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: ♦♦♦♦
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: ♦♦♦♦♦
Saltcom Bay is found to the south of Whitehaven, directly after the harbour. It yields a variety of Carboniferous fossils from a mix of shale and limestone. The cliffs have been formed from spoil dumped from the coal mine and steel works that previously existed in the area, which are now being eroded. The site is rich in plant remains, fish scales and corals. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
The beach at Cogden, near West Bexington, is next to Hive Beach at Burton Bradstock. It is a popular walk for families and dog walkers, with Hive Beach cafe and toilets a short stroll away. At Cogden Beach, the cliffs are made up of the Jurassic Frome Clay and bivalves and brachiopods are the most common fossils. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Langton Herring is both a productive and geologically interesting site. The long, but stunning walk along the South West Coastal path has some wonderful scenery. This location is really for the specialist collector or those who love walking. The site yields a wide variety of brachiopods, echinoids, worm tubes, bryozoans, bivalves (especially oysters) and corals, although, in recent years, it has become over collected. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
The fields around Steeple Ashton in Wiltshire yield a large number of superb corals when they are ploughed, which are accessible by public footpaths. This guide examines one such field, which is south of the road to the Keevil Airfield and, because this field is regularly ploughed, contains well-preserved corals. It also has access by means of a good public footpath. Jurassic, Ploughed Fields, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Stocker Hole is a large disused quarry to the south of Radstock, The quarry has a footpath running right through the middle and contains Carboniferous Black Rock Limestone. Corals, and brachiopods are the most common fossils here, with Bryozoans also being found. Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦
Rusey Cliff is one of the few places in Cornwall where well-preserved fossils can be collected. Plant remains can be found in slabs of the Lower Carboniferous-aged Boscastle Formation, and corals, brachiopods and goniatites can be found in similar aged limestone rocks along the foreshore. The site can be accessed by walking along a cliff top footpath, which takes you through a large area of landslip. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
This is a large quarry owned by the National Stone Centre. It exposes the Eyam Limestone Formation, which is full of excellent corals, crinoids, bivalves and brachiopods. Access is easy by entering the National Stone Centre. Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Mappleton is one of the best locations along the Holderness coast to collect fossils. Consisting of glacial tills, you never know what you might find. Ammonites, belemnites, echinoids, corals and molluscs are the most common. Most of the erratics are Carboniferous, Jurassic and Cretaceous in age. Erratics (Jurassic, Carboniferous, Cretaceous), Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
This location is constantly being eroded by the sea and there are a large number of rocks all over the beach to look through. In fact, it is one of the best along the Holderness Coastline to collect fossils, with plenty of fresh material revealed after every tide. Erratics (Jurassic, Carboniferous, Cretaceous), Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
For those staying at the popular Sand La Mere caravan site, this is a first point of call. However, even if you are not staying, it is worth a visit. At low tide, the low foreshore is covered in rocks and of particular interest is the large number of carboniferous corals. Erratics (Jurassic, Carboniferous, Cretaceous), Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
This working quarry is highly productive, especially for bivalves and brachiopods from Carboniferous marine shale deposits. Corals are also very common here. Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
There are many old quarries on the west side of the elevated golf course at Cleeve Hill and on top of the common itself. Fossils are varied and abundant, and plenty can be collected from scree below the faces. However, the in situ rock should not be hammered. Views from the top of Cleeve Common, the highest hill in Gloucestershire, are stunning. Jurassic, Disused Quarries, Rating: ♦♦♦
This secluded location offers a surprisingly varied selection of fossils over a little more than a kilometre of coastline. Trilobites, crinoid pieces, corals, brachiopods, plant fossils, trace fossils and more can be found here. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
A good location at which to find a range of Carboniferous fossils, including crinoidal limestone and corals, as well as plant remains and trace fossils in sandstone. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
This is a very productive little quarry that is easy to access. It is an occasionally worked quarry, which is fully accessible from the trackway. This means fresh faces and scree are available to search through. Take plenty of paper for bags of finds, but, be warned, it involves quite a long walk. Ordovician, Part Working Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
This is an area extremely rich in Silurian fossils, but which is also a challenging place to collect fossils from. The locations discussed in the guide are suitable for those who are used to exploring and walking. However, it is a beautiful landscape, with many different types of fossils to be collected. In fact, the area is famous for its rich diversity of fossil species, some of which are unique. Silurian, Cuttings, Outcrops, Disused Quarries, Streams, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Moel Findeg is a small but very prominent hill on the eastern edge of the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Corals, brachiopods and crinoids can be found in spoil, which is regularly turned over, as it is used by a local farmer to repair their farm tracks. Access is fully permitted even though it is on private land. Carboniferous, Spoil Heap, Rating: ♦♦♦
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: ♦♦♦
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: ♦♦♦
There is an attractive walk above Prestatyn, with the chance of finding a few Carboniferous Limestone fossils. On a sunny day, this location is idyllic, even if the fossils can be few and far between. Carboniferous, Outcrops, Rating: ♦♦
Watton Cliff, part of West Cliff at West Bay and is an excellent location for collecting microfossils. While the site is also very rich in other fossils (such as brachiopods, crinoids, fish, sharks’ teeth, crocodiles, amphibians and plants), this guide concentrates more on the microfossils, including small mammals, fish, reptiles and ostracods, which are well preserved and abundant. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Near the lifeboat station on the foreshore, chalk is exposed during scouring conditions. Corals and shark remains have been found at this location at these times, although scouring only happens a few times a year. If you do visit during favourable conditions, you should find some nice specimens. Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦
West Angle Bay is eroded out of Carboniferous Limestone, which is packed with crinoids. It is an excellent location to take children to – there is a nice sandy beach, a cafe and public conveniences. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Marloes Sands is a stunningly beautiful location managed by the National Trust. The scenery is fantastic, the geology is breath-taking and there are many fossils to find, including corals, brachiopods, trilobites and much more. Silurian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
There is plenty to see at St Monans, including raised beaches, an excellent example of a syncline, bedding planes packed with trace fossils and whole layers of rock full of fossil corals and crinoids. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Good quality coral fossils are abundant within the rocks at this beautiful little cove. However, most cannot be collected, as they are found within the limestone cliffs and on the surfaces of large boulders. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Set within the rolling Peak District countryside, Parkhouse Hill, near Earl Sterndale, is a beautiful location with various types limestone reef fossils. The view from the top of the hill is nothing short of stunning. Carboniferous, Outcrops, Rating: ♦♦♦
Unworked since the early twentieth century, Clints Quarry is now quite overgrown. Some areas of scree can still be found, but fossils are becoming less common. This is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦
Spectacular bedding packed with corals can be seen at Barns Ness. This is a fantastic location for corals and there is plenty to be found here, although the fossils are not as well preserved as those from Aberlady. Carboniferious, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Some excellent geological features can be seen within Manorbier Bay and also from the clifftop path that leads southeast from the location. Crinoids and other fossils are abundant, and can be found in pebbles in the stream that crosses the sandy beach. Devonian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Many Silurian fossils, such as crinoid pieces, corals and brachiopods, can be collected at this National Trust managed limestone escarpment. The tourist information centre and museum in Much Wenlock is also worth a visit to learn a little more about the location and to view fossils from the area. Silurian, Cutting, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Overstrand is a foreshore collecting location. Chalk is exposed during low tide, especially during scouring conditions or winter/spring months. The chalk is highly fossiliferous, yielding many echinoids, sponges and molluscs. Pleistocene, Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Helmsdale is the best place to collect Jurassic fossils in Scotland. Geologists have been fascinated by the strange ‘Boulder Beds’ for many years and some questions have remained unanswered as to how the beds were formed. The area is rich in reptile remains, giant corals, fish remains and the occasional ammonite. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
What looks like an ordinary rocky beach, covered in seaweed, is actually rich in corals, ammonites and shells, although you need to work hard to find them. At Portgower, the rocks exposed are from the Jurassic and, if you split them, can yield flat ammonites and shells. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Ramsholt is one of the best locations for fossils in Suffolk, yielding sharks’ teeth, lobsters, fruit and shells from the London Clay, shells, sharks’ teeth from the Red Crag, corals, echinoids from the Coralline, and complete crabs, fish remains and sharks’ teeth from the basement bed. Eocene, Pliocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
This is the location of the famous ‘West Runton Elephant’ find. From the West Runton Fresh Water Bed, mammal and fish remains are common, along with freshwater shells. On the foreshore, during scouring tides, the chalk yields echinoids and sponges. Pleistocene, Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
The Devonian rocks at Pendower Beach contain shell impressions, but are poorly preserved and trilobites are extremely rare. However, as with all Cornish fossil locations, this site is mainly for fossil enthusiasts and geologists who are not expecting lots of finds, but who can appreciate an interesting location. Devonian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Portishead is an interesting location with both Carboniferous and Devonian rocks. At Battery Point, many corals and crinoids can be collected from the rocks on the foreshore and there are plenty to be found. Further along Woodhill Bay, fish remains are also commonly found. Carboniferous, Devonian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Weston-super-Mare is a fascinating geological location. Underwater volcanoes during the Carboniferous period sometimes buried life forms and preserved them in the rocks now exposed on the foreshore and cliff. Well-preserved corals, bryozoans, algae, bivalves and brachiopods can be found. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Ketton Quarry is over a mile wide – its size has to be seen to be believed. The rocks here contain ammonites, corals, brachiopods, bivalves, fish and reptile remains, and much, much more. This is a superb location to visit. The quarry has recently been designated SSSI status. Jurassic, Working Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Hopes Nose is a headland two miles east of Torquay, which forms a finger-like rocky tip at the northern end of Torbay. All around this area are fossils, together with remnants of extinct corals which were formed when the Devonian seas were relatively shallow. The best place to see these is on the foreshore at Hope’s Nose when the tide is low. It’s in this area where you’ll also find Devonshire cup corals (Caryophyllia smithii) and brachiopods. Hope’s Nose is an SSSI location, so collecting from, or hammering the bedrock, is not permitted. However, it remains one of the most famous locations for Devonian corals, trilobites and bivalves in the UK. In fact, the Natural History Museum in London has many specimens on display from this site. Devonian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Daddy Hole was once a highly productive quarry, but now forms part of the Torquay coastline. It is rich in Devonian corals and is now an SSSI. Corals can be found in both the quarry and scree slopes on the foreshore. Devonian, Cliffs, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦
If you fancy a change from all the Shropshire Silurian and Ordovician, you could try this Carboniferous quarry, which is now open to the public as a nature reserve. Search the scree for corals, brachiopods and bivalves. Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦
This quarry is overgrown, but still has lots of fossils. Good exposures of the Wenlock Limestone yield a variety of corals, shells and trilobites. It is quite large, with three main sections. Silurian, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦
Llantwit Major is the best place in Wales for Jurassic fossils. The huge cliffs yield a wide range of fossils and unique is the large amount of marine life, for example corals and giant brachiopods and gastropods. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
