I jumped at the chance to go with David Ellis to see where he was getting the clunch for his work rebuilding St Helen's church wall. John Drayton MBE took us on safari round the cement works at Barrington, now moth-balled by Cemex until its future is clear. This is now a magical place. Buzzards soar. The landscapes are a mix of lunar and arctic. The geological history of the world is exposed: layers laid by glaciers, ancient sea beds, sharks' teeth, fools' gold, belemnites, ammonites, and so on. John himself found a fossilised ichthyosaurus SEVEN metres long!

There is fabulous potential in this site. The Eden Centre emerged from such a place. (DF)