Introduction

Abstract

AbstractMany people - and I am one of them - think that the Lake District is the most beautiful and finest part of England. That is why so many people go there every year. Moreover, although the region is surely a place of great geological interest, its very beauty may well account for the fact that so many geologists have chosen to work there, selecting it for their special area of research. For surely it is a region that one can love, as much as study. I candidly acknowledge that I chose to carry out my investigations for the present book because of my devotion to the region. I lived there when I was a small boy during World War II, and always wanted to return, to get to know the place better. This prospect was so attractive that I made it my first and major preoccupation upon my retirement in 1996.Uncharitable critics may think that my task has been a case of self-indulgence. They may, I admit, be a little bit right. Even so, I think that my occupation has been honourable, and justifiable as a contribution to the history of science. For I like to think that I have opened a new doorway in the study of the history of geology. My aim has been to show how, in all their complexity and detail, the current ideas about the geology of a particular region have been arrived at, right to the 'present' - in this case to