Rock, Rail and Roade—uncovering a geological treasure

Abstract

Railway cuttings, like that at Roade, near Northampton in the English East Midlands, can provide a wealth of geological information, but for safety reasons they remain off‐limits to the majority of geologists. Even when access can be achieved, observations are often limited by the extent of vegetation cover. However, a new programme of engineering works at Roade has allowed Natural England and the British Geological Survey (BGS) to explore new ways of capturing the geological and topographical data from railway cuttings that could eventually allow everyone to make a virtual reality visit to otherwise inaccessible sites.