The Durham Dales have never formed the centrepiece of a QRA field meeting and Teesdale in particular has never been visited by the QRA. This reflects an unfortunate neglect of the area by the Quaternary scientific community in general and goes some way to explain why little appears to be known about the glaciation of Teesdale.
This field meeting is a long overdue attempt to compile, re-assess and evaluate the extent to which we have developed upon previous research contributions and concepts. It is time to bring Teesdale out of the Quaternary science shadows and celebrate its rich landscape history. With respect to landforms, recent developments have been facilitated by the advent of improved aerial imagery, especially the NEXTMap data set or digital elevation model (DEM). Much of this guide will cross-reference this new compilation, using it to demonstrate the morphology and distribution of major landforms and Quaternary deposits as well as bedrock lithological controls.