Vinnels, in Mortimer Forest near Ludlow, is a small stream-bank locality known for trilobite fragments and graptolites in Silurian mudstone. The documented trail-stop horizon belongs to the Middle Elton Formation. Historic collecting has left fragile, undercut banks, so enjoy the geological evidence from a safe position and obtain permission before removing material.
FIND FREQUENCY: ♦♦♦ – Trilobite heads and tails were historically frequent in suitable shale; complete specimens were much rarer. Exposure and present availability vary.
CHILDREN: ♦♦ – The forest has a surfaced Easy Access Trail, but the stream-bank exposure and undercuts are unsuitable for children to approach.
ACCESS: ♦♦♦ – Start at Vinnalls car park. The historic geological stop lies off the visitor route; current signs and ground conditions take priority over old colour markers.
TYPE: – Small wooded stream banks and cuttings in Silurian mudstone; a geological observation locality, with no general fossil-removal permission established.
DIRECTIONS
♦ From Ludlow, cross Ludford Bridge and follow the Wigmore road via Whitcliffe. Continue beyond the Whitcliffe parking area towards Vinnalls car park, about 2½ miles south-west of Ludlow. Forestry England gives its grid reference as SO 474 731.
♦ The original guide coordinate, 52.35407°N, 2.77368°W, is an approach/car-park reference, not the precise fossil exposure. Parking is currently free; a 7 ft / 2.1 m height barrier restricts vehicle access.
♦ Consult the current car-park map and follow the signed Easy Access Trail. The old route began on the short track to the left just beyond the barrier, descended through woodland, passed a pond and rose towards a sign for Geological Stop 4. That account used white all-ability markers; do not depend on the historic colours or an unchanged sign.
♦ The published geological reference for trail stop 4 is SO 4775 7315. It is distinct from the older stream-bank research locality farther north. Remain on established routes and view any bank from safe ground; do not descend beneath an overhang to reach shale.
♦ The older alternative route followed the broad uphill track, turned left at a green marker before the combined green-and-white marker, then kept to the broad track past a steep narrow branch to reach two exposures on the right. This is historical orientation only: use it only where the current map, signs and permitted paths agree. Follow any forestry diversions and do not enter working areas.
FOSSIL HUNTING
The attraction of Vinnels is the preservation of small fossils on the surfaces of fine-grained shale and mudstone. Earlier visits found trilobite heads and tails much more often than complete animals. A curved, segmented tail shield or a head with organised relief is more informative than a pale patch alone. Inspect naturally exposed surfaces and loose fragments from a safe position, using a hand lens and photographs to record what you see. The old claim of guaranteed trilobites should not be taken as a promise of present-day finds.
The original guide distinguished lower grey beds with relatively well-preserved trilobite fragments from underlying black shale containing clearer but more fragile white or partly white-and-brown specimens. It also recorded fragments in the middle and upper parts of the small cutting. These are useful historical observations of different preservation, not numbered beds or a measured stratigraphic log. Colour by itself does not identify a trilobite species, and changing weathering can make the same fossil look quite different.
Two smaller exposures a few metres downstream were described as graptolite-bearing, with worn or faded impressions and no trilobite fragments reported on that visit. Several graptolite bands were recognised informally. Look for a narrow, regularly patterned colony impression rather than an irregular plant-like stain; fine details can be difficult to see on weathered shale, so side lighting and a close photograph may be more useful than handling the surface.
The older account used Monograptus broadly and described additional “double” and brown forms. Those descriptions do not establish three modern species. Cephalopods were also reported as common at the graptolite exposures, without species determinations. Straight chambered shell fragments may provide a recognition clue, but a weathered linear mark alone is insufficient. A separate, easier cutting was said to yield graptolites but no trilobites; the wording does not prove that it was one of the two downstream banks.
The published research fauna needs a separate locality label. Holland, Lawson and Walmsley recorded Chonetoidea grayi, Dalmanites myops, small orthoconic nautiloids and difficult-to-find graptolites of their historical Monograptus nilssoni–M. scanicus assemblage at stream locality 17. The later Geological Conservation Review listed Dalmanites, brachiopods, orthoconic nautiloids, Neodiversograptus nilssoni and Saetograptus colonus there. It correlated nearby trail stop 4 with the same horizon; it did not independently record every named species from the stop-4 excavation or identify every specimen pictured in this guide.
Trilobites represent animals that lived on or near the seabed, while graptolites and the straight-shelled nautiloids contribute a different part of the marine community. Their occurrence in fine mudstone helps explain why flattened impressions and separate skeletal pieces are more familiar than robust, complete fossils. Keep observations from each small bank separate: pooling loose pieces from several exposures loses precisely the information needed to interpret the assemblage.
The photographs record past conditions, including collecting close to undercut ground; they are not demonstrations of a safe technique. Do not crawl into the bank, pry slabs from it or enlarge the cutting. Walking access does not establish permission to remove loose fossils. If a land manager specifically permits removal of a naturally detached piece, record its exact finding place and date, retain any counterpart, and wrap it separately in a rigid box. Leave a potentially important specimen in place and seek advice before preparation or disturbance.
Significant discoveries, geological research and conservation milestones at Vinnels.
1963 – The historic stream locality is documented
Holland, Lawson and Walmsley documented locality 17 in the Middle Elton succession, recording trilobites, brachiopods, orthoconic nautiloids and graptolites. Their locality position and fauna provide the primary reference for the stream-bank site later correlated with trail stop 4.
1977–1991 – Geological trail accounts are published
Lawson’s 1977 and Jenkinson’s 1991 trail accounts provided the educational framework subsequently used to identify stop 4. These are publication dates, not verified dates for constructing the excavation. The later review explains that the trail exposures helped reduce casual pressure on the district’s formal stratotypes.
2000 – The trail stop is correlated with locality 17
The Geological Conservation Review explicitly placed nearby trail stop 4 at the same Middle Elton horizon as the historic stream-bank exposure. It documented the latter’s mixed shelly and graptolite fauna and clarified its place among the separate Wigmore Road localities.
GEOLOGY
The small Vinnels exposure is part of the early Ludlow marine succession south-west of Ludlow. Its named trail-stop horizon is correlated with the Middle Elton Formation of the Gorstian Stage, within the Silurian. Fine olive mudstone records the accumulation of muddy sediment on a marine shelf. It should not be described as Much Wenlock Limestone: the older limestone assignment and numerical age on the former guide do not fit the published correlation of this particular stop.
Fine sediment preserved both shelly bottom-dwelling animals and fossils from the water above. Trilobites and brachiopods occur alongside graptolites and orthoconic nautiloids in the research locality. This mixture makes the small exposures useful for observing a marine community as well as recognising graptolites used in wider correlation. The presence of a graptolite name in the literature does not turn every weathered impression into an identifiable zonal specimen.
The exposed rock has weathered and broken along closely spaced partings, producing the fissured slabs and small loose fragments described by earlier visitors. Grey and darker shale surfaces show different fossil colours and robustness. These contrasts are preserved as observations, but neither the old guide nor the published stop correlation establishes numerical thicknesses or formal bed boundaries for the small collecting bank.
The geological trail and the original research exposure must be kept distinct. The Geological Conservation Review places stop 4 at SO 4775 7315 and correlates it with locality 17 farther north. The 1963 monograph gives locality 17 as SO 4777 7324, while the later review prints SO 4777 7329. That 50 m northing discrepancy remains unresolved; it is not evidence for a second measured formation or a licence to move fossils between sites.
Elsewhere in Mortimer Forest, longer research sections reveal much more of the Elton succession. In particular, Goggin Road on the south-south-western slopes of High Vinnalls has its own measured formations, ash beds and structural complications. Its thicknesses and marker beds do not describe this bank. The chart below therefore separates the historically observed bank intervals from the downstream graptolite exposures rather than manufacturing a continuous forest-wide section.
Detailed geology of the Vinnels bank and its published Middle Elton correlation.
Scope of this account. Vinnels refers here to the small stream-bank collecting locality approached from Vinnalls car park and identified in the old guide with Geological Trail stop 4. The published stop at SO 4775 7315 is correlated with the nearby historic stream-bank locality 17; the records are not interchangeable specimen provenances. No measured continuous log or formal bed-number scheme has been established for the guide bank.
LOWER LUDLOW SHALES GROUP
Regional nomenclature. BGS indexes the Lower Ludlow Shales Group as Gorstian silty mudstones and siltstones of the Welsh Borderland. This regional grouping provides context for the Elton succession. Its published thickness in the Malvern Hills is not a thickness for Vinnels, and the regional bounding limestones are not asserted to be exposed in this small bank.
Middle Elton Formation
Published local horizon and lithology. The Geological Conservation Review describes olive mudstones at the historic stream locality, close to trail stop 4 and at the same horizon. The appropriate age is Gorstian, Ludlow Series, Silurian. The earlier guide’s Much Wenlock Limestone label is inconsistent with that correlation. No finer formal member or locally measured formation thickness is supported here.
Historic locality 17: position and fauna. Holland, Lawson and Walmsley give SO 4777 7324, whereas the later review prints SO 4777 7329. The 50 m northing difference is retained as a source discrepancy. The 1963 record includes Chonetoidea grayi, Dalmanites myops, small orthoconic nautiloids and difficult-to-find graptolites of the historical Monograptus nilssoni–M. scanicus assemblage. The later review records Dalmanites, brachiopods, orthoconic nautiloids, Neodiversograptus nilssoni and Saetograptus colonus. These remain source-specific taxonomic lists for locality 17, not independently verified identifications from every pictured or present-day stop-4 specimen.
Lower grey shale in the guide cutting. The original visitor account describes grey lower beds as producing the better-preserved trilobite fragments, chiefly heads and tails. No thickness, formal bed number or species-by-bed record accompanies the observation. Its preservation contrast should be retained without equating it to an independently mapped member.
Black shale beneath the grey beds. The darker shale was reported immediately below the grey interval and yielded clearer but more fragile trilobites, white or partly white and brown. This relative position is documented; neither a numerical thickness nor the cause of the colour difference is established. The colour descriptions are not taxonomic characters.
Middle and upper parts of the cutting. Trilobite fragments were also reported above the lower grey and black material, in the middle and upper areas of the small exposure. The account does not delimit these as separate named beds or show a continuous measured contact through the bank.
Two downstream graptolite exposures. Within a few metres downstream, the old guide distinguished two smaller exposures with worn graptolites and no trilobite fragments reported. Cephalopods were described as common. Their downstream position is geographical: the evidence does not establish whether either bank is stratigraphically above or below the trilobite-bearing cutting.
Informal graptolite bands and the easier cutting. Several fossil-bearing bands were mentioned without bed numbers, thicknesses or measured separations. Broad Monograptus, “double” forms and brown forms cannot be converted into modern species determinations from those descriptions. A separately described easier cutting was said to contain graptolites but no trilobites; its identity with either downstream exposure is unproved.
Depositional interpretation and neighbouring sections. Fine marine mudstone containing pelagic graptolites and nautiloids together with shelly benthos is consistent with deposition on a muddy shelf. A unique sea-level event, ash marker or quantified local structural log is not established by these small-bank records. Goggin Road, elsewhere on the slopes of High Vinnalls, has its own measured Elton succession, bentonites and faults; those measurements must not be transferred to Vinnels.
Wider Wigmore Road context. The Geological Conservation Review describes this series of separate exposures as lying near and parallel to the Ludlow Anticline axis for about 3 km, with beds dipping gently north-west. It reports conodont, acritarch and chitinozoan assemblages from all the exposures in that site-series account. These statements provide a published wider framework; they do not supply a measured dip, named microfossil list, sample register or museum voucher specifically for the guide bank or stop-4 excavation.
References. Holland, C. H., Lawson, J. D. and Walmsley, V. G. (1963), The Silurian rocks of the Ludlow district, Shropshire, locality 17 and Appendix A; Aldridge and colleagues (2000), British Silurian Stratigraphy, Geological Conservation Review volume 19, Wigmore Road account; British Geological Survey, Lexicon entry LLUS; original UK Fossils Vinnels inspection and update, 2003/2007. Detailed locality positions and older taxonomic usage are retained with the qualifications above.
SAFETY
The original inspection described an overhanging stream-bank cutting in danger of collapse. Keep well back from its base and top, and keep children away. Do not crawl beneath the bank or loosen rock, roots or slabs; an apparently small undercut can fail without warning.
Woodland paths and stream margins can be muddy, slippery and obscured by leaves. Wear footwear with good grip, avoid steep shortcuts and do not enter the stream during high water. The surfaced Easy Access Trail does not make the collecting bank accessible or safe for mobility equipment.
Obey Forestry England signs, barriers and temporary diversions. A retained operations notice dated September 2025 is not evidence of a continuing closure today, but forestry work can change routes. Stay outside active work areas and allow plenty of daylight for finding the return path.
EQUIPMENT
Take a hand lens, camera, small scale, notebook or a location-recording device, and a current forest map. Sturdy footwear and weatherproof clothing suit the shaded, sometimes wet ground. Carrying a hammer or pry bar is not necessary for observing this fragile exposure.
If you have specific permission to take a naturally loose specimen, use tissue or other soft wrapping and a rigid compartmented box. Keep a label with each piece and avoid stacking fragile shale surfaces together.
CLEANING AND TREATING
The old records describe fragile trilobites and graptolites in shale, including surfaces that faded or deteriorated after collection. For any legitimately collected piece, keep both halves of a split specimen together and photograph the fossil before further handling. Let damp material dry gradually at room temperature and avoid soaking, scrubbing or forcing apart fissured shale.
Begin, if necessary, with very gentle dry brushing away from the fossil surface. Do not use acids, bleach, varnish or a routine coating to improve contrast. A fragile or scientifically useful specimen should be left unprepared for specialist advice; consolidants can obscure diagnostic detail and should be chosen only for a demonstrated conservation need.
IDENTIFY YOUR FINDS
Need help identifying a fossil? Share clear photos, where you found it and its size with the community.
FURTHER READING
Geological Conservation Review: Wigmore Road, locality 17 and Mortimer Forest trail stop 4
Holland, Lawson and Walmsley (1963): the Ludlow district, including locality 17
Forestry England: Mortimer Forest car parks and visitor trails
Forestry England: permissions for research and organised activities
Natural England: the separate protected exposures of Mortimer Forest SSSI
ACCESS RIGHTS
Forestry England welcomes visitors to Mortimer Forest and maintains walking routes and car parks. This is permission to visit under its current arrangements, not a general authorisation to excavate banks or remove fossils. Ask the land manager about the exact proposed activity and location before sampling or collecting; scientific research requires permission through its published process.
The Mortimer Forest SSSI protects selected geological exposures rather than the entire forest. The published Vinnels stop-4 point and the two printed positions of historic locality 17 lie outside the current mapped SSSI polygons. This point-based comparison does not define every bank or establish landownership and collecting rights. Do not repeat the former blanket claim that this whole locality is an SSSI, and do not treat being outside a designation as permission to damage an exposure.
Respect any site-specific restrictions, stay on permitted routes and leave unstable banks undisturbed. For organised or research visits, consult Forestry England in advance; its permission guidance normally asks for at least eight weeks. Follow current local signs even when an older route description differs.
It is important to follow our ‘Code of Conduct’ when collecting fossils or visiting any site. Please also read our ‘Terms and Conditions‘
LINKS
♦ Fossil Discussions
♦ Fossil Articles
♦ Buy Fossils, Tools and Equipment
♦ Buy Crystals, Meteorites, and Artefacts
♦ Join Fossil Hunts
♦ UK Fossils Network
