Exploring Kilvickeon Beach

Saturday afternoon was spent near Kilvickeon Beach. One of my favourite beaches in Mull, last time I was in that area was with the VMSG field trip last summer where a day was spent looking at the geology near Scoor. Today was just one of those wander about days, taking pictures of things that caught my fancy.Perfect way to end a hectic week!

The beach and the tidal island of Garbh Eilean. Deserted!. There is a rather neat sill in the distance so I went to have a look at it

Garbh Eilean on the way to the sill

The country rock here is Moine metasediments of the Ardalanish Striped and Banded Formation. Some neat pelitic layers with garnets can be found. This was in a huge block that had fallen from above:

The garnets are quite small as you can see

The sill is nearby:
The sill (of Palaeocene age) is much younger than the Moine rocks it is intruded into. It stands out really well as it is a distinctive brown colour. The Moine rocks are mainly grey

The top of the sill has a lot of these fragments of country rock sticking in it. I suppose these are roof pendants rather than xenoliths. Quite a lot of them to be found

There is also a natural arch /bridge in the sill where it has eroded away. The waves were crashing in and because of the tide I wasnt able to get under this feature. Would be neat to see it from below:

Not a great pic as it was really awkward to photograph, but that is the sea below and the rock in the top left hand part of the photo is the "bridge"

Heading back, I had a good look at the contact of the sill with the Moine


Moine underneath, sill above. Chilled margin is obvious in the field. Note the lump of Mine rock that has broken off and forms a xenolith in the sill, just above the ruler

Some of the mica rich rocks were very shiny in the sun. Full of garnets as well:


Again, this wasnt in situ but from a fallen block. The whole shore at this point is covered in large boulders from the cliff above

A final look at the sill before heading off to the next location:


The brown colour is more obvious in this picture and what really stands out is where a large chunk has broken off leaving an ochre coloured scar. It wasnt like that the last time I was here!

From the beach I headed back up the hill and then over to the hill called Dun a' Gheaird. The remains of an old hill fort can be seen here, part of the wall is clearly visible.

Heading up towards Dun a' Gheaird, looking down on the beach

The view west from Dun a'Gheaird. Lots of little headlands and bays

Light starting to fade. View from the shore looking back up to the Dun. Last time I was here was about 10 years ago.


The metamorphic rocks on the shore are really impressive. The bedding is nearly vertical in places and the rock is very fissile.

From here it was a quick haul back up the hill and over to the road and back to the car. A great afternoon out!


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