Marsh Brook fossils and fossil collecting

Follow the A632 from Matlock and turn off to Ashover at Kelstedge. Follow the road down, you will pass a hairpin bend with public footpaths to the left and right. For parking, continue until you reach a road to the left with a school, park carefully.
From the car, walk back to the hairpin bend. On your right (East), you will come across a public footpath, ignore the first path but take the second with the Vertical footpath sign and stone wall which is just before the “incoming vehicles in middle of road” sign.
Follow the footpath for a short distance until you see the drop down to the stream. Exit the footpath and walk down the slope (East). Once you reach the stream, wade along to the left until you get to the cliff sections. Further (better) sections can be found round the corner.

GRID REF: SK 34340 63404

Gonatites, bivalves, microfossils, trilobites, gastropods, bryozoans

Marsh Brook cuts through carboniferous marine deposits. These are rich in gonatites, bivalves, gastropods, but contains many other types of fossils. Often, these are not particularly well preserved, being flattened, but the shale is also extremely rich in well-preserved microfossils.

High

Fossils are very common from this brook. You will be sure to find gonatities and bivalves which are very common, but you can find plenty of other fossils including microfossils.

Older Children

Suitable for older children under adult supervision, parts of the stream can be deep, wellington boots will be needed.

Good Access

Access is very good, a bit of a walk from the safe parking area, but the site is easy to find and access.

Stream Section

Fossils are found in the marine shale exposed in two cliff sections along Marsh Brook. You will need wellington boots for this location, and it is best done during the summer drier months.

No Restrictions

This location is along a public footpath, there are no restrictions on entering the brook.

Most of the water here is shallow, but parts of the brook can have deep water, especially during the winter, we recommend visiting during the summer months.

Last updated:	2011
last visited:	2011
Written by:	Alister Cruickshanks

Other similar locations

For other similar locations, try the Ecclesbourne River. This river section north-east of Windley is highly rich in fossils of the same age and formation as Marsh Brook. These are found in the carboniferous marine shale exposed in the embankment. Like Marsh Brook, collecting is recommended during the summer season, or, after a dry spell when the water levels are lower.


You will need wellington boots and a pick or knife. If taking samples back home for microfossil processing, you will also need sample bags.


The small cliff sections exposed in Marsh Brook, are the highly rich Carboniferious Edale Shales. They are packed with gonatites of Reticuloceras umbilicatum and bivalves of Dunbarella sp. and Canayella sp, although both bivalves and gonatities are abundant here, they are flattened and can be of a poor preservation. Gastropods can also be found and if you are lucky, trilobites. The shale is also extremely rich in microfossils with ostracods and teeth of fish and other marine animals being found. When you first enter the stream, you will need to walk towards the North West (left). Continue until you reach the first small section of cliff. The best sections are just around the corner, so continue and you will see a much larger section of cliff. Using a pick, remove some sections of shake and gently split finely, using a chisel pick. You don’t need much as the shale is highly rich in fossils. Fossils can initially be very hard to see, especially as this is a dense wooded area, with poor light. We suggest to visit this location during the summer months, or after drier periods outside the summer months, otherwise the water will be too high to collect from the stream. Edale Shales

	Carboniferous, 320mya
The Carboniferous shale at Marsh Brook is of the Edale Shales. These are Namurian age, and are Dark grey. These dip 30 degrees NW....[more]


Gonatites are abundant at this location ....[more]

Metal Polishing

Meteorites

East Midlands Guide

Metal Barrelling Machines are used for de burring, polishing, cleaning or removing surface scratches from metal and jewellery.

These are ideal for cleaning or polishing a variety of metals including brass, silver, steel and gold. They can be used for silver clay and other hobbies.

The machines have a barrel with special fins inside, which helps turn the metal round, to polish or debur. We sell a variety of different sized machines from hobby to commercial.

Meteorites can be found all over the world. Often, large pieces are broken down either naturally or by hand, or sliced and sold as small fragments, each fall is well documented. Meteorites are very collectable, especially ones of Mars or Moon rocks.

We sell Meteorites, which are in stock and mostly come in a display boxs. Our meteorites are from all over the world and include Mars and Moon Meteorites, and rocks from outer space. For more information, please see our meteorite page.

Locations of Geologicl interest and for collecting rocks, minerals and fossils in the East Midlands Area. Includes the Geological History of the area. Areas covered are Charnwood Forest, The Peak District & The Vale of Belvoir. 130 pages. £15.95.
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