Covehithe - Fossil Collecting Guide (UK Fossils)

At Covehithe, rapidly eroding cliffs reveal Early Pleistocene marine sands and clays, with cold-water shells in beds that appear as beach cover changes. Older fossils also occur in loose flint pebbles. The ruined church provides a memorable starting point, but safe access follows current public paths rather than the severed coastal road.

FIND FREQUENCY: ♦♦ – Variable; transported flint fossils are occasional and shelly clay is often concealed.
CHILDREN: ♦♦♦ – Only with close supervision, away from cliff edges, falling faces and the sea.
ACCESS: ♦♦♦ – Limited lawful roadside parking and a signed footpath approach; erosion can alter the route.
TYPE: – Coastal cliffs, clay and gravel exposures, and foreshore.

DIRECTIONS

♦ From the A12 crossroads at Wrentham take the B1127 towards Southwold, then the signed left turn to Covehithe. Continue to the corner before St Andrew’s church, where the main road turns back on itself and the restricted road continues ahead.
♦ Use only lawful roadside parking before that junction and follow current signs. The original guide described a small designated area between marked restrictions; do not assume old capacity or parking permissions still apply. Keep gates, passing places and private entrances clear.
♦ Walk towards the church and take the public footpath on the right signed to the beach. Follow its current field-edge route towards the Covehithe Broad side. Do not follow the old road to its eroded end or improvise a cliff descent; turn back if the signed entrance is closed or unsafe.
♦ On the shore remain clear of the cliff and nesting-bird cordons. Any walk towards Benacre or Easton Broad depends on tides, barrier breaches and current routes. Locality reference: 52.377184, 1.712151.

FOSSIL HUNTING

Loose flint pebbles may contain echinoids or sponges, inherited from much older Cretaceous rocks. These transported fossils are a different assemblage from the Early Pleistocene shells in the coastal clay. Check weathered surfaces carefully and distinguish fossil structure from irregular flint shapes.

When sand is stripped away, the grey-blue clay can reveal fragile cold-water bivalves and evidence of life in ancient mudflats. Published records include Macoma calcarea, Serripes groenlandicus, Yoldia myalis and Ciliatocardium ciliatum. Shells in life position and associated burrows are valuable observations; photograph them rather than dig out a protected horizon.

Some beach bones, shells or pieces of peat have been transported from elsewhere or from the seabed. Their findspot alone does not establish their original bed. Worked flints, if genuinely identified, are archaeological artefacts and should be recorded separately from fossils.

The original field account describes a shell-bearing exposure extending for about 50 m opposite the old road near the church, with some Macoma calcarea valves in life position. This locates a historical exposure, not a current cliff descent or a guaranteed visible bed. It also records a thin carbonaceous horizon at the cliff base, subsequently obscured, containing numerous seeds and foraminifera. These observations are separate from the dated measured sections below.

Significant fossil, geological and conservation milestones at Covehithe.

1957 – Subsurface clay investigated
Boreholes behind the then-existing cliff provided material later used to study the pollen record and environmental history of the coastal deposits.

1977 – Intertidal succession measured
An October section recorded shell-bearing clay and repeated laminated units with desiccation surfaces, preserving a detailed record of beds subsequently affected by coastal retreat.

1980 – Cold-water fauna and pollen analysed
R. G. West, B. M. Funnell and P. E. P. Norton linked the marine fauna and pollen to a cold Baventian environment, an important step in reconstructing the early North Sea climate.

2005 – Wider coastal SSSI re-notified
Covehithe became part of the re-notified Pakefield to Easton Bavents protected coast, whose interests include geology and coastal habitats.

2020 – Crag correlation tested with new comparisons
Covehithe material was included in a wider reassessment of Early Pleistocene marine assemblages and amino-acid dating, clarifying the relationship between cold-stage clay and other Crag faunas.

References
Moorlock et al. (2000), Geology of the country around Lowestoft and Saxmundham, sheets 176 and 191
West, Funnell and Norton (1980), cold marine episode at Covehithe, Boreas 9, 1–10
Natural England, Pakefield to Easton Bavents SSSI citation (2005), hosted copy
Preece et al. (2020), palaeontology and dating of the Weybourne Crag; includes exact Covehithe/Easton comparison

GEOLOGY

Covehithe exposes a changing Early Pleistocene shoreline in the marine Norwich Crag succession. Near beach level, grey-blue silty clay contains cold-water fossils and preserves a transition from shallow-water sediment to intertidal mudflat. In the historical 1977 section, burrowed sandy clay was followed by repeated thin sand, silt and clay cycles. Drying cracks on their upper surfaces show that wet sediment was repeatedly exposed to the air. The fossils and sedimentary structures therefore tell complementary parts of the story: the animals indicate the conditions in the water, while the cracked surfaces record emergence of the seabed.

These fine deposits were not preserved as an uninterrupted sheet. Gravel bodies cut across them, and changes in sediment thickness and character occur over short distances. Flint-rich Westleton gravel records beach and shoreface transport; higher Wroxham Crag sand and gravel contains a greater quartz component. Their different compositions and marine origins matter when reading the cliff. A conspicuous pebble bed is not automatically an ice deposit, although younger brown till of the Lowestoft Formation caps parts of the coast.

Modern retreat continually removes one face and exposes another. The 1977 and 1993 measured sections are consequently separate records rather than pieces to join into one fixed column. Loose beach material adds further uncertainty because waves mix sediment from different levels and sources. Peat or a bone found on the shore cannot be placed in the Norwich Crag solely from its position beside the cliff. The historical name Baventian clay remains useful in describing the cold-water deposits, but does not establish one continuous clay layer along the coast.

The supported stratigraphy and its local variations at Covehithe.

CRAG GROUP

Early Pleistocene marine sediment.

Norwich Crag Formation

Includes the fossiliferous mudflat and shallow-water sediment near beach level.

Historical Easton Bavents Clay Member — Baventian clay facies

Laminated coastal clay has historically been called the Easton Bavents Clay Member or Baventian clay. Pollen and marine fossils help correlate these deposits, but the mapped clay bodies are discontinuous lenses, not one continuous regional marker bed.

1977 measured section: basal brown silty clay and sand — 0.10 m

The lowest recorded part of the October 1977 section at TM 529 821. This is a historical measured exposure, not a claim of current visibility.

Laminated grey-blue clay with shells — 0.45 m

Above the basal brown unit; lithologically comparable with the clay at Easton Bavents.

Fossil-rich grey-blue silt and clay — 0.10 m

A thin shelly interval between the laminated clay below and thicker sandy clay above.

Bioturbated grey-blue sandy silty clay — 0.80 m

Shell-bearing clay with a desiccated upper surface, recording exposure of a previously wet substrate.

Four fining-upward laminated units — together 0.45 m

Sand, silt and clay cycles with desiccation polygons on each upper surface; repeated emergence supports an intertidal interpretation.

Westleton Member

Flint-rich gravel and sand above or laterally cutting the mud; beach/shoreface transport rather than an assumed glacial origin.

Wroxham Crag Formation

Higher marine sand and gravel with a greater quartz component, distinct from the flint-dominated Westleton unit.

ALBION GLACIGENIC GROUP

Younger Middle Pleistocene glacigenic deposits.

Lowestoft Formation

Brown till locally caps the cliff. Periglacial structures may occur in underlying sand/gravel, but every sediment wedge should not be identified as an ice wedge without examination.

Modern beach and exposed coastal peat

Loose beach sediment mixes material of different ages; peat or a bone on the shore must not automatically be placed in the Norwich Crag.

A separate 1993 measured section at TM 5285 8210

This later BGS log is a separate historical exposure, not a replacement for the five-part October 1977 section. Read bottom to top; erosion and lateral changes prevent a simple bed-for-bed join.

At least 1.0 m: mottled mud
Sand lenses and stringers; ripples on its sandy top.

2.0 m: sand and mud
Interbedded fine sediment.

4.0 m: sand with mud beds
Fine sand, gravel stringers, cross-bedding and cross-lamination.

3.0 m: upper sand
Fine yellow-brown cross-bedded sand.

Historical cliff-base carbonaceous horizon

The original UK Fossils account records a thin carbonaceous bed along the cliff base, subsequently obscured, containing many fossil seeds and foraminifera. It gives no measured thickness or secure numbered-bed correlation. This is a separate field observation and should not be inserted into, or added to the thicknesses of, either dated measured log above.

References

BGS (2015), British regional geology: East Anglia
West, Funnell and Norton (1980), cold marine episode at Covehithe, Boreas 9, 1–10
BGS Lexicon: Easton Bavents Clay Member (obsolete entry)
Moorlock et al. (2000), Geology of the country around Lowestoft and Saxmundham, sheets 176 and 191
Preece et al. (2020), palaeontology and dating of the Weybourne Crag; includes exact Covehithe/Easton comparison
Holt-Wilson (2015), Tides of Change: Covehithe
McMillan et al. (2011), A lithostratigraphical framework, RR/10/03
Holt-Wilson (2015), Tides of Change: Benacre Broad

Historical local field observations: UK Fossils, Covehithe.

SAFETY

Keep away from cliff bases, overhangs and cliff-top edges. Unconsolidated sand and gravel can collapse suddenly, while wet clay and recently scoured sand may be difficult to cross. Exposed cables, wire, concrete and wartime debris are additional hazards. The old road ends at an eroding cliff and is not a beach entrance.

EQUIPMENT

Carry tide information, a phone, sturdy footwear, water, a hand lens and padded small boxes. A camera and scale are especially useful for shells preserved in life position. Tools for digging shell beds or cutting the cliff are inappropriate.

CLEANING AND TREATING

The clay-bound shells can be exceptionally fragile. Leave intact scientific horizons undisturbed and photograph them. For a loose specimen, retain supporting matrix and avoid sudden drying, soaking or strong brushing. Do not apply PVA routinely in the field. Important material should be assessed before preparation; stable loose flint fossils usually need only gentle cleaning.

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ACCESS RIGHTS

Covehithe forms part of the Pakefield to Easton Bavents SSSI and has important coastal wildlife. Use signed public footpaths, respect private fields and obey bird-protection notices. Leave intact shell beds and cliffs undisturbed; public beach access is not permission to excavate or take bulk samples. Obtain the necessary landowner agreement and conservation consent before such work.

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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