Evidence of desert sand in the walls of Ardrossan

 

The sandstone in the Ardrossan area was deposited in the Permian period when Britain was in a desert region above the Equator - the zone currently occupied by the Sahara Desert. It's the same in the Wigton area. I have seen these slanted lines in deposits near Appleby. They represent the outlines of dunes. It is interesting that there seem to be natural horizontal lines through as well. Maybe earlier deposits were weathered flat and new deposits formed on top.