We hope you can join us on the pre-conference fieldtrip to the islands of Mull, Staffa & Iona. On this short excursion to the rugged west coast of Scotland we hope to give you a brief introduction to the complex geology of Scotland. We will also enjoy the spectacular scenery and rare wildlife, and sample the best of the local produce.

The trip will leave from the University of Glasgow on Saturday August 7th (to be confirmed) and will return on Saturday 14th, leaving you free to enjoy the city on Sunday 15th before the conference icebreaker. We will travel up Loch Lomond and into the highlands, before dropping down to the west coast and the fishing port of Oban where we catch the ferry across to Mull. On Mull we will stay at a converted farm house, and from here we will explore the rest of the island.

We will start our trip by exploring some the oldest rocks in Scotland (~3000Ma) from the Lewisian complex on Iona. This will also give us the opportunity to visit Iona Abbey, one of the oldest and most important early Christian sites in Europe. Moving eastwards we cross the Moine Thrust and encounter younger rocks (~900Ma) that record the effects of the later Caledonian orogeny and associated volcanism (-400Ma). After looking at the Mesozoic and Cretaceous sedimentary sequences, we will move onto the youngest rocks on Mull, which are associated with the volcanic beginnings of the North Atlantic (~60Ma).

Weather permitting the trip will include the short boat journey to the island of Staffa, and the base of the fissure-fed basaltic lava fields at Fingal's Cave; the source of inspiration for Mendelssohn's Hebridean Overture. We may be able to extend the boat trip to take in the cliffs of the west coast or the bird reserve of the Treshnish Isles, and hopefully see the whales and dolphins that visit these waters in the summer.

Once back on dry land, we will work though the volcanic sequence and into the roots of the ancient volcanoes. Many of the founding ideas for magmatic emplacement and physical volcanology were developed on the Palaeogene volcanoes of Western Scotland, and we will visit several key localities. We will also visit Tobermory where a tour of the distillery will be possible.

We will catch the ferry back to the mainland on Saturday 14th and will arrive back in Glasgow by late afternoon. You will then have most of Sunday to explore the city before the evening icebreaker reception.  More information and pre-registration for the field trip is available on the conference website.  Places are strictly limited by our accommodation and we expect the trip to fill up fast.  Please register your itnerest early to avoid disappointment.