s landscape and ecology.
Who Should Attend?
Geology enthusiasts and students keen to see textbook examples in the field.
Hikers, photographers, and nature lovers drawn to Scotland’s wildest scenery.
Anyone curious about how mountains form and why the North West Highlands are a UNESCO Geopark.
No prior geology knowledge required—just sturdy footwear and a spirit of exploration.
Event Details
📍 Location: Ullapool, North West Highlands
📍Pick up locations: outside Costa coffee, 50 George’s square, Glasgow at 10:00 or Inverness train station at 15:30/16:00
🗓️ Dates: Friday 29th May to Sunday 31st May 2026
⏰ Duration: multi-day tour (2 to 3 days)
🎟️ Price:
Places we will visit:
Knocken Crag - The Moine Thrust Fault
Loch Assynt
Achmelvich Bay
Clachtoll beach
Glencoul thrust fault
The Rock Stop (if opened) - The North West Highlands Geopark stop and rock museum.
Kylesku Bridge
Scourie Bay
Laxford Cutting
Smoo Cave, Durness
Ceannabeinne beach, Durness
Rock formations you’ll see:
The Lewissian Gniess - the oldest rocks in Scotland
The Torridonian Sandstones
The Moine supergroup
The Cambrian quartzites including the ‘pipe rock’
The Durness Group
The Ardverck Group
The Dalradian supergroup
And many more 🪨😍
Why Join This Tour?
Led by the knowledgeable @ScottishGeologist, this tour will guide you through some of the most important outcrops in Earth science history. You’ll walk across rocks older than life itself, stand at the site of ground-breaking 19th-century geological discoveries, and see how tectonics, sedimentation, and glaciation shaped Scotland’s wild northwest.
Book Your Highland Geology Experience Today!
The North West Highlands are not just Scotland’s oldest rocks—they are pages in the story of our planet. Come and read them with @ScottishGeologist.
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