Join writer and permaculturalist Edward Tyler as he walks the length of one of Britain’s most remarkable geological features: the Highland Boundary Fault. Spanning five episodes, Earth Lines uncovers the science, stories, landscapes, and people living along this ancient tectonic divide between Scotland’s Highlands and Lowlands. From seaside rocks to seismic recorders, distilleries to eco-museums, this is a journey into Deep Time, the living land, and the subtle lines written into our landscapes that shape the world around us.
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Join writer and permaculturalist Edward Tyler as he walks the length of one of Britain’s most remarkable geological features: the Highland Boundary Fault. Spanning five episodes, Earth Lines uncovers the science, stories, landscapes, and people living along this ancient tectonic divide between Scotland’s Highlands and Lowlands. From seaside rocks to seismic recorders, distilleries to eco-museums, this is a journey into Deep Time, the living land, and the subtle lines written into our landscapes that shape the world around us.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In the final leg of his journey along the Highland Boundary Fault, Ed Tyler travels north-east from Alyth to the village of Edzell, where the river slices cleanly through the landscape — revealing the Fault once more in dramatic style.
From there, he continues to Stonehaven, a striking coastal town where the Highland Boundary Fault meets the North Sea. Walking out onto the headlands and promontories, Edward reaches a rare place where you can literally stand on the Fault itself, with Highland rocks on one side and Lowland rocks on the other.
It’s a powerful conclusion to a journey through stone, story, and time.
As Edward reflects on the places, people, and ideas that have shaped the series, we look back at what this geological line really means — not just in physical terms, but in how it helps us see Scotland, and ourselves, differently.
🧭 Themes: Geology in the landscape, visible fault lines, reflection and connection
📍 Locations: Edzell, Stonehaven
📚 Further Reading: “51 Best Places to See Scotland’s Geology” – www.scottishgeologytrust.org (includes Stonehaven and Balmaha sites)
Join us one last time as Edward stands on the Fault and brings this five-part journey to a powerful close.
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As Ed Tyler follows the Highland Boundary Fault further north through Perthshire, he arrives in the vibrant town of Alyth, where the story of the Fault takes a more personal and cultural turn. Here we meet two women who are deeply connected to this ancient geological line - not just as a natural feature, but as a force shaping identity, landscape, and livelihoods.
Marian Bruce, founder of the award-winning Highland Boundary Distillery (highlandboundary.com), has named her business after the Fault itself - celebrating its role in the wild plants and flavours that grow along its edge.
Clare Cooper, co-creator of the Cateran EcoMuseum (cateranecomuseum.co.uk), introduces us to a “museum without walls” - a living, breathing exploration of 6,000 years of human history and 400 million years of geological history shaped by the Fault.
Together, they show us how a geological feature can ripple out into culture, ecology, and community.
We also venture to the dramatic Reekie Linn waterfall, one of Scotland’s largest, where the landscape once again speaks to the powerful forces that carved it.
🌿 Themes: Bioregional identity, cultural ecology, local enterprise, storytelling through place
🎙️ Guests: Marian Bruce (Highland Boundary Distillery), Clare Cooper (Cateran EcoMuseum)
📍 Location: Alyth, Perthshire
📚 Explore More:
– Highland Boundary Distillery
– Learn more about bioregions at Edward’s website: www.bioregioning.com
Listen in as the Fault becomes more than rock - it becomes a way of seeing, living, and connecting to the land.
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The journey continues to Comrie, a quiet Perthshire town with a surprisingly turbulent past - and present. Known as the “Shaky Toun,” Comrie, very close to the Highland Boundary Fault and holds the title of one of the most seismically active places in the UK.
Here, Edward Tyler visits the Earthquake House - a unique, unassuming building that hides a fascinating story beneath its roof. Inside is one of the UK's oldest earthquake monitoring stations, still recording tremors to this day.
Our guide is Chris Palmer, the house’s dedicated custodian. He explains how this little hut, nestled in a sleepy village, picks up rumbles not only from the Highland Boundary Fault but from seismic events across the globe. The Fault, it turns out, may be ancient - but it’s still very much alive.
Even when locked, the Earthquake House offers interpretation panels outside and a window to peek through. And if you're lucky, you might catch Chris checking in on the equipment - and get a glimpse of the seismograph in action.
🌍 Themes: Earthquakes in the UK, seismic monitoring, Comrie’s geological history, living fault lines
🎙️ Guest: Chris Palmer, custodian of the Earthquake House
📍 Location: Comrie, Perthshire
📚 Further Info:
– Learn more about Comrie's seismic legacy at https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/comrie/earthquakehouse/index.html
Tune in to hear the ground’s ancient heartbeat — and discover how even the quietest corners of the country can still shake.
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Edward Tyler continues his journey along the Highland Boundary Fault, heading north-east to the popular village of Balmaha, on the eastern shores of Loch Lomond - a place where geology and landscape collide in plain sight.
On a shoreline walk in search of Serpentinite, the distinctive rock we first encountered back in Innellan, Ed traces the path of the Fault once more. Climbing to a viewpoint above the loch, he takes in a breathtaking panorama that makes the contrast between Highlands and Lowlands unmistakable - a geological dividing line written across the landscape.
Along the way, we learn how striking local features like Conic Hill and the string of islands across Loch Lomond aren’t random: they were formed by the same tectonic forces that shaped the Highland Boundary Fault, and now conveniently map out its invisible route.
🪨 Themes: Landscape interpretation, tectonic legacy, visible geology, serpentine rock, natural boundaries
📍 Location: Balmaha, Loch Lomond
🧭 Try It Yourself:
– Download the walking leaflet: “Balmaha: Where the Lowlands Meets the Highlands” from www.geologyglasgow.org.uk
– Visit the Balmaha Visitor Centre (free entry) for interpretation panels and a hands-on rock collection
Join the walk as Ed stands on the very threshold of Highland and Lowland - and lets the landscape tell its ancient story.
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Ed Tyler sets off on an extraordinary journey along one of Britain’s most dramatic and little-known geological features: the Highland Boundary Fault. Over five episodes, Edward walks the length of the Faultline, uncovering the science, stories, and landscapes that define the shifting edge between Highlands and Lowlands.
We begin at the south-western end of the Fault, in Innellan, a coastal village on the Firth of Clyde. Here, Edward meets Keith Torrance, a geologist who lives just steps away from where the Fault cuts through the beach. Amongst the rocks and tide, Keith reveals how to read the land — explaining the dramatic forces that forged the Highland Boundary Fault hundreds of millions of years ago.
Later, over coffee, the conversation broadens: what exactly is a fault? Why do they matter? And how do they shape the ground — and lives — above them?
🪨 Themes: Geological time, fault lines, plate tectonics, earthquakes, the making of Scotland
🎙️ Guest: Keith Torrance, geologist and local expert
📍 Location: Innellan, Firth of Clyde
📚 Further Reading:
– BGS Geological Map Viewer: https://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html
– Scottish Geology Trust – Highland Boundary Fault overview: https://www.scottishgeologytrust.org
Start the journey where the land begins to shift — and discover what lies beneath the surface.
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