The striking red and white cliffs at Aust, on the Severn Estuary, expose the Rhaetian Penarth Group, home to one of the most famous bone beds in the UK. This thin but highly productive layer is packed with teeth, fish remains and reptile material, making Aust the richest Triassic fossil site in Britain. Under the right conditions, the foreshore can yield a wide variety of microfossils, rewarding careful searching and sieving. Triassic, Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
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Hock Cliff near Fretherne exposes an early Sinemurian succession of limestone, shale and mudstone beside the Severn. Ammonites, curved oysters and echinoderm remains record a varied Jurassic sea floor, while the tidal shore, slippery rocks and changing path conditions require careful planning and permission checks. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Sedbury Cliff, beside the Severn near Chepstow, exposes a Late Triassic to Early Jurassic succession with contrasting fossil-bearing rocks. Its limestone and shale record ammonites and bivalves, while older sandy bone-bed material contains fish remains. The tidal shore, soft mud and unstable cliffs make this a locality for careful observation and well-planned visits. Triassic, Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Garden Cliff at Westbury-on-Severn exposes a Late Triassic succession with fish remains, reptile bones and richly patterned sandstone surfaces. The locality gave its name to the Westbury Formation, and its several bone-bearing horizons preserve an important record of changing shallow-water conditions. Visiting the tidal shore requires care around mud, rising water and unstable cliffs. Triassic, Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
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: ♦♦
Crickley Hill combines wide views, old quarries and a remarkable record of Early and Middle Jurassic seas. The fossil-rich Pea Grit is especially important for small brachiopods, echinoids and coated grains. Explore this country park and nature reserve through observation and photography, using signed paths and current access information. Jurassic, Disused Quarries, Scree, Rating: ♦
Tites Point, on the eastern shore of the Severn near Purton, exposes folded Silurian rocks with shelly fossils and several concentrations of early fish remains. Mud cover can hide most of the section, and a reported access restriction means the route and permission must be checked before planning a visit. Silurian, Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Wainlode Cliff beside the River Severn records the transition from late Triassic mudstones to the first Lias beds. Thin fish-bearing sandstones, shelly shales and famous insect-bearing horizons occur high in the succession, although vegetation and the position of the beds can make fossils difficult to observe. Triassic, Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦
Robinswood Hill’s Early Jurassic quarry exposes a remarkable succession of marine mudstones, silts and fossil-bearing harder beds. Belemnites, bivalves and brachiopods can be recognised in weathered rock, while scientific studies have recorded ammonites and exceptionally preserved sea lilies. This is an observation and photography site: leave fossils and stones where they lie, as requested by the published visitor guidance. Jurassic, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦
Leckhampton Hill’s old quarries expose a classic Middle Jurassic limestone succession, with shell-rich beds, pale building stone and the striking Devil’s Chimney. The hill offers rewarding fossil observation and a varied geology walk above Cheltenham. Use the signed paths and check the council’s current collecting terms before removing any material. Jurassic, Outcrops, Disused Quarries, Rating: ♦♦♦
Cleeve Common’s old quarries reveal a varied Middle Jurassic limestone succession, from pale building-stone oolites to beds rich in shells. Rolling Bank and Pot Quarry are especially important for strata preserved in very few places. Enjoy the fossils, rock textures and wide views through observation and photography; Cleeve Common Trust prohibits removing stone or fossils from the common. Jurassic, Disused Quarries, Rating: ♦♦♦
Gilberts Grave is a wooded railway-cutting locality associated with Clypeus ploti echinoids and fossiliferous Middle Jurassic limestone. Its weathered rock faces illustrate the shelly Clypeus Grit of the Cotswolds. Access must be confirmed before a visit: closure has been reported at Chedworth Nature Reserve, and the current route and collecting terms remain unverified. Jurassic, Disused Railway Cutting, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
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: ♦♦♦
