Chedworth Nature Reserve

The railway construction in this area of Chedworth Nature Reserve led to the exposure of c180 million year old Cotswold limestone. The protection of these exposures was one of the main reasons why the Trust purchased the Chedworth Nature Reserve. The Middle Jurassic oolitic limestones formed as layers of sediment in the shallow tropical seas. The structures and fossils in the different beds are significant research resources for investigating and evaluating the environmental conditions and lifeforms of those times. The bed exposures in the reserve are mostly level, but faults are visible and there are breaks in continuity. The cuttings in the reserve show a sequence in the Bajocian stage and are considered to be one of the most accessible and best in the country. Fossils which may be seen in the limestone scree are bivalve, brachipod and echinoid. Specimen collection is only from the scree and not permitted from the exposures.

Dromos