The nearest land to you would probably have been northern France or Cornwall.

A plesiosaur bone found in Swindon's Portland beds in Okus Quarry.

The currents would have been quite strong at times and it would probably have been tidal. If you'd looked down at your feet you'd have seen lots of shells all washed together and piled up on top of each other. These Shells would have been from all different types of species including clams, cockles and snail shells not too dissimilar from what you'd see today. You'd also have seen fish swimming around in amongst the seaweed and algae and even through the odd coral reef.

Swimming with Dinosaurs

If you'd looked up to the surface you'd have seen shoals of fish swimming around you again not too dissimilar from what you'd see today. Then perhaps, if you were really lucky, you might have seen a big pod of Ichthyosaurs swimming above you.

Ichthyosaurs were fairly abundant in the Jurassic seas in the Swindon area. Ichthyosaur bones, found on the north side of Welcome Avenue in Walcot, prove it.

Old Town Rail Path

Ichthyosaurs were schooling reptiles and looked and behaved in a very similar way to the modern day dolphin and porpoise. Streamlined with a sharp snout they were adapted for deep sea conditions with a ring of plates around their eyes to support their eyes against pressure. Carnivorous, with a battery of sharply conical teeth, their main diet was the squid like belemnite and fish.

If you carried on looking than maybe, at some point, you would have seen one of the largest marine predators around - the Pliosaurs gliding over the top of you or in the distance. Although they would probably have been a rare sight.

Or perhaps the largest marine carnivore that has ever existed on the planet the Alliopuredon. The Alliopuredon were the killer whales of the Jurassic Seas. They had teeth bigger than T Rex and were super carnivores. They not only fed on large prey but scavenged huge carcasses of whatever was around at the time including giant filter feeding fish.

...carry on walking along the Old Town Rail Path for about quarter of a mile until you see, on your left hand side, a small plank bridge. Cross the bridge, past the bench, and look for the view over the valley known as Swindon's Front Garden