The chalk shore around North Foreland, between Broadstairs and Joss Bay, offers a patient search among fossil-bearing flints and loose chalk. Large flint bands in the cliffs provide a striking record of the Late Cretaceous sea. Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
The northern shore of Pegwell Bay offers Chalk fossils and a remarkable view of younger sediments at Cliffs End. Echinoids, crinoid pieces and shells occur in loose material, within a sensitive nature reserve where access restrictions must be respected. Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
The Seven Sisters cliffs east of Cuckmere Haven expose flinty Late Cretaceous chalk, with echinoids, shells and other fossils in loose material. Distinctive flint bands trace the bedding through the high brows. This guide follows the east-bank coast; Seaford Head across the river is a separate locality. Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
The coast from Cow Gap to Beachy Head lighthouse exposes Gault, Upper Greensand and Chalk, with fossils from several parts of the Cretaceous succession. Slipped and changing exposures make provenance important. This demanding tidal shore is distinct from the Holywell–Cow Gap and Birling Gap guides. Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Peacehaven’s Late Cretaceous chalk yields echinoids, molluscs and occasional fish remains, with beach scour controlling exposure. Fossils occur on the rocky foreshore and in loose blocks, while flint bands and marl seams reveal how the beds change between Bastion Steps and Friars Bay. Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Birling Gap gives access to Seaford Chalk around the steps and a distinctive chalk dry valley. The Seven Sisters Flint Band and sponge-bearing beds help explain the local fossils. This guide concentrates on the immediate area, rather than treating the shore to Beachy Head or Cuckmere Haven as one safe walking route. Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Seaford Head’s chalk foreshore is noted for echinoids, especially in the beds around Hope Gap, although many specimens are worn or incomplete. Its flints, marls and hardgrounds record a changing Late Cretaceous succession along the coast. Hope Gap steps are closed: the geological account is not a route to the shore. Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Newhaven’s Late Cretaceous chalk contains small Offaster pilula and larger Echinocorys echinoids, with finds strongly dependent on beach conditions. The cliffs from Castle Hill towards Old Nore Point reveal marl seams and flint bands that help trace the succession. Large ammonites in the wave-cut platform should be photographed and left intact. Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Weybourne brings together Cretaceous Chalk, shell-rich Early Pleistocene sediments and glacial deposits in a compact but changeable coastal section. Belemnites and sea urchins occur in the chalk, while the overlying Wroxham Crag preserves marine shells and much smaller traces of land mammals washed into an ancient sea. The contrast makes this a rewarding place to study different fossil communities and the long gaps between them. Collecting is best approached as a patient search of loose beach material: the steep shingle shore, tides and unstable cliffs make access demanding, and high ledges must be left alone. Pleistocene, Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Overstrand’s shore is best explored for loose Chalk fossils and the changing exposures revealed when sand is washed away. Echinoids, belemnites, brachiopods and sponge remains occur in chalk and flint, while rarer mammal fossils record a much younger Pleistocene landscape. The cliffs also contain chalk rafts displaced by ice, an important reminder that the visible rocks are not always in their original order. Fossils may show both ancient features and much younger marine borings. Access is affected by coastal works and erosion, so check the current route before travelling and leave ample time to return on the falling-tide beach. Pleistocene, Cretaceous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
