Sites of Scientific Interest in The Woodland Park
Did you know that large parts of the Hill are designated “Sites of Special Scientific
Interest”?
These SSSIs are protected by Scottish law and on Kinnoull the interests cover the volcanic geology – best seen at Corsiehill quarry; the heathland – best seen to the west of the summit; and the flora on the cliffs – best seen from a safe distance.
The quarry is an interesting place. A working quarry until the late 1930s, it has since been left dormant and has become protected geological site and a haven for plants and mosses. Evidence of coppicing can be seen, so perhaps it has not been entirely unworked since the 1930s. The quarry was established in the early 19th Century to extract the hard Dolerite rock from an igneous dyke, formed some 300-400 million years ago.
A cross-section of this dyke can be seen on the west side of the car park, while the interface between the dyke and the andesite lava can be seen further into the quarry on the left. Other features of interest and a more detailed description of the quarry are given in a leaflet produced by the Tayside Biodiversity partnership. an excerpt from which is shown below.
It is perhaps interesting to note that without the intrusion of industry in the early
1800s, the science of the quarry today would be unknown. Every cloud has a silver lining!
