With a pedigree going back very nearly to the pioneering days of Hutton and Lyell (both local men who are today recognised as founders of modern geology), the surprising thing about the Society today is that it is remarkably unstuffy. In fact, it's more than that. Whilst drawing on the very considerable geological expertise of the Grant Institute of Geology, the University of Edinburgh, and nearby Murchison House, the Scottish Office of the British Geological Survey, the EGS goes out of its way to welcome and encourage any one - amateur and professional - to become involved in its programme of lectures and excursions. 

The primary requirement for anyone wishing to become a Fellow of the Edinburgh Geological Society is that he or she should have a professed interest in geology. It is that interest which, since the Society was founded in 1834, has brought together some of the most brilliant geological minds in Scotland and some of the most enthusiastic amateurs, together with their husbands and wives. It is this cheerful blend of expertise and enthusiasm, coupled with the geological variety of the Scottish landscape, which brings an extra dimension to the Society's regular excursions to sites of geological interest throughout Scotland. Even the North of England is within relatively easy reach of Edinburgh, and has been visited on occasions! 

Lecture meetings are held throughout the winter, usually fortnightly, in the Grant Instititute on the Kings Buildings site, a short drive or bus ride from the City Centre. Such is the prestige of the Society, there is normally no difficulty in attracting speakers of the highest calibre, many of whom travel to Scotland from throughout the United Kingdom for the sole purpose of addressing the Society. Apart from being open to Fellows of the Society, the lectures - which are always well attended - are free of charge, and open to students and members of the public. The subjects offered vary widely. This season, those covered include topics as varied as ikaite (a mineral which has the disconcerting habit of disappearing once it has been recovered from its natural setting), plate tectonics, Cambrian life, platinum in the Pacific, and the geology of the Hindu Kush. Annually the Society bestows its Clough Medal on an eminent field geologist, who is then invited to address the Society. 

The summer excursions are equally varied. With the Midland Valley, the Southern Uplands, and the Central Highlands all within easy reach of Edinburgh, there is no shortage of geological localities to be explored. These include some of the 'classic areas of British geology' - such as the Arthur's Seat volcano in the centre of Edinburgh, the fossiliferous sites of Dura Den in Fife and Dob's Linn near Moffat, and, of course, Hutton's famous locality at Siccar Point, on the Berwickshire coast. Traditionally, the relevant extracts from Hutton's paper on Siccar Point, laying the foundations of knowledge about unconformities and the age of the Earth, together with Playfair's account of their first visit by boat, are reverently read aloud whenever the site is included in a Society excursion. Excursions take place, usually at intervals of two or three weeks throughout the summer. Wednesday evening excursions during June take advantage of the long summer evenings to explore the local geology. Each year a 'long excursion' travels further afield to the Scottish Highlands and Islands, such as Orkney, Shetland and Skye. Last year it was the Isle of Man and in 1996 Islay. 

The Edinburgh Science Festival now has an established place each April in the City's calendar. The Society plays a major role by running successful excursions to Arthur's Seat. Also in bringing geology before the public, the Society has: marked the site of Agassiz Rock ('This is the work of ice') by a notice in the Hermitage of Braid in Edinburgh; established an information board in the City's Princes Street Gardens describing the glaciation of the Castle Rock volcanic plug; commemorated Clough at Birkhill Station near the cutting in which he was fatally injured by a train in the now private railway; and preserved the visitor book at the Inchnadamph Hotel inscribed by the many eminent geologists who attended the 1912 meeting on the Moine Thrust held there.

In 1997 the Edinburgh Geological Society will be closely associated with an International Geological Conference being held to celebrate the bicentenaries of James Hutton (died 1797) and Charles Lyell (born 1797). It is being run jointly by The Geological Society in London (30 July - 3 August) and by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (5 - 9 August). 

Subscriptions to the Society are a modest £12 [now £16] per year, which includes the lectures, subsidised excursions and the Scottish Journal of Geology. There are reductions for Family, student and junior members. Contact Mr Mike Dean, Honorary Secretary, Edinburgh Geological Society, 6 Corrennie Gardens, Edinburgh, EH10 6DG, for further information.