Gorgeous weather, in the west end on other business, and nothing better to do. That’s right; it’s time to give Fossil Grove another try.
This time we checked the opening times, made sure that there were no public holidays on (not even Glasgow City Council could use Oak Apple Day as an excuse surely) and even packed lunch supplies (ie we stopped at a newsagents to buy salt-laden Dairylea concoctions).
Arriving at Victoria Park we were greeted with this sight:
It's Open!
Not only was it open, it was actually staffed! (albeit by a guy sitting in a van eating his lunch).
We headed inside to have a good nosey around.
The view inside.
8 or 9 stumps can be seen from the viewing platform, many with their roots visible and intact. The casts of the trees are so good in places that you can clearly see the impressions of the ‘bark’ preserved. Also preserved are sections of trunk and branches scattered around on the floor.
Trunk Section
Illuminated Stump
Note the preserved surface details
The walls of the building itself have displays explaining the formation of the deposits, as well as describing the location at the time of fossilisation. Examples of various plant and animal life are shown, including some samples donated from the Hunterian Museum.
How these fossils formed
Interestingly, when discovered these deposits also included organic material left on the trees from fossilised plant material. This has since been removed or weathered off (I wonder if anyone got a sample of this; it might be worth looking at from a biomarker perspective).
Bark Impressions
Finally, after a good nose around, we went and played in the sun for a while:
"Race you to the top!"
And that’s all folks! For the previous posts in this series look here.
Once again I highly recommend the Geological Society of Glasgow’s guidebook: Geological Excursions around Glasgow & Girvan (ISBN: 0-902892-09-6),
Tags: Carboniferous, Fossil Grove, Geology, Glasgow