FOSSIL HUNTING BY REGION
The Isle of Wight is one of the most important fossil hunting locations in the UK and is widely known for its abundance of dinosaur remains, with numerous species discovered from its Lower Cretaceous deposits. It is the richest area in Britain for dinosaur fossils.
In addition to dinosaurs, the island has a diverse range of fossil-bearing strata spanning much of the Cretaceous, with classic exposures at Alum Bay and Whitecliff Bay showing these sequences clearly in vertical beds.
Younger deposits are also present, including Eocene and Oligocene formations in the north of the island, which yield mammal remains, crocodile material, and a variety of other fossils.
17 location guides
17 locations
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The early Oligocene beds along the Coastline at Bouldnor Cliff (Near Hamstead) is highly fossiliferous in mammal, crocodile, turtle, crustaceans and fish remains. Molluscs, plants and seeds can also be found…
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Fort Victoria, on the north-west coast of the Isle of Wight, is a family-friendly fossil location exposing the Headon Hill Formation. The foreshore can yield crocodile, turtle, fish and shell remains,…
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The early Oligocene beds exposed along the coastline at Hamstead Cliff are exceptionally rich in fossils, particularly remains of mammals, crocodiles, turtles, fish and crustaceans. In addition, a wide variety of…
Read the guide →Atherfield Point exposes lagoonal Wealden rocks beneath the earliest marine Lower Greensand. The Perna Member forms a fossiliferous ledge with shells and corals, while the exposed shore and unstable cliffs require…
Read the guide →Bembridge Foreland is an important Isle of Wight fossil site, where the Bembridge Limestone and Bembridge Marls are exposed across the foreshore as a broad wave-cut platform and scattered rock outcrops.…
Read the guide →Brook Bay is one of the Isle of Wight’s most famous dinosaur localities, where teeth, bone fragments, fossil wood and reptile remains are regularly found with careful searching. Most material is…
Read the guide →Brighstone Bay is renowned for dinosaur remains and plant-debris beds in the Early Cretaceous Wealden rocks. From Grange Chine towards Barnes High, colourful floodplain mudstones give way to lagoonal beds, offering…
Read the guide →Colwell Bay, on the north-west coast of the Isle of Wight, is a rapidly changing and increasingly important fossil collecting location. Although less well known than nearby Totland Bay, it exposes…
Read the guide →The entire section of coast along Compton Bay provides a worthwhile day out, with opportunities to find pieces of dinosaur bone (mostly rolled) and possibly teeth; and to see the large…
Read the guide →Gurnard Ledge is a classic location for finding insects but fish, turtle and crocodile remains can also be found. Today, the famous insect bed has become less productive, but insects and…
Read the guide →Porchfield is the name used locally here for a remote and largely unnamed stretch of coastline west of Burnt Wood, on the north-western side of the Isle of Wight. The locality…
Read the guide →Rocken End is a rugged, less-visited promontory shaped by large coastal landslides. Loose Upper Greensand and basal Chalk material can yield ammonites and other molluscs, but mixed fallen blocks and an…
Read the guide →Shanklin’s Lower Greensand cliffs and foreshore offer marine shells, moulds and occasional ammonites in iron-rich sands and concretions. The shore south towards Knock Cliff also has a history of rare dinosaur…
Read the guide →Thorness Bay exposes a continuation of the fossil-rich Hamstead Beds and Bembridge Marls, linking the classic Isle of Wight localities of Hamstead and Gurnard Bay. Although generally less productive than those…
Read the guide →Totland Bay, on the western coast of the Isle of Wight, is a lesser-known but highly rewarding fossil collecting location. Covering the stretch from the south side of the bay to…
Read the guide →Whitecliff Bay brings together Cretaceous Chalk and a long Palaeogene succession within one varied stretch of coast. Its steeply tilted sands, clays and limestones reveal changing seas, lagoons and lakes, with…
Read the guide →Yaverland is one of the most famous fossil collecting locations on the Isle of Wight, renowned for its dinosaur remains, vertebrate fossils and classic Wealden exposures. However, despite its reputation, success…
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