A contribution to the geomorphology of the East Cheviot area

The research work on the H. Cheviot area was undertaken with three primary aims in view, 1) to provide material which would be of practical use 2) to provide material which would he of academic interest 3) to satisfy the writer's need for experience in.his chosen subject.

It is maintained, that as the geologist is to the geomorphologist, so must the geomorphologist be to the geographer, by providing in his work material of both practical and academic interest. Like the geologist, the geomorphologiat must be prepared to provide detailed descriptions, as well aa generalising about the landforms, a need more than ever enhanced following the recent appearance of the Soil Survey who also work close to the ground and in detail. Again, who can estimate what use a thorough study of an area may be in the hands of County Planning Authorities? At the outset the writer makes no apology for the length of the text, for what is included is considered to be appropriate. However, to ease the reader's task, pictorial representation is. employed to the full. To cover only part of the area, the Geological Survey run to four memoirs, and, like the Survey, the writer has striven to satisfy needs for the particular as well as the general.

In the academic sphere the writer has noted the deficiency in the knowledge of denudation chronology in Northern England. In time it should be possible to correlate the "surfaces" suggested by the writer, but at present, for the reasons stated in the text, it Is considered better to await the results of adjacent areas. Glaciation and its effects bear markedly on the landforms and rivers in the area, and also have been considered. Here, too, unfortunately, the story is an incomplete one, but at least a beginning has been made. The reader, plodding through the essay details will find frequent rhetorical questions, and, whilst these may occasionally be irritating, the writer asserts that progress and experience come from attention to the exceptions.

There Is little need to go into the details of the third aim as it represents a bridge which all must cross.

To conclude this general preface , the writer wishes to add several comments about the work itself. Field mapping was carried out using the provisional 1:25,000 sheets (War Edition) chiefly. The new 1:25,000 sheets were used for part of Tweedside, but, sine© the 6" reductions (with coloured contours) were found to be more satisfactory, the new sheets were abandoned. Again, because of the nature of the ground and the area involved, the most suitable scale for mapping the results of fieldwork was found to be the 0.5" scale. It cannot be too strongly recommended that vertical air photographs be used during the later stages of field-work, and in the period following fieldwork. The air photographs at about 2.5" scale were found to be best suited for this type of work. They are excellent for showing apace relationships, economical and they give the user adequate detail, besides which, they Hatch the field map scale. It is noted, for example, that in the Bowmont valley the lava strike shows beautifully on 2.5" air photos, covering the area and can be appreciated more quickly than in the field. Quickly, too, the worker has to decide whether he will work systematically or attempt to take a broader view of the geomorphology. Personal experience shows that an average of one important geomorphological feature comes along each day. Further, since many geomorphologists are also geographers, it is considered by the writer to be a better thing to write about the landforms and landscape first, than merely to abstract and generalise immediately, leaving the reader to wonder Just what the ground really does look like.