At the time that the rocks of the Longmynd were deposited there were no animals with hard skeletons on the land or in the sea and no plants. Therefore the only fossils of living matter that can be found in these rocks are of algal mats (these can be found in the Stretton shale and Lightspout formations) and a few possible worm burrows. However ‘fossils’ of raindrops and ripples can be found, most commonly in the Synalds formation.

As rain falls onto mud that has been exposed by a low tide and dried out slightly the impact will result in a small crater in the mud.

When the rain stops and normal gentle sedimentation continues on the incoming tide, the rain pits may be in-filled with fine sediment. In some conditions these pits may then be preserved in the rock record.  In the rocks of the Longmynd these can be found as marks about 2-3mm across on the bedding planes. Some may even have evidence of the raised rim that was created as rain fell and some are eliptical suggesting the rain hit the mud at an angle.

Fossilised ripples can also be found on some of the bedding planes, such as those exposed near the 'Lightspout' waterfall.