Brook Bay is popular for dinosaur fragments along the beach. Here, many rolled fragments get caught up in the shingle and you can find these remains by simply searching along the foreshore. Other reptile and larger bones can also be found.
DIRECTIONS
♦ You can park at the car park near Sheppard’s Chine. There is easy access down to the shore from the cliff top car park, so you don’t need to walk very far.
♦ You can also park at Brook Bay car park, which is at the southern end of the bay.
♦ Ref: 50.65399°N, 1.46651°W
PROFILE INFO
FIND FREQUENCY: ♦♦♦ – Although lots of fossils can be found, you will often need the right conditions.
CHILDREN: ♦♦ – Brook Bay is suitable for families, but not for younger children.
ACCESS: ♦♦♦♦ – Brook Bay has parking, with quick access down to the beach.
TYPE: Most of the fossils are found on the foreshore. You simply pick them up, but they can also be found in the cliff.
FOSSIL HUNTING
At Brook Bay, dinosaur remains can be found, including teeth and rolled/worn pieces of bone. Occasionally, whole bones are found. Ripple marks and dinosaur footprints can often also be seen on bedding planes and a complete trackway from this location is held by the Dinosaur Isle museum. Most fossils can be found during scouring conditions. They can often be picked up simply by searching in the single, but most are rolled and worn, but dinosaur teeth do occur now and again, especially after scouring and extreme high tides. Examine the foreshore, in particular, in the shingle and look in the scree slopes of the cliff.
GEOLOGY
The geology is Cretaceous (Barremian 121 to 127mya). In the bay, you will be able to see the vertical and lateral relationships within a Wessex Formation fluvial channel sandstone unit, together with the Sudmoor Point Sandstone and adjacent overbank mudstone deposits.
EQUIPMENT
Most of the fossils can be picked up off the foreshore, without the need of any tools. However, it is best to take a few, which may come in useful.
SAFETY
Common sense when collecting at all locations should be used and knowledge of tide times should is essential. The tidal conditions at this location are dangerous. You must return before the tide turns and must check out tide times before you visit. It is very easy to become cut off.
You must also take care if walking over the slippages, as these can be very sticky and you may get stuck.
ACCESS RIGHTS
This site is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). This means you can visit the site, but hammering the bedrock is not permitted. For full information about the reasons for the status of the site and restrictions, download the PDF from Natural England.
It is important to follow our ‘Code of Conduct’ when collecting fossils or visiting any site. Please also read our ‘Terms and Conditions‘
LINKS
♦ Buy Fossils, Crystals, Tools
♦ Location Discussions
♦ Deposits Magazine
♦ Join Fossil Hunts
♦ UK Fossils Network