Where in the UK is best

[Nimblewoodzy89]

Hello all I'm just wondering where the beat place is in the UK  is best to take my children to look for fossil or anything I've looked on YouTube but for me it's all a bit to confusing I would love to get into this and finding my own fossil but wouldn't know where to start or how to even find a fossil unless it hit me in the face but any information would be great thanks 

[Kane]

You might try Lyme Regis and Charmouth. Those tend to be fairly popular fossil destinations. 

[Nimblewoodzy89]

And for actually knowing a fossil from a rock is it just luck getting it or is there a massive difference  that I'll be able to see 

[Bobby Rico]

Hi

There is lots of good spots in the U.K.. Yorkshire, lyme regis, London clay, Norfolk  and plenty more. Where ever you choose I would recommend when available to got on a fossil hunting tour . They will show where to look and what to look for. Also go over the rules/laws and safety tips.

[Kane]

A lot of fossils are very distinct in terms of having a regular pattern. Here is an example of an ammonite posted here from Lyme Regis:

 

 

Before you embark on fossil collecting, it will be very helpful for you to do some reading about fossils first, and to focus on the kinds of fossils to be found in your area of choice. Education is an essential condition for collecting, and the rest is just the time and effort.  

[Nimblewoodzy89]

Yeah it be something  I would be doing within 2 years as my children are young but are just as big dinosaur fans as me and I just feel they need a bit more safety about them before I go rushing as I wouldn't want to hurt themself or ruin any possible finds for other and myself but yeah the tours does sound like a great idea to start off with and also  would watching YouTube videos about areas around my location be good or maybe a bit more research is needed 

[Mark Kmiecik]

Go to the nearest natural history museum and view the "local" collection. Each specimen will be labelled with the information you want.

[Bobby Rico]

This is a good resource https://ukfossils.co.uk/ 

[t-tree]

Saltwick Bay , Whitby never fails to produce easy to recognise fossils  but as in any fossil hunt on the coast keep your family away from the cliffs .

 

John

[Fossildude19]

You might consider joining a fossil/mineral club in your area. 

That will hook you up with like minded people, and possibly get you in on field trips.  

 

LINK

[Nimblewoodzy89]

Yeah I would be making sure the family is safe thanks John number 1 role for me haha but yeah I've geared Whitby is pretty good and I'm always in the museum where I live but there isn't that much about fossil there if honest  I shall have to have a good look around and I'll be using the link I been sent to aswrll thank you guys very much I'll be sure to be showing off pictures once I get more information about where to go and how to do it all safely 

[Notidanodon]

Good safe places for the family with fossils that require no preparation are herne bay, bracklesham bay and Barton on sea- great shark teeth at thes places

[Nimblewoodzy89]

That would be cool as my little lads adores shark just as much as dinosaur  but are we talking say few hundred years shark teeth or we talking the meg years not likely to find a meg one in the UK as beards it quite rare 

[Notidanodon]

2 minutes ago, Nimblewoodzy89 said:

That would be cool as my little lads adores shark just as much as dinosaur  but are we talking say few hundred years shark teeth or we talking the meg years not likely to find a meg one in the UK as beards it quite rare 

This post has slightly confused me, you can find megs in Suffolk but they are very worn as they come from a reworked layer, essentially, megs come from miocene-Pliocene (I think) and uk sediments aren’t that age as conditions didn’t favour deposition at that time, you can find several dozen smaller sharks teeth in the locations I mentioned and some larger teeth especially at bracklesham bay where you can find angustiden teeth Very rarely. A good big teeth location might be the slide of sheppey where otodus obliquus teeth are relatively common 

[Nimblewoodzy89]

O right thank you I've only watch couple of YouTube videos about fossil hunting and I'm sure I heard someone mention  meg teeth are rare in the UK but I'm very new to the hobby I've only ordered some off line but am still unsure if it's real or not so any information on location and everything really is important to me so if k say something that might seem silly or confusing it's because I like to know most things before I actually so it I don't want to go in with a hammer and start hitting rocks if you get me 

[Peat Burns]

30 minutes ago, Nimblewoodzy89 said:

And for actually knowing a fossil from a rock is it just luck getting it or is there a massive difference  that I'll be able to see 

There are some good YouTube videos showing fossil hunting for ammonites and other fossils on the beaches.  Search Lyme Regis Fossil hunting.  There are some great videos showing fossils in place and how to know what to pick up directly, what needs split, etc.

[Nimblewoodzy89]

I shall be doing that once my daughter is asleep many thanks  I'm liking how the group is more helpfully that some of my other hobbies that I'm into thank you guys 

[Notidanodon]

3 minutes ago, Nimblewoodzy89 said:

I shall be doing that once my daughter is asleep many thanks  I'm liking how the group is more helpfully that some of my other hobbies that I'm into thank you guys 

In the places I mentioned it’s very nice and simple, you can just pick them off the beach, great fun for everyone

[Nimblewoodzy89]

Thank you will I shall be looking into that ad would be a nice holiday after lockdown to go find some shark teeth would be a good start to a collection for my children haha much appreciated  buddy 

[Pterygotus]

Aust Cliff is extremely rich In reptile and fish remains. I also recommend Charmouth and Lyme Regis.