Personal safety and that of other members in a group is of paramount importance in field work. No exercise in this book is located in a particularly dangerous or isolated area, yet accidents can and will still happen if appropriate precautions are not taken. For instance, do not go into the field alone. This book can be used perfectly well in a pair or a small group and if anything it is more rewarding to discuss field observations and their interpretation with others at the time that they are made.

Each member of a field party should be aware of basic mountain skills and safety before going to Arran. These are laid out clearly in the booklet Safety on Mountains: An Approach to Mountain Adventure for Beginners (1988), published by the British Mountaineering Council, Crawford House, Precinct Centre, Booth Street East, Manchester, M13 9RZ. In addition, anyone taking a group of students to Arran as a field course should obtain and comply with the Committee of Heads of University Geoscience Departments (CHUGD) pamphlet Safety in Geoscience Fieldwork: Precautions, Procedures and Documentation (1994), available from the Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1V OJU.

There is not sufficient space here to discuss all of the points raised in these two publications, but those principal hazards which might be encountered during geological field work on Arran are outlined below (these are drawn from the CHUGD pamphlet).