The research work on the H. Cheviot area was undertaken
with three primary aims in view,
1) to provide material which would be of practical use
2) to provide material which would he of academic interest
3) to satisfy the writer's need for experience in.his
chosen subject.
It is maintained, that as the geologist is to the geomorphologist, so must the geomorphologist be to the geographer,
by providing in his work material of both practical and
academic interest. Like the geologist, the geomorphologiat
must be prepared to provide detailed descriptions, as well aa
generalising about the landforms, a need more than ever
enhanced following the recent appearance of the Soil Survey
who also work close to the ground and in detail. Again,
who can estimate what use a thorough study of an area may be
in the hands of County Planning Authorities? At the outset
the writer makes no apology for the length of the text, for
what is included is considered to be appropriate. However,
to ease the reader's task, pictorial representation is.
employed to the full. To cover only part of the area, the
Geological Survey run to four memoirs, and, like the Survey,
the writer has striven to satisfy needs for the particular
as well as the general.
In the academic sphere the writer has noted the deficiency
in the knowledge of denudation chronology in Northern England.
In time it should be possible to correlate the "surfaces"
suggested by the writer, but at present, for the reasons
stated in the text, it Is considered better to await the
results of adjacent areas. Glaciation and its effects bear
markedly on the landforms and rivers in the area, and also
have been considered. Here, too, unfortunately, the story
is an incomplete one, but at least a beginning has been made.
The reader, plodding through the essay details will find
frequent rhetorical questions, and, whilst these may
occasionally be irritating, the writer asserts that progress
and experience come from attention to the exceptions.
There Is little need to go into the details of the third
aim as it represents a bridge which all must cross.
To conclude this general preface , the writer wishes
to add several comments about the work itself. Field
mapping was carried out using the provisional 1:25,000 sheets
(War Edition) chiefly. The new 1:25,000 sheets were used
for part of Tweedside, but, sine© the 6" reductions (with
coloured contours) were found to be more satisfactory, the
new sheets were abandoned. Again, because of the nature
of the ground and the area involved, the most suitable scale
for mapping the results of fieldwork was found to be the 0.5" scale. It cannot be too strongly recommended that vertical
air photographs be used during the later stages of field-work, and in the period following fieldwork. The air
photographs at about 2.5" scale were found to be best suited
for this type of work. They are excellent for showing apace
relationships, economical and they give the user adequate
detail, besides which, they Hatch the field map scale. It
is noted, for example, that in the Bowmont valley the lava
strike shows beautifully on 2.5" air photos, covering the area
and can be appreciated more quickly than in the field.
Quickly, too, the worker has to decide whether he will work
systematically or attempt to take a broader view of the
geomorphology. Personal experience shows that an average of
one important geomorphological feature comes along each day.
Further, since many geomorphologists are also geographers, it
is considered by the writer to be a better thing to write
about the landforms and landscape first, than merely to
abstract and generalise immediately, leaving the reader
to wonder Just what the ground really does look like.
