IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Summer Road, DUDLEY, DY1 3PE

...I'd still not be allowed to use it. Anyone is allowed to pick fossils from the loose rock (within reason), but rock faces are strictly out of bounds. The wardens of the National Nature Reserve also suggest that the location from which any fossils have been collected is stored alongside each specimen, and that any unwanted specimens are sent to Dudley Museum.

On the geological trail around the National Nature Reserve.

This old extended cottage was still standing in 2010, but looking in need of immediate attention. Apparently this was at one time a coal merchant's premises, but what is a "suck shop"?. This image has been scanned from an Agfacolor transparency, dating probably from early spring 1972. See also 2007, Image]

The fossil trench is an old quarry in the Upper Quarried Limestone Member of the Much Wenlock Limestone Formation. The slope to the left is scree made up of debris from the quarrying operation. It overlays the Nodular Limestone Member, which wasn't quarried because of its higher sandstone content. There are many fossil fragments to be found in the scree at this location, and picking a few for keeping is encouraged as long as no hammers are used.

At a quarry on the west side of Wren's Nest, a good insight can be had into the internal structure of the Nodular Limestone Member. Here thicker limestone layers alternate with thin bands of sandstone. The limestone is a deposit from shelly organisms living in a shallow shelf sea, while the sandstone is terrigenous, i.e. has been transported here by rivers after flooding events on nearby land. Amongst this, there are two thin and very crumbly layers. These are made up of bentonite, a clay deposit originating from volcanic ash. The shelly creatures clearly had to contend with quite a lot of environmental pressure, but the fact that limestone layers follow after each sandy or volcanic bed shows that they have been able to cope. Geologist's head shown for scale.

Looking north towards the ripple beds. Meadow Road is off to the left (70 metres).

Most of the reserve is covered in natural woodland and remnants of former quarrying activities. Quarrying of the limestone ceased in 1925. There are many attractive woodland tracks to enjoy, with fine views of rock exposures and surrounding parts of Dudley.

The area is a former limestone quarry, and has many rock exposures rich in fossils. Being a Site of Special Scientific Interest, fossil hunters are not allowed to use geological hammers to dislodge material from the rockfaces.

Not a discouraging message for supporters of a certain London football team. These signs are placed in several prominent places to remind visitors that Wren's Nest is a Geological Nature Reserve, and the use of such tools to damage rocks in search of the plentiful fossils is forbidden.