West Weare on Portland exposes Kimmeridge Clay and the Portland succession among landslipped ground and old quarry waste. Shells and ammonite fragments are recorded, but mixed blocks, slippery clay and difficult terrain make provenance and a cautious, permission-led approach especially important. Jurassic, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
Wren’s Nest National Nature Reserve, north-west of Dudley, exposes fossil-rich Silurian limestones formed in a warm, shallow sea. Corals, brachiopods, crinoids and trilobites reveal a varied marine community, while reef mounds and spectacular ripple-marked beds preserve the shape and activity of its ancient seabed. Quarrying revealed the folded succession that makes this an exceptional place to understand Britain’s geological past. Silurian, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
The former Houghton Regis chalk quarry reveals a fossil-rich Cretaceous seabed, including the distinctive Totternhoe Stone and its reworked shells. The quarry is now an important wildlife site where fossils are for observation and photography: collecting and hammering are not permitted. Cretaceous, Disused Quarry, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
The hillside quarries above Stockdale Farm in Longsleddale expose Late Ordovician fossil-bearing rocks of the Stile End Formation. Their scientific importance includes type material of trilobites, although loose spoil commonly preserves incomplete, weathered moulds. Arrange access and collecting permission with the landowner before visiting these steep, exposed workings. 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: ♦♦♦
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: ♦♦♦
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: ♦♦♦♦♦
Fossils can be found in many places, most fossils are found on the beach or in quarries but many have been found in some very unusual places. Below is a list of places that you could find fossils. Please note some places such as quarries and farm fields need permission before you can enter, other places where fossils form part of the construction such as sea defences and walls, should not even be attempted. Damaging other peoples property is not only illegal, but morally wrong.
