High Fell Quarry, above Tilberthwaite, reveals the volcanic origins of Lakeland slate. Quarry working restarted under a new tenant in 2023. Climbing advice warned of intended renewed blasting and advised people to keep away. Stay on public paths and out of the workings; seek the landowner’s permission before any proposed quarry visit or sampling. Ordovician, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦
Hodgson How Quarry, near Portinscale, is a historically important Ordovician graptolite locality. Its Kirk Stile Formation mudstones preserve flattened fossils including Azygograptus lapworthi. Steep, unstable rock and uncertain current access make this a site for a carefully arranged geological visit, with landowner permission required before entry or collecting. Ordovician, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦
Pendower Beach combines a Devonian coastal section with much older fossil-bearing quartzite carried into the rocks as large blocks. The eastern shore offers elusive brachiopod impressions, while the raised beach and folded bedrock reward a careful geological visit even when fossils are scarce. Devonian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
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: ♦♦
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: ♦♦♦
Sandy Mouth combines a sandy beach with folded late Carboniferous sandstone and shale. Fine-grained rocks can preserve plant fragments, while the named Sandy Mouth Shale has documented bivalves, ammonoids and fish remains. The tide-dependent rocky shore south of the entrance needs more care than the main bathing beach. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
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: ♦♦♦
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: ♦♦♦
Crackington Haven is a small cove with folded Carboniferous sandstone and shale on both sides of its sandy beach. Rare goniatites and bivalves have been recorded here, but the clearest rewards are its sedimentary structures and dramatic folds. Visit to observe and photograph, leaving fossils, stones and pebbles in place. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦
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: ♦♦
Wanson Mouth exposes folded Crackington Formation sandstone and shale with a documented Langsettian ammonoid fauna. Its small beach and rocky margins are distinct from Widemouth Bay: access needs care, and public walking rights do not themselves give permission to remove fossils. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Foxhole Point, north of Millook beach, exposes fossil-bearing Carboniferous shale between resistant sandstone beds. Its documented goniatites help date the rocks to the top of the Marsdenian, but reaching the point involves a demanding, tide-dependent stretch of steep and slippery foreshore. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦
Castleton’s Carboniferous reef limestone contains crinoids, brachiopods and corals, while its caves are famous for Blue John fluorite. This walk links Treak Cliff, Blue John Cavern and the foot of Mam Tor, revealing a remarkable change from ancient reef to younger shale and sandstone. Enjoy the fossils and minerals where they lie: this is a place for looking and photographing, with no hammering or collecting. Carboniferous, Outcrops, Rating: ♦♦♦
Monsal Dale offers a scenic walk among Carboniferous limestone and chert, with crinoid fragments and other marine fossils visible in the rock. The valley also preserves an unusually varied record of coral beds, submarine slumping and ancient lake deposits. Visit for observation and photography, follow the public paths and leave fossils and stone in place. Carboniferous, Outcrops, Rating: ♦♦♦
The steep outline of Parkhouse Hill near Earl Sterndale reveals a Carboniferous reef margin shaped by later faulting and erosion. Brachiopods, corals and crinoid fragments can be seen in its limestone. This protected hill is a place for looking and photographing: leave fossils in place, follow permitted routes and keep clear of steep faces and summit drops. Carboniferous, Outcrops, Rating: ♦♦♦
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: ♦♦♦
A small wooded quarry near Holymoorside preserves plant fragments in Carboniferous sandstone. The rock belongs to the Wingfield Flags, a named sandstone unit within the Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation. Stem debris is more characteristic than complete leaves. Follow the public path, keep clear of the unstable face and obtain the landowner’s permission before entering the quarry or collecting. Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦
Marsh Brook exposes Carboniferous marine shale with recorded goniatites and bivalves. The documented fauna places these beds in the Kinderscoutian interval of the Namurian. Many shells are flattened, and their original bed matters when identifying them. Follow the public path and obtain the landowner’s permission before leaving it, entering the brook or collecting; water and bank conditions can make the exposures unsafe. Carboniferous, Stream Embankment, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
West Quarry, also called Coal Hills West Quarry, exposes fossil-rich Eyam Limestone at the National Stone Centre near Wirksworth. Crinoid debris and brachiopods record a Carboniferous sea on the edge of the Derbyshire limestone platform. Visit to observe and photograph fossils, leave all rocks in place, and keep well away from quarry faces and the sudden drop into the lower workings. Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Penarth’s north shore reveals red and green Triassic cliffs, pale gypsum and fossil-bearing beach stones. This guide follows the shore north from the pier towards Penarth Head, where loose shell fossils reward careful observation, but tides, unstable cliffs and uncertain collecting permissions demand care. Jurassic, Triassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
At Lavernock Point, the coast records a remarkable transition from late Triassic mudflats to an Early Jurassic sea. Shells, ammonites and vertebrate remains occur in different parts of the succession, and the discovery of Dracoraptor hanigani made the locality internationally known. Careful observation reveals both the fossils and the changing environments that preserved them. Jurassic, Triassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
At Llantwit Major’s Cwm Colhuw beach, pale limestone ledges and darker mudstones reveal a fossil-rich Early Jurassic sea. Ammonites and bivalves are the main attractions, often preserved as impressions or shells within the foreshore rocks. The striking cliffs and jointed platforms also make this a rewarding place to see how sedimentary rocks weather and break apart. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Southerndown’s Dunraven Bay brings together a sandy beach, striking Early Jurassic limestone cliffs and fossil-rich shore platforms. Look closely at the Blue Lias and you can see curved oysters, other bivalves, ammonites and traces of life on an ancient seabed. The changing rocks also reveal how a Jurassic sea spread across an older limestone landscape. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
The old northern quarry at Trefil opens a window into a Carboniferous tropical sea. Weathered limestone preserves corals and shells, while the surviving tracks and quarry faces tell the story of limestone working for the South Wales iron industry. Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦
The shingle shore at Gileston, near Limpert Bay, offers a quieter way to look for traces of Jurassic life. Some loose rocks contain shells and ammonite impressions, while small crinoid fragments have also been reported. The interest lies in careful observation of weathered beach stones and in understanding how much older fossils became part of a modern shoreline. Jurassic, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦
Abereiddy Bay is a classic place to see Ordovician graptolites in dark shale. The southern foreshore is especially known for the paired branches of the tuning-fork graptolite, while folded sediments and volcanic rocks around the bay tell a much more varied geological story. Ordovician, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Nolton Haven’s Carboniferous sandstones and shales preserve plant remains from ancient river and coal-swamp landscapes. The main bay and the coast towards Rickets Head offer different views of this history, including large rooting structures best enjoyed and photographed where they lie. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Little Haven’s steeply folded Carboniferous sandstones and shales reveal a former coal-bearing landscape. The coves beside the village offer striking geological features and occasional plant fossils, from frond impressions to ribbed stems preserved in loose shale. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦
Fishguard combines rugged volcanic scenery with reports of graptolites and trace fossils in occasional shale. This guide focuses on Pwll Landdu, the small cove east of Fishguard Fort; the fossil photographs illustrate the reported material, although their exact collecting bed has not been established. Ordovician, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦
Druidston Haven combines graptolite-bearing Ordovician shale, younger Carboniferous rocks and a remarkable record of Ice Age deposition. The broad beach offers opportunities to observe loose fossil-bearing material and see how faulting and glaciation have brought very different chapters of geological history together. Ordovician and Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Freshwater East combines a broad sandy beach with Silurian marine fossils and an internationally important record of early land plants and animal traces. The rocks around the bay record a transition from marine environments to coastal wetlands, rivers and ancient soils. Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Manorbier Bay combines fossiliferous limestone pebbles with spectacular, steeply tilted Old Red Sandstone cliffs. Crinoid fragments are reported in grey stones around the stream, while the surrounding red beds preserve ancient soils and animal trails. These tell different geological stories: fossils in transported pebbles do not date the cliffs behind the beach. Devonian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Corals in Carboniferous limestone are the main attraction at Lydstep, where weathered boulders and sea-washed stones reveal the remains of an ancient tropical sea. The small cove below the headland is especially rewarding for observing fossils, while steeply tilted beds and younger limestone breccias add to the geological interest. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Presipe’s steep red-and-grey cliffs reveal ancient river deposits, fossil soils and traces of animal activity. Burrows and tracks occur on some bedding surfaces, while cracks, ripples and calcrete structures help explain the landscape in which the rocks formed. Devonian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Above Porthgain’s harbour, loose slate waste records the village’s quarrying past. Fossils are uncommon, but occasional graptolites reward a careful look at natural surfaces, while the cliffs and surviving stone hoppers reveal a much wider geological and industrial story. Ordovician, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦
The northern rocks at Whitesands Bay expose steeply inclined Cambrian beds beside a broad sandy beach. Fossils are sparse, but careful observation of loose rock surfaces may reveal dark impressions of small brachiopod shells, giving a glimpse of the ancient sea in which these sediments formed. Cambrian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦
West Angle Bay exposes folded Lower Carboniferous limestone and shale, with crinoid stems, brachiopods and other marine fossils visible on weathered rock surfaces. The sandy beach is a good starting point for a family visit, while the surrounding cliffs reveal the change from Devonian river deposits to a shallow sea. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Marloes Sands combines Silurian fossils with spectacular folded cliffs and the volcanic rocks of an ancient coastline. Corals and brachiopods are the main attraction, with trilobites, crinoids and other marine remains recorded in the fossiliferous beds. The wide sandy bay is also an excellent place to see how shallow seas gave way to river floodplains. Silurian, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Upper Gilwern Quarry, near Howey in Powys, is known for its well-preserved Ordovician trilobites, from tiny growth stages to occasional complete specimens. Its fine-grained rocks record an ancient marine environment. This privately owned quarry is available to booked accommodation guests under the operator’s current access and collecting conditions. Ordovician, Private Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
These series of disused quarries, in Llandrindod Wells, are rich in trilobites and graptolites. The largest of the quarries has deep water (also shown on OS maps), and is now fenced over following an accident in which a child sadly drowned. A second quarry, slightly further to the northeast, contains no water and has easy access, with productive shales. Ordovician, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
A small stream cutting near Bettws exposes Ordovician mudstone with occasional trilobite fragments and graptolites. Its dark, fissile rocks offer a close view of marine life preserved in a much older succession than many of the surrounding Silurian hills. Ordovician, Stream cutting, Rating: ♦♦
Cwm Craig Ddu’s roadside siltstones preserve small marine shells and rare fragments of early land plants. This Silurian quarry near Garth is important for understanding plants that grew on land while their remains were carried into a neighbouring sea. Silurian, Roadside Cutting, Rating: ♦♦♦
The coast below Caim reveals fossil-rich Carboniferous limestone, with weathered colonial corals, horn corals and large brachiopods. The ledges and headlands show how marine shells and corals were preserved within a changing shallow-water environment. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
The wooded slopes of Gallt Yr Ancr, west of Meifod, contain shell-rich Ordovician sandstone associated with old quarries. Brachiopod moulds and occasional trilobite fragments reveal a marine fauna in the rocks beside the Glyndwr’s Way walking route. Ordovician, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦
Prestatyn Hillside combines an escarpment walk with glimpses of Carboniferous marine fossils. Occasional limestone blocks reveal crinoids, brachiopods and corals, while the surrounding rocks record sediment carried from a carbonate platform into deeper water. Carboniferous, Outcrops, Rating: ♦♦
The western shore of Red Wharf Bay exposes coral-bearing Carboniferous limestone, with brachiopod sections and crinoid fragments in its ledges. North towards Trwyn Dwlban, striking sandstone-filled pipes record ancient dissolution and river activity between episodes of marine deposition. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦
Great Orme’s Head is a limestone headland above Llandudno, with sweeping views and a remarkable record of life in a Carboniferous sea. At Bishop’s Quarry, large fossil shells and corals can be studied on weathered rock surfaces during a walk across the headland. Carboniferous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦
The eroding mixed spoil shore west of East Wemyss reveals Carboniferous plant remains in loose shale and other tipped rock. Fern-like foliage, ribbed stems and occasional bivalves survive from ancient wetland landscapes, but mining, dumping and coastal reworking have mixed their original beds. Visit to observe and photograph; fossil removal requires permission and any applicable consent. Carboniferous, Spoil, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
The Pettycur Bay shore at Kinghorn reveals a Carboniferous volcanic landscape with an exceptional record of fossil plants. Basaltic lavas, ash-rich rocks and plant-bearing limestone preserve evidence of vegetation caught up in volcanic activity. The best-known plants were identified from carefully prepared scientific specimens, making this a rewarding place to observe geology rather than expect obvious fossils in every rock. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Elie offers two contrasting places to look for Carboniferous fossils: the sand-covered beds of Elie Shore and the rocky exposures at Wood Haven. Shells and crinoid fragments record ancient seas, while nearby volcanic necks reveal how later eruptions disrupted the sedimentary rocks. Carboniferous, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
