Gloucestershire offers a wide range of fossil hunting locations, including important inland and river sites across the county. Along the River Severn, exposures of the Triassic bone bed can be found at Aust, Sedbury Cliff, Westbury-on-Severn, and the Wainlode cliffs, yielding vertebrate remains and other fossil material.
Inland, numerous disused quarries, outcrops, and cuttings provide access to Jurassic deposits, which commonly produce ammonites and other marine fossils. These sites offer some of the best inland collecting opportunities in the UK.
The Forest of Dean is also well known for its Carboniferous coal measures, where plant fossils can be collected from one of the most significant deposits of this age in Britain.
The striking red and white cliffs at Aust, on the Severn Estuary, expose the Rhaetian Penarth Group, home to one of the most famous bone beds in the UK. This thin but highly productive layer is packed with teeth, fish remains and reptile material, making Aust the richest Triassic fossil site in Britain. Under the right conditions, the foreshore can yield a wide variety of microfossils, rewarding careful searching and sieving. Triassic, Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
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The actual site is a foreshore location on the eastern shore of the River Severn to the west of Tites Point, in Gloucestershire. At low tide, the Silurian Ludlow beds are exposed, yielding a range of fossils, including seeds, plants and molluscs. However, of most importance is the abundance of fish remains from the Ludlow Fish Bed. Silurian, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
On the opposite side of the River Severn from the famous Aust Cliff, there are the much less famous Sedbury Cliffs. At what first appears to be a location similar but far less productive than Aust, it is actually a very productive location for Jurassic fossils. Triassic, Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Further up the River Severn from the other classic sites, such as Aust and Hock Cliff, Westbury-on-Severn (also known as Garden Cliff) is one of the finest localities for collecting from the famous Rhaetian- aged bone bed from the Penarth Group. Out of all of the localities along the Severn, this has the most rapid erosion. Triassic, Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
This is a disused railway cutting, hidden away in a thick forest. The small cutting has good exposures of Inferior Oolite and this location is well documented for its Clypeus sinuatus flat echinoids, but many brachiopods and bivalves can also be found. Jurassic, Disused Railway Cutting, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
The Forest of Dean is full of evidence of past coal mining. This old spoil head in Whitecroft, although overgrown, contains some excellent shale full of fossil plants. It is a shame the site is so overgrown, which means you will need to do some digging. Carboniferous, Spoil, Rating: ♦♦♦
A pleasant few hours can be spent at Leckhampton Hill. There are numerous old quarry faces with piles of scree to investigate. Fossils are not abundant but, with patience, some should be collected. The views from this hill are impressive and the walk to the various sites is an enjoyable (if hilly) one. Jurassic, Outcrops, Disused Quarries, Rating: ♦♦♦
For those who have visited Watchet in Somerset looking for fossils in the Blue Lias, this location will seem remarkably similar. Indeed, the same fossils can be found in thick limestone bands and soft shale. Hock Cliff is a classic Jurassic location to explore. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Wainlode Cliff is a less popular location for collecting fossils from the Triassic bone beds of the Rhaetic aged rocks of the Westbury Formation than, for example, Aust. The cliff height is quite impressive, but the problem is this location is more overgrown than others, and does not wash out as regularly. The taller cliffs also mean that the bone bed is inaccessible and unfortunately rarely falls.
Triassic, Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦
Soudley Valley has a geological trail, taking you through the geological features of the Forest of Dean. One of the locations on the trail features a spoil heap of Carboniferous coal measures, where you can find fossil plants. This guide concentrates on this location.Carboniferous, Spoil, Rating: ♦♦
Crickley Hill is now part of a national park, where there is an official geological trail with an Iron Age hill fort nearby. There are a few sites along the official guide taking you through the geological history of the area, but this guide concentrates on the Crickley Member (formerly known as Pea Grit) quarry of the Birdlip Limestone. Jurassic, Disused Quarries, Scree, Rating: ♦
The two large quarry faces at Robinswood hill are sites of special scientific interest (SSSI), as they expose the best inland section of early Jurassic rocks in the country. As such, fossil hunting is limited. However, some fossils may be collected from loose material and the views from the top of the hill are worth the walk. Jurassic, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦
There are many old quarries on the west side of the elevated golf course at Cleeve Hill and on top of the common itself. Fossils are varied and abundant, and plenty can be collected from scree below the faces. However, the in situ rock should not be hammered. Views from the top of Cleeve Common, the highest hill in Gloucestershire, are stunning. Jurassic, Disused Quarries, Rating: ♦♦♦
