A Geological Excursion Guide to the Stirling and Perth Area

A Geological Excursion Guide to the Stirling and Perth Area , edited by M.A.E. Browne & C. Gillen. 2015. Edinburgh Geological Society in association with NMS Enterprises Ltd. 231 pp. ISBN 978-1-905267-88-0, £15.99. ‘Stirling and Perth’ is the fourth in the series of geological excursion guides published by the Edinburgh Geological Society in association with National Museums Scotland. Its predecessors had focused on established icons of Scottish geology – Rum, the NW Highlands and the Moine succession – but this latest contribution explores the possibilities of a less-celebrated region, and demonstrates that it has much to offer. But in these days of apps and smartphones, if a traditional excursion guidebook is to succeed, it needs to simultaneously satisfy several requirements: an attractive format, clear and concise navigation and locality descriptions integrated into the broader pattern of the regional geology, and the capacity to tempt the reader along unexpected byways. How does ‘Stirling and Perth’ fare in these respects? Very well, I think. The layout of the book is familiar from the earlier excursion guides in the series and works well. There are plenty of well-chosen colour illustrations and the maps and diagrams, equally colourful, are clear and purposeful. An introduction to the local geology is followed by itineraries for 18 excursions, each of which commences with an introductory panel summarizing its overall purpose and providing useful details of logistics and complementary Ordnance Survey topographical and British Geological Survey geological maps. A location and route map with adequate geology accompanies the beginning of each itinerary (all credited to Angus Miller), which is then laid-out to a common pattern so that the book develops a consistent identity, despite being the work of 16 different contributors. Credit for this must lie with the editors. Mike …