Hands-On Jurassic Fossils: Fossil Talk with Olly in Broadway, Cotswolds

On a cold Saturday afternoon in Broadway, England, a small museum room hums with the low, curious conversation of families and school groups. Fossil Talk with Olly is a hands-on hour that turns weathered stones into active clues: real ammonites and belemnites pulled from the Cotswolds' Jurassic limestones, fossils that once lived in a warm shallow sea 150 million years ago. Olly Peacop—child fossil hunter and the session’s guide—walks you through how those ancient shells became the limestone bedrock that shapes the rolling hills you see today.

The session runs for one hour on the first floor of the local museum and is designed for young explorers aged 4–16, though adults leave just as engaged. With a group cap around ten, it feels intimate: participants handle specimens from nearby quarries in Blockley and Broadway, learn to identify features like suture lines and rostrums, and hear what fossils reveal about ancient seas, predators, and climate. The limestone itself is the attraction: composed of condensed marine life, it’s part geology lesson, part time capsule.

This talk is distinctive because it takes regional geology out of textbooks and into the hands of visitors. Broadway’s fossils are local—collected from the same beds that built farm walls and village houses—so the session ties the present landscape to its deep past. Olly’s approachable style mixes storytelling and science, and the museum setting keeps the program accessible to families and school groups without fieldwork or tools.

Plan to arrive early to find the museum entrance and the first-floor meeting room; the talk is run from January through February on Saturdays, so book ahead during those months. Because participants handle real specimens, the museum asks for careful hands and attention to handling guidance—this is an interactive conservation lesson as much as an identification class. Bring a notebook for sketches and notes; children love tracing ammonite spirals and labeling belemnite rostra.

Beyond the hour, Broadway makes an easy base to explore Cotswold limestone features—old quarries, hedgerow fossils, and village stonework that echoes the Jurassic sea. The talk is an ideal short activity for families visiting the area, teachers planning curriculum-linked trips, or anyone curious how tiny shells can rewrite landscapes. In sixty minutes you’ll leave with a small gallery of facts, a fresh appreciation for local stone, and a clearer sense of how 150 million years ago still underpins the present.

The museum location is on Broadway’s compact high street, within easy walking distance of parking and local cafes, making it simple to combine the talk with a day exploring the Cotswolds. Sessions are free with admission; check the museum’s ticketing page or booking link for exact start times and any changes to the winter schedule before you go.