Today I decided to wander down to the sports center. Not by my usual route along the main road, by the back trail, an old abandoned railway line. This railway runs through a cutting near the old town station site (now an industrial estate) which is composed of Jurassic rocks - I've mentioned it before. So, in the spirit of optimism, I climbed the muddy bank to have a look at the rock face.

The imprint of a barnacle shell. Large too, about three times the size of those I picked off the beach at Whitley Bay recently. Over there, a mussel shell, no bigger than modern specimens. Belemnites they're called, typically found in seashore deposits of this time. Hang on a moment....

Wow! There, in the overhang of rocks dating from the late Jurassic era, was a definite series of footprints. A small creature, no bigger than two or three high, had stepped across the wet sand of a bay in this place a hundred and sixty million years ago. The prints were close together, so it wasn't travelling. Perhaps it was a scavenger, sifting through whatever the sea washed up for food, or perhaps a small carnivore, approaching slowly and ready to rush in. Maybe a small herbivore, cautious of its situation and ready to flee if things turned ugly.

That made the morning worthwhile.

Thought For The Week

Different people walk differently. Yesterday I walked behind a rotund woman whose pace was quick for her, but insufferably sl;ow for me. Trouble was, she was swinging her arms outward, and trying to get by risked a solid blow to my sensitive regions. There's that old guy, who literally marches everywhere with a straight back. A group of youngster amble around each other swaying their shoulders from sie to side. A young woman pushes her babychair at breakneck speed, swerving in and out of pedestrian traffic leaning forward.

I wonder what future paleotologists will make of footprints we've made?