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Fossil hunting by region

British fossil collecting is concentrated on a handful of coastlines. These are the regions currently covered, with the number of locations recorded in each.

  1. 01DorsetDorset is the best known fossil-hunting county in Britain. The Jurassic Coast between Lyme Regis and Swanage exposes a near-continuous sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock, and winter storms keep the beaches supplied with fresh material.Ammonites · Bivalves · Fossilised wood · Belemnites · Marine reptile remains7 locations →
  2. 02Yorkshire and the North East coastThe Yorkshire coast between Staithes and Filey is Britain's other great fossil coastline. Lower Jurassic shales produce ammonites, belemnites and the jet that made Whitby famous, and the beaches are broad, walkable and rich in loose material.Bivalves · Ammonites · Belemnites · Jet · Fossilised wood7 locations →
  3. 03Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is the most productive place in Britain for dinosaur remains. Early Cretaceous Wealden beds are exposed along the south-west coast, and the island's museums and local experts make it an unusually welcoming place to learn.Dinosaur fossils · Fossilised wood · Plant fossils · Bivalves3 locations →
  4. 04KentKent's north coast cuts through Eocene clays that yield shark teeth, fossil wood and sea life, while the chalk of the south-east coast produces echinoids and sponges. It is the most accessible serious fossil coast for anyone travelling from London.Gastropods · Bivalves · Shark teeth · Fossilised wood · Plant fossils3 locations →
  5. 05SussexSussex spans two very different fossil stories: Eocene shark teeth and shells on the shingle of the west coast, and Early Cretaceous Wealden rocks with dinosaur footprints along the cliffs east of Hastings.Bivalves · Shark teeth · Gastropods · Corals · Plant fossils2 locations →
  6. 06HampshireThe Hampshire coast around Barton and the Solent exposes Eocene clays and sands packed with marine shells and shark teeth — some of the easiest and most rewarding collecting in southern England.Shark teeth · Gastropods · Bivalves · Corals1 locations →
  7. 07EssexEssex is best known for the Naze at Walton, where London Clay and the overlying Red Crag produce shark teeth, fossil wood and shells within a short walk of the car park.Shark teeth · Gastropods · Bivalves · Fossilised wood · Corals1 locations →
  8. 08SuffolkSuffolk's soft coastal cliffs expose the Red Crag, a shelly Pliocene deposit that yields shark teeth, shells and reworked older material. Erosion is rapid and the beaches change from season to season.Shark teeth · Gastropods · Bivalves1 locations →
  9. 09NorfolkNorfolk combines the striped chalk and red limestone cliffs of Hunstanton with the Ice Age deposits of the north coast, where the Cromer Forest-bed has produced internationally important mammal remains.Bivalves · Sea urchins · Belemnites · Brachiopods · Ammonites2 locations →
  10. 10SomersetThe West Somerset coast between Blue Anchor and Kilve exposes dramatic folded Lias limestones and shales with ammonites and marine reptile material, on beaches that are quieter than their Dorset equivalents.Bivalves · Ammonites · Belemnites · Marine reptile remains · Shark teeth3 locations →
  11. 11DevonEast Devon holds the western end of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, with Triassic red cliffs, Cretaceous chalk at Beer and long shingle beaches worth searching after storms.Sea urchins · Belemnites · Bivalves · Brachiopods2 locations →
  12. 12Gloucestershire and the SevernThe Severn Estuary cliffs and the Cotswold escarpment expose Triassic and Jurassic rocks. Aust Cliff, beneath the old Severn Bridge, is the classic locality for the Rhaetic bone bed.Shark teeth · Bivalves · Marine reptile remains1 locations →
  13. 13Northumberland and DurhamThe Northumberland and Durham coast exposes Carboniferous limestone, sandstone and shale. Corals, brachiopods and crinoids are common in the limestone beds, and the coastline is spectacular and quiet.Corals · Brachiopods · Crinoids · Bivalves1 locations →
  14. 14WalesWales offers the widest span of geological time in Britain. The Glamorgan Heritage Coast has accessible Jurassic Lias beaches, while mid and north Wales hold the Cambrian and Ordovician rocks where trilobites are found.Ammonites · Bivalves · Brachiopods · Crinoids · Belemnites3 locations →

Regions not yet covered

These regions have no locations in the database yet. They will be added as sites are researched and verified rather than filled in with guesswork.

Cornwall · Lincolnshire · Lancashire · Cumbria · Scotland · Northern Ireland