Tag: Carboniferous

Somerset by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Middle Hope

Middle Hope, on the headland north of Weston-super-Mare, is one of the most important Early Carboniferous coastal geology sites in south-west England. The foreshore exposes fossil-rich limestones together with the remarkable Middle Hope Volcanic Member, where submarine eruptions produced tuffs, lapilli and pillow lava within a tropical marine succession. Crinoids, brachiopods and corals are especially characteristic, with trace fossils, bryozoans, molluscs and other marine fossils also present.Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
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Somerset by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Portishead

Portishead offers two contrasting fossil-hunting areas on the Severn Estuary. At Portishead Point, also known as Battery Point, Early Carboniferous marine limestones contain corals, crinoids and brachiopods. South-west along Woodhill Bay, the Late Devonian Portishead Subgroup includes the historic Woodhill Bay Fish Bed, with scales, teeth and pieces of armoured fish. Fish remains are rare, but regularly found. Tilted beds, river deposits and an ancient unconformity make this a rewarding geological coast, but powerful tides, soft mud and protected exposures require careful planning.Carboniferous, Devonian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
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Somerset by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Writhlington

Writhlington’s conserved colliery-spoil rock store preserves a remarkable late Carboniferous wetland community. Plant impressions and rare terrestrial arthropods have made it internationally important, but this finite scientific resource is visited through controlled arrangements: obtain permission and current joining instructions before travelling. Carboniferous, Spoil, Rating: ♦♦♦♦

Somerset by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Chilcompton

Chilcompton’s old New Rock colliery spoil contains shale and sandstone brought up from deep Carboniferous workings. Plant stems and fern-like impressions can be seen in suitable loose shale, but the steep, overgrown public-path route is primarily a place for careful observation unless the landowner has agreed to collecting. Carboniferous, Spoil, Rating: ♦♦♦

Gloucestershire by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Soudley Valley

Soudley Valley’s geological trail crosses a varied part of the Forest of Dean. This guide centres on the plant-bearing coal spoil associated with Eastern United Colliery, near Ruspidge and Staple Edge, while keeping the trail’s older limestone and sandstone exposures distinct. Confirm access and collecting permission before entering the spoil. Carboniferous, Spoil, Rating: ♦♦

Gloucestershire by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Whitecroft Spoil

A wooded coal-mining spoil heap at Whitecroft preserves a link with the Forest of Dean’s industrial landscape. Its shale has yielded Carboniferous plant impressions, while historical studies of nearby Park Gutter workings reveal a much richer fossil flora. Visiting the heap and removing material require the land manager’s permission. Carboniferous, Spoil, Rating: ♦♦♦

Durham & Cleveland by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Seaham

At Blast Beach, south of Seaham, waves rework old colliery spoil beneath pale Permian cliffs. The shale and sandstone brought up during mining contain Carboniferous plant fossils, including leafy fragments, stems and pieces of larger trunks, making this a distinctive place to explore the area’s coal-mining past. Carboniferous, Spoil, Cliffs, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

East Riding by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Tunstall coastal locality, cropped from the existing genuine photograph.

Tunstall

Tunstall and Sand-le-Mere are known for fossil-bearing glacial erratics, including material much older than the cliffs that contain it. The coast also records a complex Ice Age history, but erosion has seriously affected beach access; do not rely on the former route described in older guides. Erratics (Jurassic, Carboniferous, Cretaceous), Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦

Cumbria by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Whitehaven

Whitehaven’s northern coast preserves Carboniferous plant fossils beneath the Countess Pit Sandstone. Access update, October 2026: foreshore access has been reported closed. The precise extent of the restriction and any reopening remain unconfirmed. Do not rely on the former tunnel-access directions or enter closed areas; confirm current authorised access with Cumberland Council before planning a collecting visit. Carboniferous, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

Cumbria by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Clints Quarry

Clints Quarry is a Carboniferous limestone nature reserve near Egremont, where corals and crinoid fragments can be seen in weathered rock. Its fossil-rich beds and ancient solution hollows record changing conditions on a shallow tropical shelf. Visit to observe and photograph the geology, leaving fossils and the protected quarry undisturbed. Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦

Cornwall by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Bude

Bude combines folded Carboniferous rocks and rare fossil fish with a different fossil display in the imported limestone of its breakwater. The fish-bearing shale is an important scientific exposure, best appreciated through its geology and the museum’s Bude fossil fish display. This is a viewing and photography locality. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦

Cornwall by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Widemouth Bay

Widemouth Bay combines folded Carboniferous rocks with much younger shell-bearing sands. The Black Rock foreshore reveals a detailed sandstone-and-shale succession, while the land-snail record belongs to separate coastal deposits. Fossil opportunities are scattered and should not be confused with those at neighbouring Wanson Mouth. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦

Cornwall by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Maer Cliff

Maer Cliff, south of Northcott Mouth, exposes steeply tilted Carboniferous sandstone and shale. Careful searching may reveal plant fragments, fish remains and traces of animal activity, while concretion-bearing black shales and contrasting sedimentary structures make this an instructive geological shore. The rocky route is tide-dependent and requires more care than the main beach. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦

Cornwall by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Rusey Cliff

Rusey Cliff is a remote locality where Carboniferous shales and sandstones have been intensely folded, faulted and veined. Its principal interest is the Rusey Fault Zone; fossil reports from the original guide need careful interpretation among the striking quartz breccias and mineral textures. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦

Cornwall by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Upton Cross

Between Bude and Widemouth Bay, Upton Cross exposes steep sandstone ribs and dark shale with fossil-bearing concretions. The late Carboniferous Bude Formation has yielded fragmentary fish, burrows and arthropod traces, although finds are uncommon. This is a tide-dependent rocky shore, and the present beach approach must be checked before visiting. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦

Derbyshire by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Castleton

Castleton has long been known for its Carboniferous Limestone, its caves and for the Blue John semi-precious stone mined here. Much of the area is owned by the National trust and is designated an site of special scientific interest (SSSI). This means that fossils can only be looked at and photographed, but must not be collected. Carboniferous, Outcrops, Rating: ♦♦♦

Cumbria by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Saltcom Bay

Saltcom Bay in this guide is South Beach beside West Pier, immediately south of Whitehaven harbour. Historical finds include Carboniferous plant remains in mixed colliery spoil. Beach access was reported prohibited for safety in the 2020 Coastal Strategy, and reopening has not been verified. Do not plan a shore-collecting visit without current confirmation from the landowner or Cumberland Council; remain on open signed routes and respect all barriers. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦

Derbyshire by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Marsh Brook

Marsh Brook cuts through Carboniferous marine deposits. These are rich in goniatites, bivalves and gastropods, but also contain many other types of fossils. Often, these are not particularly well preserved, being flattened, but the shale is also extremely rich in well-preserved microfossils. Carboniferous, Stream Embankment, Rating: ♦♦♦♦

Wales - Southwest by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Druidston Haven

Abundant graptolites can be found at Druidston Haven. Like much of the Pembrokeshire Coast, the site is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), which means that, although loose pebbles and smaller rocks may be investigated and collected, large boulders and the cliffs must not be damaged. Ordovician and Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

Wales - North by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Llangollen

Llangollen is Carboniferous Limestone scenery heaven. About a kilometre and a half north of the town, the Eglwyseg Escarpment presents some really fantastic views. What’s more, among the huge amount of scree that covers its scarp slope, fossil brachiopods and corals can be found. Carboniferous, Scree Slope, Rating: ♦♦♦

Wales - North by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Burley Hill

There are three sites at Burley Hill, giving the opportunity to collect Carboniferous corals and brachiopods from a small cutting, scree slopes and the hillside. There is plenty to be found here and it makes for a fantastic day out. It is also within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Carboniferous, Cuttings and Scree, Rating: ♦♦♦

Scotland - Central by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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West Wemyss

Unlike East Wemyss, where the cliffs are cut from a disused spoil heap, at West Wemyss, the cliffs contain in situ Carboniferous beds. There are very few locations in the UK where there are coastal sections of the actual coal measures. You can see very distinctive coal seams, and layers of harder rock and shale. The shale, both in the cliff and on the foreshore, is highly fossiliferous with plant remains.
Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

Scotland - Central by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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East Wemyss

The sea regularly erodes a cliff of spoil from the now closed nearby Michael Colliery. This cliff contains many different carboniferous beds, some of which contain highly fossiliferous plant and marine bands, fossils from which can be found scattered along the foreshore. Carboniferous, Spoil, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

Scotland - Central by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Elie

There are two locations for fossils at Elie. The first is Elie Shore where, during scouring conditions and winter months, brachiopods, bivalves, sponges and trilobite fragments can be found. Nearby, the rocks at Wood Haven also contain fossils Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦

Scotland - Central by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Seafield Tower

To the south of Seafield Tower, which is a sixteenth century castle ruin built of local red sandstone, is a highly fossiliferous section of Carboniferous Limestone. The limestone is packed with beautifully preserved crinoids, bryozoans, corals, shells and, if you are lucky, sharks’ teeth. These are exposed on the foreshore platforms.
Carboniferous, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

Scotland - South by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Aberlady

This is a peaceful location where fantastic bryozoans can be seen in Carboniferous rocks. You can also find many slabs of the tracks of trilobites, preserved in the mud over which they crawled. Fish and the trilobites themselves can also be found here. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

Scotland - South by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Craigielaw Point

To the north of the sandy Gosford Bay beach is an outcrop that is incredibly rich in Carboniferous marine fossils. Corals, bryozoans, crinoids and brachiopods are all very common. They are easy to collect and the location is ideal for children, especially for finding the tumbled coral pebbles. The sandy beach is full of pools of water, making a fun family day out, especially in the summer.
Carboniferous, Foreshore Outcrops, Rating: ♦♦♦♦

Scotland - South by UK Fossils (UKGE Group)
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Haddington

The River Tyne is a long and beautiful river. Its tributaries wind their way down from the glacially eroded Lammermoor and Pentland Hills. The river gains volume as it crosses the alluvial plain, cutting through the carboniferous country rock, transporting minerals and fossils along the way. Carboniferous, River Section, Rating: ♦♦♦