Henry Grey Bennet

“ Indeed all the whin dykes that I have seen in the northern district of Northumberland, the two which are so near to each other in Holy Island, and those which form the Fairn Islands, no less than that at Beadnel, bear a striking and uniform resemblance to each other; and are unlike those ranges of whin which are composed principally of hornblende, and which prevail to such an extent in the north-western parts of the county. ”

“ It rises in a perpendicular position through all the strata, without making the least alteration in the dip or inclination of those that are adjacent: but some short distance from the place where it is laid open to view, the limestone strata are much broken and dislocated. The qualities of the different strata in contact with the dyke differ materially from those of the same strata at some distance from it, particularly the limestone, which when lying in the immediate vicinity of the whin will not burn into lime of any value. ”