Thirty five years of fossil collecting
Brian Day (UK) I first got interested in Fossils by accident… I was an engineer by profession and worked lots of hours travelling to Germany etc. So I took my family on holiday at every opportunity. My family comprised my Wife, Son and Daughter. I enjoyed an early morning walk on the beach with my Son and looked forward to the smell of bacon on our return. About 35 years ago we were staying at Warren Farm which is between Blue Anchor Bay and Watchet in Somerset. One early morning my Son who was about eight years old, we were walking on the beach together, when he said,” look what I have found”. It was a lovely Ammonite. I was instantly hooked. This was to be my hobby for the next 35 years. We took the fossil to the Natural History Museum in London who said that it was an Ammonite, Caloceras Johnstoni, Early Jurassic, age 190-200 million years, The ammonite had a distinctive irridescent surface. It is in fact the oldest Ammonite, hence the flat surface. I started collecting at every opportunity, but always taking the family with me to various locations so we had time together. My favourite locations were Blue Anchor Bay. Warren Bay, Helwell Bay, and Doniford Bay. Somerset. I built up a vast collection of Psiloceras planorbis Ammonites over the years, only collecting from the loose shale on the beach. Living in Essex I have visited Walton-on-the-Naze often over the years, and have collected hundreds … Read More