The waterfall at Jepson’s Clough is partly hidden in a small ravine that marks the site of a geological fault. There is a path along the Northeast bank from which you can look down towards the waterfall but the view is often obscured. On the Southeast bank there is the remains of a small quarry and it is quite easy to climb down towards the foot of the waterfall.
Interestingly there are slickenside rocks to be found nearby and fragments in the stream. These are rocks that have been scraped by movement of a geological fault and can be seen to be smoothed off or scored along the face where the fault movement occurred.
Fragments of such rock found in the stream can look a bit like the grinding surface of a prehistoric saddle quern but aren’t. Perhaps more interestingly, some sort of rock formation nearby was known as “quernstanes cliff” in medieval times, literally “quern stones cliff” it is unknown whether this was a place favourable to the production of quern stones or whether the rocks found there looked like quern stones as they sometimes do today.
The local gritstone is actually very good for grinding and was used extensively in later years to produce millstones and the local rock is now known as Millstone Grit. It is a durable rock due to its relatively large content of quartz.
Stunning waterfalls in Lancashire to visit without leaving the county.
Stunning waterfalls in Manchester to visit without leaving the county.
A guide to the local West Pennine area waterfalls and perhaps a few others nearby in Lancashire.
A small area with a wooded stream, waterfalls and interesting geological features
