Fantastic fossils at Cotswold park (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Fantastic fossils at Cotswold park

VISITORS to the Gateway Centre last weekend were given the chance to delve into the rich history of the Cotswold Water Park as part of the first ever Fossil Fest.

Almost 500 people joined in with the inaugural event which aimed to give the public the chance to see, touch, explore and learn more about the fascinating remains of a bygone era.

Fossil expert Dr Neville Hollingworth was on hand during the day to answer questions about the history which lies beneath the surface of the water park.

People of all ages came with fossils of all ages to have them identified by the experts - some even brought boxes of fossils.

On display were massive ammonites millions of years old to mammoth remains only 50 thousand years old.

Children taking part in the event were very active making their own fossils, creating model dinosaurs and even wearing trilobite masks and dinosaur badges.

The activities were provided by the Rock and Fossil Roadshow which is run by the staff and volunteers from the Gloucestershire Geology Trust.

Jill Bewley, events officer at Cotswold Water Park Society, said: "The response to this first Fossil Fest organised by the Cotswold Water Park Society was tremendous, and shows the incredible level of interest in the past in this area. This event was made possible through the generous support from Hills Aggregates and Bardon Aggregates, for which we are very grateful. We certainly hope to have more events like this in the future."