SK7605 : Fossil Belemnite
taken 13 years ago, near to Halstead, Leicestershire, England
Tilton railway cutting is an important geological site of special scientific interest (SSSI), sited on the closed Great Northern and London, North Western Joint line. The line was opened in 1879, cutting through The Jurassic strata. The faces have been well studied by geologists, an Ammonite is named after the village, 'Tiltoniceras'.
There is a slight dip on the beds so at the start is sandy older deposits, transforming into younger Whitby mudstones and silts towards the end. In between the ironstones, mid way the rock is 'rusting' as iron leaches out and oxidies. Interesting features include a Brachiopods death beds, trace fossils, lots of belemnites and many deposition features. Supposedly there are lots of Ammonites but the 2 hours I was there I didn't see one. In the bottom beds (Dyrham formation) there are Micas worn away from igneous rocks on land. In the limestones Oolies can be seen to.
The rocks are roughly 190 million years old forming in a shallow sea, sea levels rose and the sandy/limestone deposits changed to the silts and mudstones.
Access is via a steep and slippery stairway, the whole cutting is boggy and climbing to the faces isn't advised due to the tree roots that have made the heavy rock very very unstable. There is parking for one carSK7605 : Tilton SSSI. Wellies are also a good thing to have as it is very boggy.
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