The shore from Glyne Gap towards Galley Hill exposes Early Cretaceous sediments when beach scour removes the covering sand and shingle. The original guide records dinosaur footprints after the November 2000 storms. Fossils and traces are intermittent, and the fossiliferous beds belong to the Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation.
FIND FREQUENCY: ♦♦ – Finds depend heavily on scour; covered or algae-coated surfaces may yield little.
CHILDREN: ♦♦♦ – Supervise children and remain well away from unstable cliffs.
ACCESS: ♦♦♦♦ – The Glyne Gap approach is short, but parking restrictions and current access signs need checking.
TYPE: Intermittently exposed foreshore sediments and loose material; leave track-bearing surfaces intact.
DIRECTIONS
♦ Approach the eastern end of Bexhill on the A259 towards Glyne Gap and Galley Hill.
♦ The original guide uses the railway-underpass approach near the toilet facilities at Glyne Gap, followed by the shore westwards towards Galley Hill. Follow current signs.
♦ Check the operator’s parking conditions before leaving a vehicle. Nearby retail parking is restricted. Check the current terms at the car park you intend to use.
♦ Ref: TQ 76480 07889 – 50.84360°N, 0.50536°E
FOSSIL HUNTING
At Galley Hill, work with what the sea has uncovered rather than expecting a continuously fossiliferous beach. Search the shore west of the Glyne Gap approach for loose pieces washed from the local beds and for exposed bedding surfaces worth photographing. Sand, shingle and algae can conceal the useful ground. The original field account describes dinosaur tracks revealed after storm scour in November 2000, but that observation does not establish that the same surface remains visible today.
The finer-grained rocks deserve patient attention. The BGS Galley Hill section includes three thin, pellet-bearing silty layers containing gastropods and plant fragments within the Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation. These thin, finer-grained layers are worth inspecting even where the surrounding sandstone looks barren. In a loose piece, inspect the flatter bedding faces first. Look for a repeated curved or coiled shell outline, or a recognisable plant impression, rather than relying on a dark spot alone. Small mud pellets can resemble fossil fragments until examined with a lens.
A useful collecting method is to compare several naturally weathered pieces from the same small area. Note whether an inclusion has a continuous edge, growth pattern or internal structure, and photograph both sides if it is unclear. Keep any matching halves together. A small shell mould with a clear outline may be a better specimen than a much larger lump with no diagnostic detail. For a possible gastropod, photograph the coiling, opening and any surface ornament. A mould may preserve only part of these features; leave its identification broad if the essential detail is missing.
The earlier guide reports fish, crocodile, turtle and dinosaur remains from the Bexhill foreshore. Treat vertebrate material as a less predictable bonus, generally fragmentary, rather than the expected outcome of a visit. Possible bone needs more than a suggestive shape: look for an outer compact layer and a structured, porous interior where it is already broken. A tooth should have an identifiable crown surface; a rounded pebble or iron-rich concretion is not sufficient evidence. Preserve the surrounding rock where it protects a promising specimen and seek identification before further preparation.
Footprints require a different approach from collecting loose body fossils. Scan bedding surfaces as a whole, looking for repeated impressions or casts rather than removing an isolated three-pronged shape. The old attribution to Iguanodon is best treated as a historical interpretation: an apparent three-toed print does not identify its maker to genus. Photograph a possible track with a scale, take a wider view showing the surrounding surface and record its position. Trackway spacing and orientation can matter as much as the individual impression.
The Rother fossil collecting code allows small numbers of loose specimens, excludes digging or hammering fixed exposures, and asks that footprints remain on the beach and be reported to Bexhill Museum. Label finds “Galley Hill, west of Glyne Gap” where appropriate. Little Galley Hill east of the gap and inland Ashdown Brickworks are different collecting localities; their better-known fossils cannot identify an unprovenanced Galley Hill fragment.
A chronological record of fossil discoveries and geological research at Bexhill.
1987 – Local stratigraphy revised
The BGS memoir revised the local coastal interpretation and documented a Galley Hill composite in Tunbridge Wells Sand, while distinguishing the inferred Ashdown succession at Little Galley Hill.
GEOLOGY
BGS assigns Galley Hill and much of the neighbouring Bexhill shore to the Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation of the Wealden Group. The old blanket identification of the fossiliferous foreshore clay as Wadhurst Clay is not supported for this scoped section.
The rock types matter because the fossil record is concentrated in particular parts of the succession. In the Galley Hill composite, a sandstone with mud pellets at its base lies above three thin silty pellet beds that together measure about 0.2 m. Those silty beds contain gastropods and plant fragments, so the Tunbridge Wells Sand here should not be dismissed as unfossiliferous. Beneath them, a 1.35 m interval of silty clay and mudstone contrasts with the sandier beds above and below.
The exposed channels and changes from sand to silt and mud record changing sediment transport and deposition within this Wealden succession. Mud pellets incorporated in sand are pieces of older muddy sediment reworked into a younger deposit. The lower red-mottled silts and clay and the locally vanishing sandstone add to the evidence for lateral variation. Consequently, a fossil’s matrix and recorded position are more informative than simply calling every clayey block “Wadhurst Clay”. The historical measured log describes a particular exposure, while shingle, sand and fallen material determine how much can be seen today.
A measured Galley Hill composite documents alternating sandstone, sandy siltstone, silty clay and mudstone within one fault block. A variable sandstone pinches out locally, and talus obscures the lower part: the cover is not an extra sedimentary unit or measured formation thickness.
Channels cut towards the south-west on the shore south and west of the cliff. Adjacent fault blocks cannot generally be correlated with confidence. Little Galley Hill east of Glyne Gap has a separate composite inferred to be Ashdown Formation and must not be added beneath this log.
Detailed geology and stratigraphy of Bexhill.
Glyne Gap access and the westward shore towards Galley Hill (TQ 76480 07889). Little Galley Hill east of the gap and inland brickworks are separate exposures.
WEALDEN GROUP
The modern BGS framework places these formations in the Wealden Group. Older publications use “Hastings Beds”, “Hastings Group” or “Wealden Supergroup”; these are historical classification schemes rather than extra units in the succession.
Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation
Early Cretaceous, late Valanginian. The following is the BGS Galley Hill composite measured within one fault block, described top down. It is not a complete formation and is not correlated confidently through all adjacent blocks.
Sandy siltstone — 1.8 m. Uppermost recorded part of the composite.
Pellet-bearing sandstone — 0.8 m. Mud pellets occur at its base.
Three silty pellet beds — 0.2 m combined. Contain gastropods and plant fragments. These fossiliferous beds contradict a blanket description of the formation as unfossiliferous.
Silty clay and mudstone — 1.35 m. Fine-grained interval beneath the pellet beds.
Variable sandstone — 0–0.8 m. Locally absent, recording lateral variation rather than a compulsory layer of fixed thickness.
Locally red-mottled silts and clay — 3.6 m. Lower exposed interval in the measured block.
Talus-covered interval — c. 3.7 m of cover. The memoir records cover down to beach level. This is not a sedimentary unit or 3.7 m of additional formation thickness.
BGS assigns Galley Hill and much of the neighbouring Bexhill shore to the Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation. Beach scour intermittently reveals clay-rich beds and fossil traces.
Three channels on the shore south and west of the cliff cut towards the south-west. Adjacent fault blocks cannot generally be tied together confidently; red and green mottled clayey silts extend eastwards towards the inferred Old Town Fault.
Little Galley Hill (TQ 769 081) is a separate, older-looking composite inferred by the memoir to be Ashdown Formation. It is distinct from the Galley Hill log west of the gap; inland Ashdown Brickworks is a different fossil locality.
The original UK Fossils field report describes dinosaur footprints exposed after storm scour in November 2000. This historical observation does not imply that the bedding surface remains exposed.
References
SAFETY
Plan a low-tide visit with time for an early return. Changing tides and waves can restrict the return route and reduce safe space on the shore.
Algae can make exposed rock very slippery. Stay clear of cliff bases, unstable faces and soft ground, and avoid disturbing track-bearing surfaces.
EQUIPMENT
Take sturdy footwear with good grip, tide information, a hand lens, a camera, wrapping material and rigid specimen boxes. Keep the load manageable for the rocky shore.
A hand lens helps distinguish small teeth, scales, shell fragments and plant material. Do not bring digging tools for excavating in-situ beds; leave important tracks and large remains in place for recording.
CLEANING AND TREATING
Pack fragile clay-hosted remains separately and allow them to dry slowly. Begin with a soft dry brush only when the matrix is stable; do not soak flaky mudstone, bone or plant-rich material.
Hard sandstone, ironstone and bone-bed matrix can break through a fossil rather than around it. Avoid indiscriminate splitting, acids, bleach and routine coatings. Keep potentially important bones, teeth and associated remains unprepared and seek specialist advice.
IDENTIFY YOUR FINDS
Need help identifying a fossil? Share clear photos, where you found it and its size with the community.
FURTHER READING
Lake and Shephard-Thorn (1987), Geology of the country around Hastings and Dungeness
Hopson, Wilkinson and Woods (2008), A stratigraphical framework for the Lower Cretaceous of England, BGS RR/08/03
ACCESS RIGHTS
Check current signs and landowner requirements. No blanket permission to excavate the beds or remove track-bearing surfaces is established here. Leave in-situ features undamaged and record potentially important finds for specialist advice.
It is important to follow our ‘Code of Conduct’ when collecting fossils or visiting any site. Please also read our ‘Terms and Conditions‘
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