Milford on Sea - Fossil Collecting Guide (UK Fossils)

Milford on Sea is noted for fossil aquatic fruits and seeds in the Eocene Headon Hill Formation around Paddy’s Gap. Fragile freshwater shells and shell-bearing ironstone also occur. Exposure changes with erosion and beach cover; the scientific interest does not justify climbing unstable slopes or sampling protected beds without permission.

FIND FREQUENCY: ♦♦♦ – Seed-rich horizons are documented, but their exposure and the availability of loose material vary considerably.
CHILDREN: ♦♦♦ – Older children need close supervision. Stay away from sheer cliffs, slumps and narrow ledges.
ACCESS: ♦♦♦ – The stony beach can be hard going. Use an open, signed access and allow for tides and the return walk.
TYPE: Cliffs and foreshore; observation and only permitted loose-material collecting.

DIRECTIONS

♦ Approach Milford on Sea on the B3058 from Barton on Sea, passing the Taddiford Gap car park. Hordle Cliff East (Paddy’s Gap) and Hordle Cliff West are the council parking areas associated with this coast; Milford also has seafront visitor facilities and toilets.
♦ Use currently signed public steps to reach the shore near the beach huts. Storm damage and repairs have altered parts of this frontage, so an old photograph or route description is not confirmation that a particular flight of steps is open.
♦ The original collecting reach lies westwards along the stony beach towards Hordle, where dark organic bands occur among paler clays. Check the tide, sea conditions and return route before setting out. Do not climb slumps or narrow ledges to reach a band.
♦ Original locality reference: 50.724972, -1.610559. This marks the historical guide area rather than a verified current parking entrance.

FOSSIL HUNTING

This guide covers the Milford shore towards, but not the whole of, the main Hordle section. The separate Taddiford Gap guide covers the latter. Paddy’s Gap is particularly important for the dark, carbonaceous Limnocarpus band in the upper Totland Bay Member. Slumping, shingle and sea defences can conceal the classic exposure.

The documented aquatic flora includes Limnocarpus forbesii, Stratiotes headonensis, Aldrovanda ovata, Sabrenia chandlerae and Azolla prisca. These small fruits and seeds record freshwater to slightly brackish aquatic environments. They are distinct from the more varied forest flora of the lower Hordle Leaf-and-Seed Bed.

Shell-bearing layers include Viviparus lentus, the very small Potamaclis turritissima and the freshwater mussel Unio solandri, together with ostracods. Shells may retain lustrous surfaces but are often fragile or broken. Hard ironstone concretions on the foreshore can contain bivalves and gastropods; their position and matrix need recording before any bed assignment is made.

The separate Milford Marine Bed has historical records of the shark Physogaleus secundus and rays recorded as Myliobatis striatus and Myliobatis toliapicus. These are published horizon records, not a promise of common beach finds, and the marine bed is separate from the freshwater seed band. Search and photograph accessible loose material only where collecting is permitted; leave inaccessible or in-situ beds undisturbed.

Trace the discoveries that made Paddy’s Gap important for fossil aquatic plants.

1883 – Seeds recognised in the upper Headon beds
Tawney and Keeping recorded the small dark seeds that became a defining feature of the Paddy’s Gap plant-bearing horizon.

1898 – The aquatic fruits first named
Reid described the characteristic fruits under the name Limnocarpus headonensis. Their source was probably Paddy’s Gap, rather than a firmly documented exact collecting position.

1926 – Paired fossil fruits documented
The fruit material studied by Reid and Chandler helped establish the nature of the aquatic plant assemblage in the upper Headon succession.

1961 – The pondweed identification corrected
Chandler corrected the identification of the characteristic fruit to Limnocarpus forbesii, clarifying a long-standing naming problem.

1982 – Fruit structure revisited
Collinson’s investigation of the rare paired fruits clarified their bicarpellate construction and evolutionary interpretation. Paddy’s Gap became important for more than the abundance of isolated seeds.

2000 – Fossil chemistry tests botanical affinity
Van Bergen and colleagues’ chemical evidence from the fossil fruits supported their relationship with pondweeds, adding a new line of evidence to the anatomical studies.

GEOLOGY

The principal fossil-bearing sediments belong to the late Eocene Headon Hill Formation, within the Solent Group. The upper Totland Bay Member contains alternating pale marls, clays, fine sands and dark organic layers deposited in freshwater and brackish settings. The black seed-bearing band is part of this changing wetland succession.

Paddy’s Gap is correlated with the upper part of the Hordle coastal composite, including the shell and seed horizons of Bed 31 and the thin higher Rodent Bed intervals. The Milford Marine Bed belongs to the overlying Colwell Bay Member and records renewed marine influence. The detailed section below distinguishes these horizons and keeps the published composite thicknesses separate from what is visible on any one visit.

Quaternary river gravel truncates and caps the Eocene beds. The Rodent Bed belongs to the Eocene succession below that cover, not to the gravel itself. The older marine Chama Sand Formation lies much lower in the regional succession: freshwater shell-bearing ironstone at Milford cannot be identified as the Chama Bed merely because it is hard and brown.

Milford on Sea • geological framework. Paddy’s Gap and the upper Hordle coastal succession: local and composite evidence. Schematic rows are not scaled to thickness.

Geology and stratigraphy

The Milford collecting stretch is dominated by upper Totland Bay Member sediments, especially the seed-rich beds around Paddy’s Gap. The succession below records the upper part of the published Hordle coastal composite, which provides the correlation framework; it is not a promise that every layer is visible together in the modern protected shore.

Quaternary river gravel
Gravel caps and locally truncates the Eocene beds. Its cliff-top position is separate from the freshwater and marine deposits below.

SOLENT GROUP

Headon Hill Formation

Colwell Bay Member

Milford Marine Bed
Fine sand with carbonaceous mottling and streaks marks a return to marine influence. The published coastal composite records up to 1.25 m visible. A distinct microshark fauna has been documented at Paddy’s Gap; this marine bed is separate from the underlying freshwater seed bed.

Totland Bay Member

Bed 33 (0.85 m)
Marl, grey-green, weathering rusty, with intercalated lenticular fine-grained sand.

Bed 32c (0.04 m)
Mud, carbonaceous, weathering pale pinky-grey; shell debris and bone fragments (Rodent bed in part).

Bed 32b (0.10 m)
Marl, sandy, pale-green; abundant shell debris and bone fragments; Lymnaea, theridomyid teeth (Limnaea marl, Rodent bed in part).

Bed 32a (0.20 m)
Marl, sandy, pale-green to rusty, to marly sand; scattered shell fragments.

Bed 31c (0.60 m)
Sand, fine-grained.

Bed 31b (0.80–1.07 m)
Muddy silt, thin bedded, passing up into fine-grained sand.

Bed 31a (0.40–0.46 m)
Muddy silt, thin bedded with marl and thin black mud intercalations; lenses of Viviparus lentus, Potamaclis turritissima, Unio solandri, ostracods; bands of seeds at base (Limnocarpus band).

Bed 30b (2.80 m)
Greyish marls and clays, with intercalated fine-grained sand beds.

Bed 30a (c. 2.50 m)
Muds, thin bedded, with intercalated fine-grained sand, especially near base, with U. solandri, V. lentus, seeds of Stratiotes, charophytes.

The Limnocarpus band and aquatic vegetation
The seed-rich horizon in Bed 31 is the particular scientific interest at Paddy’s Gap. Carbonaceous fruits include Limnocarpus forbesii, Stratiotes headonensis, Aldrovanda ovata and Sabrenia chandlerae, with Azolla prisca also recorded. Paired fruits of Limnocarpus preserve a feature important to understanding its relationship to pondweeds. The deposits record freshwater to slightly brackish aquatic settings; they are not the same floral assemblage as the diverse, lower Hordle Leaf-and-Seed Bed.

Older strata towards Hordle
Older Totland Bay beds, including the Chara, Crocodile, Leaf and Mammal horizons, become relevant farther west and are described in the Taddiford Gap account. The marine Chama Sand Formation of the Barton Group lies much lower still. Freshwater shell-bearing concretions here cannot be assigned to the Chama Bed without evidence of their origin.

References

Cleal et al. (2001), Paddy’s Gap, GCR 22
Benton, Cook & Hooker (2005), Hordle Cliff, GCR 32, Table 3.2
Benton & Spencer (1995), Hordle Cliff, GCR 10
Dineley & Metcalf (1999), Hordle Cliff, GCR 16
BGS Lexicon: Headon Hill Formation

SAFETY

The tide can reach the cliff base and cut off a return route. Check tide times and the actual sea and beach conditions, allowing time to turn back before a narrow section closes.

Cliff falls and slumps can occur at any time. Keep clear of cliff toes, fresh falls and soft mud; never climb a slump or traverse a ledge to reach the seed bed. A seemingly dry crust may conceal very soft material.

EQUIPMENT

Wear sturdy footwear for shingle and carry tide information, a charged phone, a hand lens and a camera. A notebook and scale help record the position and matrix of a find. Bring padding and rigid boxes only for material that you have permission to collect; ordinary visits do not require excavation tools.

CLEANING AND TREATING

Fragile molluscs need support around the matrix and minimal handling. Start with gentle dry brushing only when the material is stable; do not prise shells from hard ironstone or coat them routinely with PVA or varnish.

Organic fruits and seeds can be damaged by drying or aggressive cleaning. If authorised research produces wet organic specimens, keep them supported in their original moist condition pending specialist advice. Historical clay processing used soaking and a 0.5 mm sieve, but treatment must suit the specimen and authorised project; it is not a reason to dig or wash bulk sediment on the shore. Record the horizon and retain labelled residues when a research protocol requires them.

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ACCESS RIGHTS

This coast forms part of the Highcliffe to Milford Cliffs SSSI. Its designation recognises the geological interest, but does not itself give permission to enter every parcel of land or take material. Follow current council signs and landowner requirements; obtain the relevant permission before sampling in-situ deposits. Do not excavate protected faces, undermine cliffs or damage sea defences.

Archived Natural England site citation. Current access and permission requirements must be checked separately.

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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