Helwell Bay at Doniford is one of the best locations in Somerset for collecting iridescent ammonites, a highlight of the Blue Lias. The extensive foreshore also yields small white ammonites, reptile bones and a variety of bivalves, often exposed after erosion, making it a highly rewarding site for collectors. Classic Helwell Bay finds include the early Jurassic ammonites Psiloceras planorbis and Caloceras johnstoniJurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
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During scouring conditions, The famous ‘elephant bed’ is exposed at Stansore point, yielding various mammal remains. To the western end of the car park, fossils can be found in the many blocks both along the footpath to the cliffs and the foreshore. At the western end, foreshore Eocene clays yield microfossils. Pleistocene, Eocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
At Brownwich Cliff, fossiliferous septarian nodules of Bracklesham age are washed onto the shore from offshore deposits. The cliffs at both Brownwich Cliff and Chilling Cliff can occasionally yield fossil molluscs, but the best deposits are those from below beach level, which are full of brachiopods and other molluscs. Pleistocene remains can also be found washed from the gravel beds. Pleistocene, Eocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
East Mersea preserves ancient river channels and their fossil wildlife beside the tidal shore at Cudmore Grove. Early Eocene London Clay underlies much younger deposits containing shells, wood and mammal remains. The Middle Pleistocene channel at Cudmore Grove is distinct from younger hippopotamus-bearing deposits farther west, and both need careful protection. Pleistocene, Eocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
You can find almost anything, such as ammonites, shells, belemnites, reptiles (for example, ichthyosaurs), echinoids and more from the boulder clay; and mammalian and bird remains from the Forest Bed during scouring conditions. Pleistocene, Erratics (Jurassic, Cretaceous), Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦
Along the River Stour, Pleistocene cliffs at Stutton Ness yield the bones of mammoths and deer, while foreshore exposures of Eocene London clay yield a wide variety of fossil seeds.Pleistocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦
The glacial pebble beds at Benacre yield a range of derived fossils including echinoids, sponges, shells and belemnites. At the base of the cliff, the Baventian Clay is several metres thick. Erratics (Cretaceous), Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦
This is another location along the Holderness Coastline, which is constantly being eroded. The boulder clay yields rocks from various ages in which you can find fossils. This site is not so fast eroding as others, but is still a location where fossils can be found. Erratics (Jurassic, Carboniferous, Cretaceous), Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
West Runton brings together two very different fossil worlds: Cretaceous chalk on the shore and the much younger West Runton Freshwater Bed at the foot of the cliffs. The latter preserved a river-valley community of mammals, fish, freshwater shells and plants, including the celebrated steppe mammoth Mammuthus trogontherii. When sand has been washed away, the chalk platform reveals flints and marine fossils. Search loose beach material carefully, keep a record of each find and treat these scientifically important exposures with care. Tides, shifting sand and unstable cliffs determine what can safely be seen. Pleistocene, 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: ♦♦♦
