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Help us build the Deep Time Trail at Siccar Point – give now https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/siccar-point

As the world prepares to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of James Hutton in 2026, the Scottish Geology Trust, Edinburgh Geological Society and The James Hutton Institute are marking this tercentenary by raising money to develop a Deep time Trail at Siccar Point.

James Hutton was many things: a farmer, a polymath, a hero of the Scottish Enlightenment and founder of modern geology. He helped advance modern agriculture, and was a chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician.

Portrait of James Hutton by Henry Raeburn. National Galleries of Scotland collection. Photo, National Galleries of Scotland

Portrait of James Hutton by Henry Raeburn. National Galleries of Scotland collection. Photo, National Galleries of Scotland

Photograph of visitors exploring Siccar Point. The foreground shows red sandstones gently dipping to the left. These lie on top of grey rocks with vertical bedding that are visible in the mid-ground. The visitors are stood on top of the grey rocks. In the very top of the image, the sea is blue.

Photograph of visitors exploring Siccar Point.

Siccar Point on the Berwickshire coast is one of the most significant locations in the history of geological sciences, as it was here that Hutton found the most compelling evidence of an unconformity, a geological feature that represents a significant gap in the geological record. This ultimately led to the concept of Deep Time and our understanding that the world is c.4.5 billion years old, not the 6,000 years old widely accepted in the late 18th century. 

But if you were to visit Siccar Point today, you wouldn’t necessarily know how important this place is. The Deep Time Trail will lead visitors along a 1.3 km route from the nearest road. It will begin with a welcome point at an improved parking area, follow a sequence of pause points which reveal the story of Siccar Point and explain the surrounding landscape, and culminate in a viewpoint, looking out over Siccar Point itself.

Artists impression of the viewpoint superimposed on an image of the land above Siccar Point. The viewpoint is a circular stone structure with interpretation panels. The landscape shows green fields sloping down to the left, ending in grey and red cliffs that meet the blue sea.

Artists impression of the proposed viewpoint above Siccar Point. 

The crowdfunder campaign aims to raise at least £75,000, which will cover approximately half of Phase 1 of the Deep Time Trail at Siccar Point.

The campaign will offer a variety of unique rewards to thank donors for their support, including beautiful facsimile copies of the 29 ‘Lost Drawings’, which were designed to be included in volumes of Hutton’s ‘Theory of the Earth’, but remained unpublished when Hutton died. These drawings were rediscovered in 1968 and are a remarkable visual record of Hutton’s theory and his understanding of the geology of Scotland.

Photograph of a selection of seven prints of the lost drawings. There are lots of different sizes and aspect ratios of the drawings. Some of them are quite wide and are held down with rocks. Most prints are in greyscale and are of pencil or ink sketches or engravings, but some have some light watercolour. The sketches are of a range of geological features, including folded rocks, veining, geological maps, and unconformities.

A selection of seven prints of the lost drawings. 

Join us in creating the Deep Time Trail! Crowdfunder launches on September 15th!

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/siccar-point

For more information contact steph@scottishgeologytrust.org