SMITH COMMENDS FORTHCOMING GEOLOGICAL WORK

4.16.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 19th Jun 2009

A new publication about the Building Stones of St Andrews is in preparation by geoHeritage Fife. Iain Smith MSP visited the town on Friday to meet the authors, geoHeritage Fife office-bearers Rosalind Garton and Richard Batchelor, and to see some of the stones to be featured in the book.

The book will take the form of a walk around the town centre from the West Port to the cathedral, taking in various buildings such as shops and banks which include particular geological features in their construction, including gabbro and granite finishes from the north-east of Scotland, slate from England and even traces of fossils and prehistoric earthquakes.

Mr Smith, who convenes the Scottish Parliament Tourism committee, commended the forthcoming work:

"This is a new way of looking at the familiar buildings of St Andrews, and their construction can tell us a lot about the prosperity of St Andrews at the time they were built. Some of them are constructed of local stone, for example, sandstones from Nydie and Strathkinness, but others were brought in from further afield, particularly once the railway made the transport of materials from other parts of the country more feasible. Once the book is published I hope that visitors and residents alike will take the opportunity to have another look at the varied fabric of the town."

ENDS