Dr Alan Butcher
Alan's passion for studying geology, which began during his school days, has led him to work on rocks from every continent, as well on samples from the Moon and Mars. Having lived in Africa, Australia, UK and Europe, he is currently Chief Scientist for a geological consultancy, and a Visiting Professor at The Open University.
Alan is an accomplished communicator and educator, and enjoys explaining why earthquakes occur, how volcanoes erupt, and when mountain chains formed.
Now based in Somerset, he has become interested in the local geology, especially the linkages to historically interesting local people (including William Smith, the Father of English Geology, who made the first geological map of the England and Wales in 1815), as well as important industrial and heritage activities (such as the Bath stone and Fuller's Earth quarries), and the hot springs that continue even today to rise up under Bath, which the Romans successfully exploited.
Frome and the surrounding area is full of geological wonders to explore, and Alan's course will explain many of these in the context of everyday life in the town.