Exploring Castleton

Posted at 11:22 am on 10th July, 2019

Geography trip to the Peak District

Year 8 and 9 students recently travelled to Castleton in Derbyshire to explore the question: ‘Does tourism have an impact on Castleton?’

Students began by collating tourism data, first by completing questionnaires with members of the public and then completing a traffic and pedestrian count at specific locations within the village.

Each year group participated in a geographical walk and enjoyed a tour up to the Mam Tor, locally known as the 'Shivering Mountain'.  By studying the landform, students learnt about the geological past of shallow seas by looking at the evidence of limestone rocks and fossils, glaciation in the u-shaped valleys, and mining of lead in the caves. 

In addition, Year 9 students took a different route through the hidden valley, which showed many more fossils within the limestone cliffs.

Mrs Doolan, Teacher of Geography, said

“It was great to see how intrigued students were by how the landscape is formed. They showed real interest in uncovering fossils and were diligent in their efforts to collect data to answer their topic question when we return to the classroom!” 

Students enjoyed the opportunity to take their learning outside and feedback was positive.

Anthony, Year 8, said:

“This is really interesting and you can see what we have learnt in class in real life.”

Year 9 Max added:

“You could clearly see how fossils were formed. I always wondered how they were formed and we have learnt that other minerals replace the old shell - that's great!”