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I had recently made a visit to Besom Hill, Old Ham, Manchester, UK for the spectacular remains of carboniferous fossils such as calamities, gastrioceras, and many more. Although I found some strange impressions in the shales (Listeri Marine band) and wished to get some idea on what it might be. It appears as an impression on the dark shale, has a sort of 3D impression on bottom and top. The pattern is lines radiating in a parallel manner, with slight but observable curvature. Surface is not flat, rather slightly wavy. First impression was possibly burrows, but probably not. Would it be some sort of shell or plant impression instead? Another specimen follows along as a cylinder.

Hi all, I found this piece of mudstone at Besom Hill in Oldham, near Manchester. The rocks here are Upper Carboniferous in age. One side has unusual lineations, but not the type caused by bedding as seen in the shales that are very common in the area. The reverse side is typical of the mudstones found here. I'm thinking it's a fragment of Walchia trunk, though there isn't any mention of Walchia in any literature or by any other collectors. Does anyone have any suggestions? Cheers Yuanls

I went collecting at Besom Hill in Oldham recently, and found some interesting fossils I couldn't identify. The rocks here are are shales from the upper Carboniferous. They don't show up massively well on camera so I've increased the brightness and contrast. The original photos on the left, with edited photos on the right. All apart from specimen A are from what I believe is the Listeri Marine Band. The ruler I used is a mm-cm scale ruler. Specimen A: About 2cm wide, 1.2cm long. I'm unsure of its provenance as it was found it loose in the scree, so I'm unsure whether it is from an animal or plant. The rightmost picture was taken in sunlight to better illustrate its ridge structure. The line down its centre that causes a change in direction of the grooves appears to be a preservational artefact, rather than something biological. Specimen B: - B1 is about 1cm by 1cm. My first thoughts was that it's a fragment of goniatite. - B2 is just under 1cm long. It is a tapering triangular indent into the rock. I've heard you get fin spines at Besom Hill, though I've never seen one for sure and most fossils other fossils in the rock are preserved in 2D. - B3 is slightly over 1cm by 1cm. It's smooth, with broad ridges. In the image, they run downwards diagonally, left to right. I suspect some kind of shell, or carapace. Specimen C: The object that makes up most of the upper centre of the rock. It looks segmented, but it also looks fern-like. I'm not sure what this one is. Specimen D: This one might not be a fossil at all. It contains a small, circular depression within a piece of shale. To my knowledge, it's unusual for a piece of shale to naturally weather like that. Any IDs are appreciated! Some fossils don't show up massively well, even with enhancement. If you need better photos, just ask and I'll redo them. Cheers Yuanls

We went to the Manchester https://dinosaursinthewild.com/ but it’s also in London. A truly amazing experience, expensive but well worth the 60-70 mins. You go in a simulator back in time to 67myo to Hell Creek to station 67. It’s interactive and there are lots of actors as you walk around the various areas traveling by time shuttle to and from the Hell Creek ‘viewing tower’ on the surface. The actors are very convincing! It really is a full on experience and I don’t want to give anything away so errr I won’t. Non flash photography is allowed but I’m one that enjoys the memories rather than documenting, I might miss something. I suspect the photos might not come out well anyway Realistic? I dunno but certainly convincing to me. The organisers say it’s okay for 5 year old kids +. Hmmm, maybe a little older. Violet jumped a couple of times and nearly crushed my hand. Prices are expensive. But so is going out for a meal in a good restaurant with family, down town on beer with buddies &c. 9 of us went and we got a great deal per person which was just under £19 each including the kids. Get friends together or you could be paying £30 for an adult. Family tickets available too but grab some mates and get the max discount. Bottom line, a fantastic experience but pricy. But it’s a one off gig. If you can get to Manchester or London do it! pic is Violet in shop, to be avoided - silly money - but you knew that anyway Did I say I want to go back?

From my local university http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/tyrannosaurus-rex-couldnt-run-says-new-research/

Hi everyone. I'm from Manchester UK, not the USA one . I've been picking up bits and pieces from beaches on holidays for I guess 40 years (since I was ten) but only a little more seriously in the last two. About 50% of my collection is found, the rest bought. I'm slowly cataloging my collection and it is really slow going but a lot of fun. I'm very fortunate in that I live and work less than ten mills from Offerton http://www.ukfossils.co.uk/introductions/offerton.html which is a coal measure with plenty of Carboniferous plants. I'll slowly upload pics to my gallery when I get the time. Cheers John