Below Dunrobin Castle, the foreshore north of Golspie reveals a changing landscape of Triassic soils, river deposits and Lower Jurassic marine rocks. Shelly beds contain bivalves and brachiopods, with rarer ammonites and belemnites, but sand and seaweed often conceal the best exposures.
FIND FREQUENCY: ♦♦♦ – Some beds are richly shelly, but success depends greatly on low tide and recent removal of sand and seaweed.
CHILDREN: ♦♦♦ – The beach and coastal walk can suit a family outing; supervise children closely on slippery reefs and beside the water.
ACCESS: ♦♦♦ – Approach along the coastal path from Golspie. The rocky lower foreshore is uneven and tidal; castle parking arrangements need checking for a beach-only visit.
TYPE: Intertidal reefs, beach blocks and a low coastal exposure below Dunrobin Castle.
DIRECTIONS
♦ Head to Golspie and use signed parking by the promenade. The established approach is north-east along the coast towards Dunrobin Castle; the geological field guide uses Duke Street as its starting point. Allow time for the walk and return rather than planning only for time on the rocks.
♦ Follow the coastal path towards the castle and old pier. The John o’ Groats Trail follows this coast, but the fossil-bearing reefs are below the path and require a suitable low tide. This guide concerns the Dunrobin foreshore, not the inland Golspie Burn section or the separate Brora localities.
♦ Dunrobin Castle’s visitor information states that parking is free. Check with the castle before relying on it for beach-only access, particularly outside the visitor season; the castle and gardens close from November to March.
♦ Original locality reference: 57.97456°N, 3.95980°W. This is a locality reference, not a verified parking entrance.
FOSSIL HUNTING
The most useful first step is to distinguish the low bedrock reefs from the mixed beach boulders. Sand, shingle and seaweed move across the shore, so a seemingly unpromising visit may simply coincide with poor exposure. Around the old pier, resistant conglomerate and sandstone stand above softer beds. Farther north-east, the pale White Sandstone reef gives way to the darker, thinly bedded rocks of the Lady’s Walk Shale Member. The latter contains the principal marine shell horizons. Examine naturally weathered surfaces and loose fragments without levering material from the outcrop.
Bivalves are the characteristic visible fossils. The documented shell beds include small oysters and Gryphaea, whose strongly curved, thick valves differ from the flatter, ribbed shells of pectinids. Other recorded bivalves include Pseudolimea, Cardinia, Pleuromya, Astarte, Modiolus and Myoconcha. Look for shell outlines, ribs and broken shell sections on the darker calcareous sandstones and muddy limestones rather than assuming every rounded beach stone is fossiliferous. These genera represent documented assemblages, not a promise that all will be visible during one visit.
Two especially shelly historical horizons, beds 8 and 9, contain abundant juvenile Gryphaea and Pseudolimea, with other bivalves, occasional ammonites and fish debris in the combined record. Some Pseudolimea shells retain original colour banding. Published descriptions disagree over which of the two beds carries the more varied fauna, and the old numbered section is often impossible to follow under modern beach cover. Use the shell-rich matrix and recorded association as clues rather than identifying a numbered bed from colour alone. Rhynchonellid brachiopods also occur; Dunrobin is the type locality of Tetrarhynchia dunrobinensis. These compact, ribbed shells need closer examination before a species name can be assigned.
Ammonites and belemnites are much less common than shells. The Lady’s Walk succession has yielded Paltechioceras, Gleviceras, Eoderoceras, Apoderoceras and Tragophylloceras, but these are scientific records from particular levels rather than routine finds. A ribbed coil or a fragment showing chambers is worth photographing carefully. Belemnite guards occur among shells and woody debris in some of the higher, locally pebbly sandstone lenses. Keep a record of the exact position and whether a fossil was in bedrock or a loose block: a loose specimen cannot automatically be assigned to the nearest exposed bed.
Trace fossils add another way to read the shore. Bioturbated sandstone beds contain burrows referred to Rhizocorallium, Spongeliomorpha, Siphonites and Chondrites. The shelly horizons also contain Thalassinoides burrows filled with tiny shell fragments. Follow their branching or paired shapes across a surface and photograph them with a scale; an entire bedding surface may be more informative than a detached piece.
The Pier Conglomerate tells a different story. Its less well-cemented, carbonaceous interbeds have yielded woody fragments and a terrestrial microscopic flora, while the conspicuous hard reefs are dominated by pebbles eroded from older rocks. Dark plant material does not make these beds marine shell beds. The beach also contains granite, gneiss, quartzite and older sandstone blocks derived from glacial deposits or former sea defences. Their presence explains why indiscriminate splitting is unproductive and why an unproven loose fish fragment should not be labelled a local Triassic fossil.
Fossil removal requires permission and any applicable protected-site consent; a right to walk along the shore does not provide that permission. Until the collecting position for the precise place and method has been agreed, make this an observation and photography visit. Leave potentially important material in place, record its location and seek specialist advice. The ACCESS RIGHTS section explains the local conservation position.
A chronological record of fossil studies, geological research and conservation milestones on the Dunrobin shore at Golspie.
1852 – Dunrobin brachiopods illustrated
Thomas Davidson figured brachiopod material from Dunrobin under the name Rhynchonella lacunosa. Those specimens subsequently became important in defining the distinct Dunrobin species.
1873 – Early geological description
John Wesley Judd published an account of the Dunrobin shore succession, establishing an early framework for comparing its unusual non-marine and marine rocks with Jurassic successions elsewhere.
1917 – The Dunrobin brachiopod named
Louis Rollier introduced Rhynchonella dunrobinensis for the distinctive brachiopod represented by historical Dunrobin material. The species was later placed in Tetrarhynchia.
1925 – A numbered fossil-bearing section
George William Lee published detailed bed descriptions and fossil records for the upper shore succession. His numbered beds remain important for interpreting the Lady’s Walk fauna, even though shifting beach cover often prevents the full sequence being recognised today.
1956 – A reference specimen selected
Derek Ager selected and refigured a lectotype for Tetrarhynchia dunrobinensis from the material previously illustrated by Davidson. This fixed a reference specimen for applying the species name.
1967 – Ammonite identifications revised
Desmond Donovan’s reassessment of the Dunrobin ammonites corrected earlier identifications. The dated part of the Lady’s Walk succession was narrowed to the latest Sinemurian and earliest Pliensbachian, rather than the wider range previously inferred.
1972 – Sedimentary cycles and shell communities studied
Bruce Sellwood examined the changing sediments and faunas of the Lady’s Walk beds. Coarsening-upward cycles, burrowed sands and concentrated shell horizons helped explain repeated changes in water depth, sediment supply and conditions on the sea floor.
1975 – Boreholes reveal concealed strata
Neves and Selley described the succession using cored boreholes as well as shore exposures. Their work established the substantial mudstone and siltstone interval beneath the White Sandstone, including carbonaceous layers and rootlet beds that record a vegetated coastal plain.
1977 – Microscopic fossils trace marine incursions
Lam and Porter investigated the palynology of the succession. Pollen, spores and aquatic microfossils helped distinguish predominantly non-marine deposits from intervals affected by the sea, adding evidence that could not be obtained from large shells alone.
1983 – Dunrobin Coast protected
Dunrobin Coast was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest on 22 December. The protected shore preserves an important record of the early development of the Moray Firth Basin and its transition towards marine conditions.
1986 – The basal conglomerate reassessed
Batten, Trewin and Tudhope described newly exposed carbonaceous beds near the storm-damaged pier. Terrestrial microfossils and wood overturned the earlier view that the conglomeratic interval was unfossiliferous, and supported a probably earliest Jurassic age while leaving a latest Triassic age possible.
1993 – Onshore and offshore terminology compared
Richards and colleagues introduced a higher-ranking Dunrobin Bay Group scheme for the regional offshore succession. Its comparison with Dunrobin’s shore section became important, but the offshore formations do not represent additional beds stacked on the beach.
2012 – The onshore framework clarified
A revised British Geological Survey framework placed the onshore Dunrobin Bay Formation within the Sutherland Group. This provides the broader hierarchy used alongside the three established local members: Dunrobin Pier Conglomerate, Dunrobin Castle and Lady’s Walk Shale.
GEOLOGY
The shore below Dunrobin Castle exposes the landward edge of the Inner Moray Firth Basin. Its importance lies in the transition from a largely terrestrial landscape to a shallow sea during the beginning of the Jurassic. Unlike a simple cliff section, the succession is scattered across intertidal reefs and low exposures, interrupted by faults and concealed by mobile beach deposits. Much of the softer rock is known from drilling rather than from a continuous view on the shore.
The older rocks include yellow Triassic sandstones and red or green mudstones with nodular carbonate and silica-rich soil horizons. The latter belong to the Stotfield Cherty Rock Formation of the New Red Sandstone Supergroup. Calcrete and silcrete formed through soil processes in a comparatively dry landscape. Erosion subsequently broke up these rocks, supplying many of the pebbles in the Dunrobin Pier Conglomerate Member. Cross-bedding and channel forms indicate vigorous streams flowing north-east, probably across a small alluvial fan. Movement near the basin margin may have helped create the local relief and sediment supply.
The Pier Conglomerate forms the base of the onshore Dunrobin Bay Formation, within the Sutherland Group. Above it, the Dunrobin Castle Member records a lower-energy coastal plain with mud, silt, roots and plant debris, interrupted by marine incursions. Its upper White Sandstone represents a coastal sand body, interpreted variously as estuarine channels or a sandy barrier. Higher still, the Lady’s Walk Shale Member contains the marine shells, burrows, nodules and thin sandstone or limestone reefs that interest most fossil visitors.
The change towards marine conditions was gradual, and different kinds of fossil provide different age evidence. Terrestrial microscopic fossils suggest that the Pier Conglomerate is probably Hettangian, although a latest Rhaetian age cannot be excluded. The current BGS member entry retains a Rhaetian age, whereas its parent formation starts in the Hettangian; this disagreement should not be mistaken for a precisely located Triassic–Jurassic boundary. Rare ammonites give firmer dates only higher in the Lady’s Walk beds, across the late Sinemurian–early Pliensbachian interval.
Small upward changes from muddy sediment to sandier, burrowed beds record changing conditions near the shore. Waves could remove finer grains and concentrate shells, while quieter intervals allowed mud and nodules to accumulate. Some upper sandstone lenses cut into the mud and contain pebbles, shell debris and wood; storm activity or shallow erosional channels are possible explanations. This patchwork of hard and soft beds, together with modern sand and seaweed cover, controls what can be seen during a visit.
Older accounts may use “Dunrobin Bay Group”, “Golspie Formation”, “Mains Formation”, “Lady’s Walk Formation” or “Orrin Formation” when comparing the offshore sequence. These are not extra onshore units to add to the local succession. The framework here keeps the present onshore formation and member names, while retaining historical bed numbers solely where they help describe the published Dunrobin section.
Detailed geology and stratigraphy of the Dunrobin foreshore, including the historical Lady’s Walk beds and the limits of the exposed section.
The following account runs from older to younger rocks. It combines the shore localities in the geological field guide with the Geological Conservation Review’s revised version of Lee’s historical section. Measured borehole intervals are identified separately. Bed numbers and thicknesses describe published observations, not a guarantee that every bed is exposed or individually recognisable today. No thickness should be inferred for a unit where one is not stated.
NEW RED SANDSTONE SUPERGROUP
Underlying Triassic sandstones, around NC 849 003. Yellow, laminated sandstone contains rounded medium sand grains in a finer matrix. Changes in grain size and sorting emphasise the lamination. Variable bedding attitudes may partly reflect large cross-sets rather than separate structural tilting. Higher beds contain irregular silica-cemented patches and dip north-east at about 15–20°. The field guide compares the lower sandstones tentatively with aeolian strata around Lossiemouth; this does not establish a separate named member on this shore or transfer the Elgin fossil fauna to Golspie.
Stotfield Cherty Rock Formation
Calcrete and silcrete-bearing mudstones, around NC 850 004. Red and green mudstones and marls above the sandstones contain irregular pinkish-grey carbonate concretions. Calcite veins, brecciation, altered sandstone fragments and occasional small rounded carbonate grains preserve features of ancient soil formation. Some carbonate has been replaced by silica. These are pedogenic deposits, not coral reefs. The current BGS definition explicitly includes the Sutherland mudstones and records a partial type section approximately 70 m west-south-west of Dunrobin pier. Its regional maximum thickness is not a measurement for this exposure.
Erosion surface. Calcrete, silcrete and sandstone fragments in the succeeding conglomerate demonstrate local erosion of the older succession. The contact is treated as an erosional break, but the exact position of the Triassic–Jurassic time boundary remains uncertain.
SUTHERLAND GROUP
Dunrobin Bay Formation
This is the onshore formation used here. Its three members record fluvial deposition, coastal-plain accumulation and increasing marine influence. The BGS parentage is Sutherland Group. Offshore nomenclature is useful for correlation but cannot be substituted directly for this local member succession.
Dunrobin Pier Conglomerate Member
Near NC 8515 0050, hard calcite-cemented conglomerate and sandstone form reefs separated by less resistant carbonaceous sandstones and shaly material. At least 32 m of the member is recognised in the fault-disturbed section; the often-repeated older figure of about 2 m described one exposed bed, not the whole member. About nine-tenths of the clasts described in the field guide resemble the underlying Triassic rocks, with additional quartz and metamorphic quartzite. Trough and planar cross-bedding indicates north-east transport in high-energy channels, interpreted as part of a small alluvial fan.
Wood and a terrestrial palynoflora occur in the weakly cemented carbonaceous intervals, with no marine forms reported from those assemblages. The preferred interpretation in the later field accounts is probably early Hettangian, but latest Rhaetian remains possible. The BGS Lexicon’s Rhaetian member age conflicts with the Hettangian starting age of its parent entry, so neither label alone resolves the local boundary.
Pier descriptive interval 1, basal part of the illustrated log. Grey clay contains calcitic concretions; sand grains occur both in the clay and within the concretions. The published diagram supplies no separate numerical thickness.
Pier descriptive interval 2. Coarse and pebbly sandstone shows crude parallel lamination and tabular cross-bedding, with cross-sets reaching about 20 cm. Calcite cement makes these sandy beds more resistant than the adjacent weakly cemented intervals.
Pier descriptive interval 3. Clay-rich, coarse carbonaceous sandstone is shaly and very poorly cemented. A woody fragment about 20 cm long is recorded in the illustrated log; this is a fossil dimension, not a bed thickness.
Pier descriptive interval 4. Coarse to pebbly sandstone varies in cementation. The less cemented portions are more shaly and carbonaceous, helping explain why the complete interval is seldom cleanly exposed.
Pier descriptive interval 5. Conglomeratic channel fill cuts into poorly cemented, shaly pebbly sandstone containing plant debris. Trough cross-bedding occurs within the channel fill; its erosive geometry is more informative than treating it as a uniformly tabular bed.
Pier descriptive interval 6. Coarse to pebbly sandstone becomes conglomeratic locally. Better-sorted sand occurs in tabular cross-sets. No independent thickness is given for this interval.
Pier descriptive interval 7, unexposed gap. Approximately 2 m is concealed in the illustrated section; its lithology is not recorded.
Pier descriptive interval 8. Grey, clay-rich sandstone is poorly cemented. This is a separate descriptive interval in the published figure, without its own stated thickness.
Pier descriptive interval 9, upper part of the illustrated log. Very coarse pebbly sandstone is locally conglomeratic, with clasts up to about 10 cm. Cross-bedded portions contain better-sorted coarse sand and are cemented by calcite. These nine labels explain the illustrated local log; they are not formal bed names and do not subdivide the entire member into nine measured beds.
Dunrobin Castle Member
Carbonaceous Siltstone and Clay Unit: 73 m proved by drilling. The lower 28 m consists of green-grey clay and siltstone with red-brown shale interbeds near its base. The overlying approximately 45 m contains repeated grey clay and thin, fine-grained buff sandstone beds, with rootlets and carbonaceous layers locally approaching coal. These figures describe borehole evidence, not a continuously visible shore exposure. Pollen and spores dominate, with Botryococcus and episodes of marine microplankton indicating a mainly freshwater coastal plain subject to marine incursions. The precise age is poorly constrained, although much of the member is generally regarded as Sinemurian.
White Sandstone Unit, around NC 856 009. Medium- to coarse-grained quartz-rich sandstone is cross-bedded and contains carbonaceous drapes and thin shaly partings. Published thickness estimates differ: the Geological Conservation Review gives about 22 m, while the later field guide describes about 11 m exposed with a further 12 m proved by drilling. Marine microplankton and bivalves, including Grammatodon, indicate increasing marine influence. A coastal or estuarine sand body is supported, but poor exposure does not resolve whether channels or a barrier-bar setting best explains it.
Historical Bed 2: position unresolved between accounts. The Geological Conservation Review places Lee’s marine-bivalve mudstone approximately 2 m below the top of the White Sandstone. The later field guide places the bivalve-bearing clay about 5 m above the main sandstone. Both establish a marine shelly horizon in this part of the succession, but its precise position remains uncertain.
Lady’s Walk Shale Member
Between the White Sandstone reef and the exposures around NC 858 009, shale with calcareous concretions alternates with sandstone, thin limestone and burrowed beds. About 32 m is exposed in the later assessment, with a probable total exceeding 48 m; Lee’s historical estimate of a little over 18 m was too low for the whole member. The following beds 4–20 and three gaps are the Geological Conservation Review’s emended historical log, in ascending order. This incomplete historical section does not represent the full member thickness.
Unexposed gap below Bed 4: 0.9 m. The historical section records a concealed interval above the top of the White Sandstone and below the first numbered Lady’s Walk bed listed here.
Bed 4: 0.3 m. Sandy shale contains mica and iron-rich material, weathering to red and brown. It is the lowest bed of this reproduced part of the numbered log.
Bed 5: 0.45 m. Greenish sandstone contains abundant mica. Its historical thickness is approximately 1 ft 6 in.
Unexposed gap between beds 5 and 6: 0.9 m. The lithology and fossil content of this concealed interval are unknown.
Bed 6: up to about 0.05 m. Soft shaly sandstone was obscure even in the historical account. The original 0–2 in range emphasises its thinness and uncertain visibility rather than a uniform 5 cm bed everywhere.
Bed 7: 0.3 m. Dark sandy shale passes into limestone. This lies within the interval dated by ammonites to the uppermost Sinemurian.
Bed 8: 0.6 m. Dark fossil-rich mudstone forms a prominent reef in the historical table. Together with Bed 9 it records a concentrated marine shell assemblage. The table and accompanying prose reverse the allocation of the more diverse fauna and the Pseudolimea-dominated assemblage, so the individual-bed faunal contrast remains uncertain.
Bed 9: 0.15 m. A dark shelly band passes into shelly limestone. Across beds 8 and 9, the secure combined record includes abundant juvenile Gryphaea, disarticulated Pseudolimea, Astarte, Cardinia, Pleuromya, pectinids, Paltechioceras and fish debris. Thalassinoides burrows contain tiny juvenile-shell fragments. Abundant foraminifera support fully marine conditions.
Unexposed gap between beds 9 and 10: 0.6 m. This concealed interval separates the concentrated shell horizons from the thicker sandy shale above.
Bed 10: 5.5 m. Strongly bioturbated, micaceous sandy shale forms the thickest interval in this numbered part of the log. Its lowest metre is bluer and less sandy than the remainder.
Bed 11: 0.9 m. Hard, sandy shale contains concretions, giving it greater resistance than adjacent softer mudrocks.
Bed 12: 0.15 m. Bluish, shaly calcareous sandstone forms a thin foreshore reef.
Bed 13: 0.15 m. Micaceous sandy shale separates the harder sandstone horizons.
Bed 14: 0.15 m. Dark calcareous sandstone forms another resistant reef.
Bed 15: 0.6 m. Sandy shale has yielded the ammonite Gleviceras cf. victoris.
Bed 16: 0.28 m. Coarse, dark, carbonaceous sandstone forms a foreshore reef. The published measurement corresponds to approximately 11 in.
Bed 17: 2.15 m. Blue clay or shale contains Apoderoceras cf. sociale, Apoderoceras aff. aculeatum and Tragophylloceras. These ammonites provide evidence for the earliest Pliensbachian.
Bed 18: 0.3 m. Irregularly bedded limestone succeeds the ammonite-bearing clay or shale.
Bed 19: 1.85 m. Blue clay contains a limestone-nodule band about 0.3 m above its base. Its correspondence with Lee’s original beds 19–21 is marked as uncertain in the revised section.
Bed 20: 1.55 m. Soft, poorly sorted muddy sand contains flattened calcareous nodules. These merge laterally into irregular, discontinuous limestone that weathers yellow.
Higher unnumbered exposures. Blue-grey shales become less micaceous and richer in illite than the lower part of the member. They contain calcareous concretions and locally cemented sandstone lenses up to about 0.4 m thick. Erosive bases, rounded pebbles, belemnites, bivalves and woody debris characterise the lenses. The reported higher fauna includes Pseudopecten, Pseudolimea, Cardinia, Gryphaea, Chlamys, Parainoceramus, Astarte, Grammatodon and Protocardia, often poorly preserved. Their detailed correspondence with Lee’s numbered section is uncertain.
Age and environmental interpretation. Beds 7–15 are assigned to the Raricostatum Zone, Aplanatum Subzone, at the top of the Sinemurian; Bed 17 belongs to the Jamesoni Zone, Taylori Subzone, at the base of the Pliensbachian. The highest exposed beds lack ammonite dates. The former extension into the Davoei Zone relied on misidentified ammonites. Shell-rich beds may record reduced sediment accumulation and a more stable sea floor. Low diversity elsewhere has been related to rapid sediment supply, while the rarity of cephalopods may also reflect restricted connection to the open sea. These are complementary interpretations, not a single proven cause.
Burrowed, coarsening-upward cycles, occasional pebbles and shell concentration indicate repeated changes in shallow-water energy and sedimentation. Sandier units contain Astarte, Myoconcha, Modiolus and Gryphaea, while Mactromya and other lucinoid bivalves are recorded in mudstones. Upper erosive sandstone lenses have been interpreted as possible storm deposits or shallow channel and gutter fills. The clay minerals also need care: abundant kaolinite does not independently prove a tropical Jurassic climate, because inherited material from older deeply weathered land surfaces may have contributed. The general upward reduction in sand and mica is consistent with increasing marine influence, while persistent plant debris records the nearby landmass.
References
BGS Lexicon: Dunrobin Bay Formation; Dunrobin Pier Conglomerate Member; Stotfield Cherty Rock Formation.
Trewin, N.H., Dunrobin Coast Section, in British Lower Jurassic, Geological Conservation Review, volume 30, pp. 307–312, including the emended Lee section and summaries of the earlier studies.
Trewin, N.H. and Hurst, A. (2009), Excursion 1: The Triassic and Lower Jurassic of Golspie, including the locality map and Pier Conglomerate log.
Barron, A.J.M., Lott, G.K. and Riding, J.B. (2012), Stratigraphical framework for the Middle Jurassic strata of Great Britain and the adjoining continental shelf, BGS RR/11/06, onshore Sutherland Group framework.
SAFETY
Check local tide times and the coastal weather forecast before setting out. The lower reefs are tidal, and sand, seaweed and water can hide gaps between rocks. Plan an easy retreat to the upper beach and coastal path before the tide rises; do not rely on the old claim that it is impossible to be cut off. Avoid the lower shore in swell or rough weather, even if the predicted tide is low.
Algae-covered rock, loose shingle and rounded boulders can all be slippery. Wear footwear with good grip and keep children away from the water’s edge and unstable blocks. Do not climb the low faces, undermine exposures or use damaged sea-defence blocks as secure steps. Allow enough daylight and energy for the walk back to Golspie.
EQUIPMENT
Bring sturdy footwear, waterproof clothing, tide information, a charged phone, a hand lens and a small scale for photographs. A notebook or location-enabled photographs help distinguish a fossil in bedrock from one in loose beach material. If removal of specified loose specimens has been authorised, use separate wrapping and rigid boxes to protect thin shells and friable shale. Do not bring tools with the assumption that hammering the reefs is allowed; any sampling method must match the permission and consent obtained.
CLEANING AND TREATING
For material collected with permission, retain its locality and horizon information before any cleaning. Let wet shale or carbonaceous sandstone dry slowly at room temperature and begin with gentle dry brushing. Fragile shale can break apart when soaked, while a thin shell may separate from its matrix; do not scrub, boil or repeatedly wet and dry a specimen.
Hard calcareous sandstone and limestone can require careful mechanical preparation under magnification. Stop if the shell and matrix are breaking together. Avoid acids, bleach, varnish and aggressive cleaning: carbonate shells and cement can be damaged, and colour banding or fine surface detail may be scientifically useful. Leave unusual ammonites, fish debris, important brachiopods or specimens with exceptional preservation unprepared until a specialist has examined them. Consolidation is appropriate only when needed and should use a suitable reversible conservation material.
IDENTIFY YOUR FINDS
Need help identifying a fossil? Share clear photos, where you found it and its size with the community.
FURTHER READING
Geological field excursion: the Triassic and Lower Jurassic of Golspie
Geological Conservation Review: Dunrobin Coast Section
BGS: Dunrobin Bay Formation
Scottish Fossil Code and guidance
John o’ Groats Trail: Golspie to Brora coastal-path information
ACCESS RIGHTS
Part of the shore covered by this guide is within Dunrobin Coast SSSI. Check the official boundary for the exact place you intend to visit. The protected site is not the whole Golspie coastline, and walking access should be distinguished from permission to remove fossils or rock.
Obtain the landowner’s permission for collecting and check with NatureScot what consent applies to the proposed location and method. Bedrock sampling within an SSSI requires particular care and consent; loose material should not automatically be assumed exempt. Current removal permission and the detailed site-specific conditions remain unverified. Seek agreement for the precise location and method before collecting; meanwhile, use observation, photography and recording to enjoy the fossils without removing them.
Follow the Scottish Fossil Code: seek permission, collect responsibly, record where specimens came from and report significant finds. The code applies alongside any site-specific conditions.
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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