Limestone Way In Birmingham

Limestone Way from Dudley, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom. The Limestone Way from Dudley to Sedgley is a route along four limestone hills: Castle Hill, Wrens Nest, Hurst Hill and Sedgley Beacon. Mining and quarrying of the rock took place over centuries. The origin of the rocks lies over 400 million years ago in the Silurian period, creating an area of geological significance. The Dudley area, and much of the Midlands, was at that time covered by a shallow tropical sea. Gradually the shells of sea creatures settled on the lime rich mud of the sea floor. In time this mud became limestone whilst the shells were preserved as fossils. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images Images)