There are two classic pits within Sudbourne Park. Both have become very overgrown in recent years, but sections are cleared from time to time to keep these SSSIs accessible and available for further research. Rich shell beds of Coralline Crag yield a variety of fossils, which can be easily collected from when sections are cleared. Pliocene, Spoil Heap and Disused Pit, Rating: ♦♦♦
Easton Bavents is the best location in the UK for finding Pliocene mammal remains and represents the only publically accessible site where mammal remains can be found in situ from the Norwich Crag. The location is of international importance, although fossils are limited to favourable tides. Today, fossils are uncommon, due to the thinning of the beds following many years of extensive erosion. Pliocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
It has only been in recent years that Bawdsey is once again being washed out by the sea, but this time it is a small cliff north of the famous (now overgrown) Red Crag cliffs. However, the London Clay on the foreshore is rich in fish, bird and shark remains. Eocene, Pliocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Ammonites, belemnites and reptile remains can all be found in the boulder clay, along with many erratic rocks full of shells. The foreshore sometimes yields fossil wood, seeds and bone from the Forest Bed during times of scouring. This used to be a highly productive site, but the sea defence limits scouring.Pleistocene, Erratics (Jurassic, Cretaceous), Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦
The Coralline Crag at Broom Pit is extremely fossiliferous and rich in a wide variety of molluscs and bryozoans. You will be sure to come home with plenty of finds. The shells are in excellent condition and some are very large. It is a site definitely worth visiting. Pliocene, Disused Pit, 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: ♦
During favourable scouring conditions, Easton Wood exposes Norwich Crag shell beds along the foreshore. These are extremely rich in mammal remains and are the best preserved bones from any Norwich Crag site. Although highly productive, scouring only occurs every few years, although after gale force storms, mammal remains can often be washed ashore, lifted by the waves from the seafloor. Shell beds are also sometimes exposed in sporadic pockets along the cliff, but bones from these upper shell beds are rare. Pliocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦
Ramsholt is one of the best fossil sites in Suffolk, exposing a diverse range of deposits from the London Clay, Red Crag and Coralline Crag. The foreshore yields shark teeth, shells, corals and echinoids, along with more exceptional finds such as complete crabs, lobster remains and fish material from the basement bed. With multiple fossil-bearing layers present, it offers a varied and highly rewarding collecting experience, particularly after favourable tides and erosion.Eocene, Pliocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
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Neutral Farm Pit is a classic Red Crag geological site that is easy to access. The face is showing some signs of being overgrown, but there is still a good area to collect shells from. The pit is near the village of Butley. Pliocene, Disused Pit, Rating: ♦♦♦
Crag Farm Pit is a classic Coralline Crag site and a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). It is rich in bryozoans and well-documented wave-features in the sands. There are few other fossils, but it is certainly a location to visit for anyone who is interested in bryozoans. Pliocene, Disused Pit, 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: ♦♦
Levington is a location on the River Orwell, where London Clay is exposed in large cliffs and on the foreshore. It has yielded a large number of reptile remains, including one complete skeleton. Eocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦♦♦
Unlike the other nearby Norwich Crag locations, Covehithe does not yield mammal remains, although they can occasionally turn up, washed from the seabed or from nearby Easton Wood. What makes Covehithe interesting is a series of thick shell beds below beach level, where shells are exposed in life position, along with a black carbon layer containing fossil seeds. This is the only place where these can be found in the Pliocene Crags. Glacial flint fossils can also be collected. Erratics (Cretaceous), Pliocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦♦
Nacton Shore is a location on the River Orwell, where London Clay is exposed in a small cliff and on the foreshore. The foreshore at Nacton and Levington has yielded a large number of reptile remains, including one complete skeleton. Eocene, Cliffs and Foreshore, Rating: ♦
