The Welland Valley
The Welland Valley is aligned west-east between Stamford & Maxey. To the west it is underlain by Jurassic mudstones and limestones including the Lower Lincolnshire Limestone and Cornbrash. To the east where it adjoins the Fen Edge it is underlain by Kellaways Clay. It comprises the Alluvium, Peat and River Terrace Deposits of the River Welland and its tributaries.
It is located north the Jurassic Limestone Ridge. The elevation ranges from 5 to 30m OD. There are poorly drained soils on Alluvium, Peat and bedrock clay, & well-drained soils on Terrace Gravels and limestone.
There are no geological SSSI and one LGS, Maxey Quarry).
Maxey Quarry
Officially called Maxey Quarrry and Preferred Area, this is a RIGS/LGS.
From the Peterborough Geology Audit ‘Upon This Rock’, 2000
‘The only Quaternary site in the area, so far, that contains definitive evidence of the last interglacial stage, approximately 115,000 to 130,000 years ago. It is important not only for its complex gravel successions but also for its palaeontological finds, archaeology and soils. Descriptions of the Quaternary sequence and fossils have been publsihed and many mammalian bones are displayed in Peterborough Museum. Part of the pit is flooded and already a wildlife site. Under current planning permisssions, the quarry will be restored back to agriculture although amendments are proposed for a partial restoration to a wildlife afteruse.’
