Charles Darwin was fascinated by rocks and fossils from an early age. Come and find out what it was that inspired the great man.

A FREE Shropshire Wildlife Trust drop-in event (between 10:30 – 3:30) at The Cut.

Shropshire is one of the most geologically rich counties in Britain, so it’s no surprise that our most famous resident should have found inspiration here. Geology was one of his early interests. He went on to derive his theory of evolution from observations he made of species and their geographic distributions during his five-year voyage around the world on the H.M.S. Beagle. But in the introduction of On the Origin of Species, the naturalist also cites another influence: the thousands of fossils that he collected on that trip. Come and see our collection of Shropshire fossils, learn about the weird creatures that formed them and how they did it. A fascinating insight into the world as it was hundreds of millions of years ago, when Shropshire was lapped by tropical seas, and into Darwin’s thinking behind his greatest contribution to science.

Why not bring your own fossil along – we'd love to see it!

This drop in event is FREE but donations are greatly welcomed.