The Etches Collection

To the little village of Kimmeridge today to visit the Etches Collection, a museum dedicated to the fossil collection of Steve Etches. All the fossils come from the Kimmeridge Clays, which were laid down in the Kimmeridgean period of the upper Jurassic.

The skull in the main image is that of a Pliosaur, apex marine predator of the period. Remarkably this is thought to be a juvenile. The discovery of this fossil, its extraction from the cliff, and then its preparation was the subject of a David Attenborough documentary a few years ago.

The museum, opened in 2016, is a fascinating place, with all the fossils really well presented.

After our visit we had an excellent lunch at the nearby restaurant, and then drove down to Kimmeridge Bay. Signs said no fossil collecting and no hammers, but plenty of adults and children were investigating the rocks and finding things (extra). The cliffs here are all built of Kimmeridge clays - which confusingly are not clays but a mix of limestone bands, shales and mudstones. Temporary extras added.