The Harehope Quarry Project offers environmental education, field studies, rural skills training, community development, and community arts based from a limestone quarry in the North Pennines.
North Pennines Rock Detectives @ Harehope Quarry
There are three Rock Detectives Clubs dotted around the North Pennines AONB and European Geopark and one of them is based from Harehope Quarry.
The emphasis of the clubs is on adventure, fun and discovery!
Rock Detectives are clubs for children aged 6 to 12 (under 8's must be accompanied by an adult), where you can get involved in activities from fossil hunts, games and crafts, to video animation and visits to 'hands-on' attractions - all with a rocky theme!
Membership costs £1 then all the events are free! Members receive a Rock Detectives T-shirt and bag to start their Rock Detectives kit.
Rock Detectives is part of the AONB Partnership's Rockworks project, and is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Natural England and LEADER +.
Rock Detectives is also part of the AONB Partnership's contribution to a transnational project with nine partner European Geoparks, with LEADER + and other funding. The AONB Partnership is taking the lead on developing clubs of this kind and sharing with colleagues across Europe the experiences of the AONB Staff Unit, the group leaders and the participants to enable this work to spread to other Geoparks.
Taking a lead from the North Pennines, one of our partner Geoparks, Beigua, in northern Italy, has set up its own Rock Detectives clubs using our model and logos etc.
2009 Programme
All of the club events can be found on our Community Events page, but here is a brief summary of what we have planned:
- Sat 28th Feb: Time and Time Again @ Harehope Quarry
- Sat 25th Apr: Something Sweet @ Moorhouse, Upper Teesdale National Nature Reserve
- Sat 27th Jun: Going Underground @ Killhope Lead Mining Museum
- Sat 25th Jul: Rocky Outdoor Activities (full details tbc)
- Sat 17th Oct: Following in the footsteps of our ancestors @ Harehope Quarry
- Sat 5th Dec: Serious Rocks @ Durham University
Latest News
- Working for a Future in Frosterley
- 08th Jun 2010
The Harehope Quarry Project have been awarded funding to 'kick start' a project in Frosterley to look at how Frosterley can become more sustainable in the light of climate change and peak oil. We are starting the project with a number of film showings at Frosterley Village Hall. These will include 'The Inconvenient Truth' and 'In Transition' on 17 June 2010, from 8.00pm and 'The Age of Stupid' on 24 June 2010, from 8.00pm. These will be be followed by an intial meeting on the 30 June 2010 to explain the project and encourage people to get involved. - The Great Rock Tour
- 17th Dec 2009
On yet another wet and windy Sunday in November, an intrepid group of children and adults set out to experience the "Great Rock Tour". The group, the North Pennines Rock Detective Club from Harehope Quarry, set out in two minibuses bravely driven by Weardale Community Transport! One minibus went west, whilst the other headed east. The two groups went in search of rocks, which are typical of the North Pennines. A small rock sample was taken from each site within the North Pennines Geopark and will be sent to a Geopark in southern France. The Reserve Geologique de Haute-Provence will be sent the rock samples, which will be incorporated into their "Children of the Earth" monument containing rock samples from around the world. - The Last Wilderness
- 20th Aug 2009
10th-12th September 2009, 7pm Harehope Quarry, Frosterley The Last Wilderness is a new site-specific creation from Changeling Productions, the theatre company known for creating unique work in unusual places throughout the UK and Europe. The Last Wilderness is the dramatic story of Thomas Allman, a North Pennines hill farmer, faced with the biggest decision of his life. Should he sell his farm to the mysterious stranger who apparently offers him the answer to all his problems? Haunted by the failures and betrayals of the past and his hopes for the future Thomas finds himself journeying to The Last Wilderness, a place where he must face up to who he is and what he is. Performances will take place over three evenings in the beautiful surroundings of Harehope Quarry in Frosterley, an eco-project that explores sustainable living, where the world-famous Frosterley Marble was originally quarried.
Next Events
- North Pennines Rock Detectives club: Harsh environments
- 25th Sep 2010
10.30am – 1.00pm. Come and find out what plants and animals can tolerate living with lead on the Hudeshope Beck in Middleton-in-Teesdale. Contact for details. - Volunteer day
- 09th Oct 2010
10.00am – 4.00pm. Join our regular volunteering event. Tasks will include the continued work on the eco-classroom and nature reserve management. Refreshments and a light lunch are provided so if you intend to come please let us know so we have an idea of numbers. - Halloween fun!
- 31st Oct 2010
4.00pm – 6.00pm. Come and help us celebrate the end of summer and the onset of the long dark nights of winter. A mixture of Halloween, Celtic New Year and a bonfire thrown in! Adults £4.50, Children £2.50, Families £9.00. Drop-in.