Mr Wood'sFossils

Stan Wood, a self-taught fossil hunter of genuine consequence, began supplying museums in 1983 and opened his Grassmarket shop to the public in 1987 — the same Stan Wood who found Westlothiana lizziae, 'Lizzie', reported at the time as the oldest known reptile fossil and now held by the National Museum of Scotland up the hill. Matt Dale, a geologist who started as manager in 1998, bought the business from Wood in 2006 and runs it still: a small shop of fossils, minerals and meteorites that is half retailer and half natural-history cabinet, on a square better known for its pubs. Edinburgh keeps its deep time here, priced to take home.