The Lake District is not one of the most productive fossil hunting areas in the UK, but it still offers a range of locations for collectors. The only coastal site at Whitehaven is particularly notable, producing well-preserved Carboniferous plant fossils.
Inland Cumbria is largely made up of Ordovician and Silurian rocks, where fossils can be found in disused quarries, scree slopes, cuttings, and stream sections. Trilobites are present in these deposits, although they are relatively uncommon.
While fossils can be limited, the Lake District remains an important area for older material and also provides excellent opportunities for collecting minerals.
Around Coniston, Ashgill Quarry, Ashgill Beck and Torver Beck reveal a varied succession of Ordovician and Silurian marine rocks. Trilobites and brachiopods occur in shell-bearing beds, while younger mudstones preserve graptolite assemblages. These are separate upland exposures, with steep quarry faces and fast-changing stream conditions; arrange collecting permission and leave protected rock faces undisturbed. Silurian, Ordovician, Cuttings, Disused Quarries, Rating: ♦♦♦
Whitehaven’s northern coast preserves Carboniferous plant fossils beneath the Countess Pit Sandstone. Access update, October 2026: foreshore access has been reported closed. The precise extent of the restriction and any reopening remain unconfirmed. Do not rely on the former tunnel-access directions or enter closed areas; confirm current authorised access with Cumberland Council before planning a collecting visit. Carboniferous, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Parton Bay, just north of Whitehaven, has Carboniferous fossils in loose beach stones, including plant remains in shale and corals in limestone. The shore also contains sea glass and other reminders of its industrial past. Reach the village beach through the public railway underpass, check tides and conditions, and leave coastal defences and archaeological remains untouched. Carboniferous, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Stockdale Beck in Longsleddale is known for Silurian graptolite-bearing mudstones. The small exposure described near the old barn and bridge is separate from the more extensive Browgill reference section upstream. This protected beck requires care: arrange access and collecting permission, leave banks and bedrock untouched, and avoid high water or unsafe footing. Silurian, Stream, Rating: ♦
The hillside quarries above Stockdale Farm in Longsleddale expose Late Ordovician fossil-bearing rocks of the Stile End Formation. Their scientific importance includes type material of trilobites, although loose spoil commonly preserves incomplete, weathered moulds. Arrange access and collecting permission with the landowner before visiting these steep, exposed workings. Ordovician, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦
Clints Quarry is a Carboniferous limestone nature reserve near Egremont, where corals and crinoid fragments can be seen in weathered rock. Its fossil-rich beds and ancient solution hollows record changing conditions on a shallow tropical shelf. Visit to observe and photograph the geology, leaving fossils and the protected quarry undisturbed. Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦
High Fell Quarry, above Tilberthwaite, reveals the volcanic origins of Lakeland slate. Quarry working restarted under a new tenant in 2023. Climbing advice warned of intended renewed blasting and advised people to keep away. Stay on public paths and out of the workings; seek the landowner’s permission before any proposed quarry visit or sampling. Ordovician, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦
Hodgson How Quarry, near Portinscale, is a historically important Ordovician graptolite locality. Its Kirk Stile Formation mudstones preserve flattened fossils including Azygograptus lapworthi. Steep, unstable rock and uncertain current access make this a site for a carefully arranged geological visit, with landowner permission required before entry or collecting. Ordovician, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦
Saltcom Bay in this guide is South Beach beside West Pier, immediately south of Whitehaven harbour. Historical finds include Carboniferous plant remains in mixed colliery spoil. Beach access was reported prohibited for safety in the 2020 Coastal Strategy, and reopening has not been verified. Do not plan a shore-collecting visit without current confirmation from the landowner or Cumberland Council; remain on open signed routes and respect all barriers. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
