Tilton Railway Cutting SSSI
Location and Access Information
Grid Reference: SK 761055
Brachiopod 'nest'.
This site is located near the village of Tilton-on-the-Hill, 12km south-west of Oakham and is a Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust reserve. The site lies off the Tilton to Oakham road about 2 km east of the village of Tilton. There is parking for one vehicle at the entrance. The road is dangerous.
View the site map on Nature on the Map
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Geological Interest
This 750m section of disused railway cutting provides outstanding exposures of sediments which were deposited during the Lower Jurassic Period, between 189 and 186 million years ago. The rocks were deposited in warm tropical seas and consist of oolitic ironstones and limestones (the Marlstone Rock), capped by shales of the Upper Lias. A rich assemblage of fossils has been found here, including gastropods, brachiopods and a species of ammonite Tiltoniceras acutum named after the location and the nearby village.
