Geology of Scotland for Beginners (6 sessions)

Welcome to the Geology of Scotland for Beginners course, a new, independent online course that was offered live for the first time in January and February 2026.

It is aimed at anyone who is interested in Scotland and its landscape, and would like to find out more about the geological underpinnings of this small but interesting country. We explore all aspects of the geology of Scotland, linking the underlying rocks with today’s landscape, and discover intimate connections between rocks, landscape and people.

The course assumes no prior knowledge, and will build an understanding of the basic principles of geology and how these apply to Scotland’s story, with lots of pointers to further information. Each online session runs for 75-90 minutes.

Programme

Session 1: Scotland’s Journey  We start by building a basic understand how the Earth works, and how the surface of the planet is forever changing due to the Earth’s internal heat and the movement of tectonic plates. We explore how drifting continents over billions of years have led to the creation of Scotland’s rocks: an amazing variety of rock types and ages. Link to Recording.

Session 2: Sedimentary rocks of Scotland  One of the major, long-lasting processes on the surface of planet Earth is the erosion of land surfaces and the transport of sediment towards the sea. It goes on today, and it has done for billions of years. This simple process has led to the creation of major new rock volumes in the past, which are a significant feature of Scotland’s land and surrounding seabed today.

Session 3: Igneous rocks of Scotland  Volcanoes were here. Significant episodes of volcanic activity have occurred in Scotland in the past, creating a wide range of igneous rocks in volcanoes and underground accumulation of magma. From Skye, Staffa, Glen Coe, Arran to the craggy hills of central Edinburgh, this volcanic activity is responsible for much of the most iconic of Scotland’s scenery.

Session 4: Metamorphic rocks of Scotland  Moving continental plates collide, and make mountains. Intrinsic to this process is the burial, heating and change to existing rocks to make metamorphic rocks, such as slate, schist and gneiss. These rocks underlie a significant proportion of Scotland’s Highlands and Islands, and are connected to episodes of continental collision in the past, particularly the episode known as the Caledonian Orogeny 400-500 million years ago.

Session 5: Moulding Scotland’s landscape  Scotland’s varied and beautiful landscape is moulded from the variety of rocks that are found here, and their characteristics that have resulted in erosion of tens, often hundreds, of millions of years. Throughout Scotland, there is a strong connection between the shape of the land and the underlying rocks.

Session 6: Scotland’s Story  We trace Scotland’s story, showing how changing global conditions have led to the creation of a palimpsest of different rocks over a long period of time, and how these stories are encoded in the rocks. We draw on the work of Hugh MacDiarmid, Rabbie Burns and other writers to bring together the “loose ends of Scotland and … attempt to express the whole” and consider what’s coming next, before the “rocks melt wi the sun”.