White Scar Caves

The field trip today to the White Scar Caves in Yorkshire, located just an hour away from Lancaster, was absolutely brilliant. it is a compulsory trip for students taking the environmental science hydrology module. The journey by bus was great - not because the coach was huge and comfy (on the contrary, it wasn't...) but because the driver took a route that allowed me to really see the beauty of Lancaster - the green fields that stretch wayyyy into the horizon, the flowers that bloom in winter, the carefree (spray-painted-butt) sheep (=P) and the rich architecture of the suburbs. allowing myself to relax and soak in nature's beauty, i felt relieved (of tension) and refreshed. i was only too ebullient to welcome the snow on arrival at the caves. hiking through the cave was highly enjoyable. Observations: karstic system, metamorphic rocks (300million years old), limestone, slate, stalactites, river streams (in the cave as well!), human cut passages and even a chamber that fills naturally with radon gas (a radioactive gas) in the summer. (no worries: natural processes keep the radon out of the chamber in winter - drafts etc.)Being alive and able to experience such handsomeness gives me enough to be thankful for. i suppose the academics fulfilled their aim of imparting the necessary knowledge; i on the other hand, fulfilled mine by taking in all that was seen ... and said.

White Scar Caves, Yorkshire