Moffat Dale provides a gateway to White Coomb and Hart Fell to the north and the ridgeline of Donalds to the south that make up the Moffat Hills, which are classic Southern Uplands walking areas. Around the Grey Mare’s Tail and Loch Skeen is a fine spot to learn about the links between geology, glacial features at a range of scales and the biodiversity and landscape of the Southern Uplands. The group will meet up in the NTS carpark at 1000 (lifts can be arranged from Moffat or other points) and initially head up through the main tourist path towards Loch Skeen. This route affords excellent views of the hanging valleys off the main waterfall and crags that provide nesting habitat for Peregrine Falcons. As we push on beyond the waterfall some of the finer scale patterning of upland vegetation becomes apparent. Loch Skeen itself offers a fine view to the headwall of a corrie (visibility permitting) and we would then turn northwards over Watch Hill and descend to the road around Birkhill, close to the important geological site at Dob’s Linn, which is the internationally recognized reference point for the boundary between the Ordovician and Silurian systems before returning down the valley to the car park for 1600. You can view some images from this trip on the Hills of Hame blog https://hillsofhame.wordpress.com/2015/02/24/glacial-landforms-around-the-nts-reserve-at-grey-mares-tail/ Provider Dr Al McGowan (MT ID 95526), who will lead the trip, is a Chartered Geologist and HML. He has led geological field trips for 20 years, including trips to the Grey Mare's Tail and Dob's Linn in Moffat Dale.