Castleton
Castleton’s Carboniferous reef limestone contains crinoids, brachiopods and corals, while its caves are famous for Blue John fluorite. This walk links Treak Cliff, Blue John Cavern and the foot of Mam…
Read the guide →FOSSIL HUNTING BY REGION
Derbyshire
fossil locations
7 location guides
Derbyshire is well known for its extensive exposures of Carboniferous Limestone, which are rich in marine fossils. These rocks commonly contain brachiopods, corals, and crinoids, although the hard limestone can make fossils difficult to extract.
The area also includes fossiliferous Carboniferous marine shales, which can yield a wider range of well-preserved specimens. Numerous outcrops, cuttings, and quarry sections provide access to these deposits across the region.
Derbyshire remains an important inland location for Carboniferous fossils and is also historically associated with mineral deposits, including the well-known Blue John.
Explore Derbyshire on the map
7 location guides
7 locations
Holymoorside
A small wooded quarry near Holymoorside preserves plant fragments in Carboniferous sandstone. The rock belongs to the Wingfield Flags, a named sandstone unit within the Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation. Stem…
Read the guide →
Marsh Brook
Marsh Brook exposes Carboniferous marine shale with recorded goniatites and bivalves. The documented fauna places these beds in the Kinderscoutian interval of the Namurian. Many shells are flattened, and their original…
Read the guide →
Monsal Dale
Monsal Dale offers a scenic walk among Carboniferous limestone and chert, with crinoid fragments and other marine fossils visible in the rock. The valley also preserves an unusually varied record of…
Read the guide →
Parkhouse Hill
The steep outline of Parkhouse Hill near Earl Sterndale reveals a Carboniferous reef margin shaped by later faulting and erosion. Brachiopods, corals and crinoid fragments can be seen in its limestone.…
Read the guide →
Stone Edge Plantation
Stone Edge Plantation preserves traces of former coal and clay workings, with plant-bearing Coal Measures shale reported from loose mine spoil. Fossils were uncommon and often poorly preserved in the original…
Read the guide →
West Quarry
West Quarry, also called Coal Hills West Quarry, exposes fossil-rich Eyam Limestone at the National Stone Centre near Wirksworth. Crinoid debris and brachiopods record a Carboniferous sea on the edge of…
Read the guide →No locations match those filters. Try another search or reset the filters.
