A NEW book encourages us to look at the ground beneath our feet to discover what we always knew, that Cumbria Rocks!

Described as more of a picture book full of illustrations, the book 'Cumbria Rocks' tells the incredible story of the landscape of the county.

Author, Cumbrian geologist Ian Jackson, takes readers on a journey across the whole of the county, and 500 million years of Cumbria's history, from caves that were once a red-hot desert to a nature reserve that 180 million years ago was Cumbria's very own Jurassic Park.

The stories connect Cumbria's rocks to the county's wildlife, history, economy, art and society.

Ian says: “It’s not a typical geology book – it’s a picture book!

"With full page colour photographs, it opens a window into the Cumbria beneath your feet.

News and Star: Author Ian JacksonAuthor Ian Jackson

"Each page encourages you to explore the whole county and its diverse and beautiful places, to understand why they are as they are.

"The 60 rock sites are wonderfully diverse and range from the Scottish border to Morecambe Bay, and from St Bees Head to the Pennine hills.

"The book doesn’t just cover places you may know in the Lake District, but many other stunning locations across Cumbria waiting for you to discover.”

News and Star: Lacys Caves. Picture: Ian JacksonLacys Caves. Picture: Ian Jackson

Cumbria Wildlife Trust has published the book to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

Stephen Trotter, CEO of Cumbria Wildlife Trust says: “I hope this book inspires people to pull on their boots and helps them discover amazing places where they can climb over remnants of old volcanoes and deep oceans, experience the power of ancient earthquakes, walk over a crag that was once a coral sea, witness the awesome force of the last Ice Age or simply wonder at the ingenuity of our ancestors who used these rocks in so many ways to create our shared heritage.

News and Star: Fleetwith Pike and Honister Pass. Picture: Ian JacksonFleetwith Pike and Honister Pass. Picture: Ian Jackson

"But this wonderful array of rocks and landscape we have is not only important in its own right, it provides the foundation for all of our habitats and wildlife – it is literally the bedrock of our biodiversity.”

Priced at £14, the book, published by Northern Heritage and can be ordered online from Northern Heritage and via a link on the Cumbria Wildlife Trust website, and is available in many bookshops around the region.

All profits from the sale of the books will go to Cumbria Wildlife Trust.