Book review: Mortimer Forest Geology Trail, edited by Andrew Jenkinson

Jon Trevelyan (UK)

This small yet informative booklet takes you on a four mile walk to 13 sites and through 15 million years of Earths history. The Mortimer Forest Trail is a geology trail in Shropshire that is famous for its outstanding fossils and varied geology. The trail mostly examines Silurian formations such as the Wenlock and Ludlow series.

The text firstly outlines the history of research and how the rocks were laid down. It then takes the reader through all of the various fossil groups that can be found along the trail, including corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, molluscs, gastropods, cephalopods, trilobites and graptolites. In this way, the reader is introduced to what these fossils are, how they lived and where they can be found.

Each location along the route is then described with detailed information given on what can be found and on geology of the sites. Rocks and fossils are covered under separate headings, which make the book an ideal field reference tool for those who want to concentrate on either or both of these. Sketches of fossils, maps and safety notes are also included for each location.

Mortimer Forest Geology Trail, edited by Andrew Jenkinson, Scenesetters, Shropshire (2008), 25 pages (paperback), ISBN: 1874200092.