In October half term we booked a weekend away to go fossil hunting in Dorset. Fossil hunting has been on our bucket list for a long time and we were desperate to find an ammonite of our own! We spent our first day in Lyme Regis which unfortunately was not very successful. We did enjoy a visit to the Lyme Regis Museum though, followed by the bonfire night fireworks on the beach, which was an absolute treat!
After an overnight stay at a Premier Inn hotel, we headed to Charmouth with our fingers crossed for better luck. We parked in the Lower Sea Lane car park, right in front of the beach. Following the footbridge over the river, we headed to the East side of the beach. It was low tide and there were lots of rockpools to explore.
Once we got near to the larger rocks on the beach we started our hunt for fossils and it wasn’t long before we were rewarded! We found several tiny complete ammonite fossils, which was very exciting! They are shiny pyrite ammonites which glisten like gold and beef rock ammonites. We found them sat amongst the shingle. Once you start to look you spot them quite easily. We didn’t need to dig or to hammer any rocks, although the boys enjoyed hammering a few open anyway!
As well as ammonites, we found lots of belemnites. Again these were just sitting among the shingle. They look like bullets in the sand but are actually part of a squid like creature.
We also found these little gems which we think are crinoids, the shiny one preserved in iron pyrite. Crinoids are still alive today and are an animal related to star fish.
These we ‘think’ are vertebrae bone from an ichthyosaur. The vertebrae are one of the most common fossils found at Charmouth. They are usually about the size of a 50p coin.
We happily spent over two hours exploring the beach, collecting fossils and sea glass. I could easily have stayed longer and plan to return again another time. Charmouth was far more successful than Lyme Regis for finding fossils. They are literally just sat loose among the sand and shingle. Definitely a great spot to go to if you want to find some fossils of your own! Just remember to check the tide times and stay away from the cliffs.
While we were at Charmouth we popped into the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre. This is free of charge to visit and has a wonderful display of fossils found locally. The Centre is really family friendly, with lots of hands-on activities. We enjoyed using the microscope to look at fossils and slides up close.
The huge ammonite on display and the ichthyosaur are amazing.
There’s also an aquarium with sea creatures to spot and information about the issue with plastics in the sea.
We spent over an hour looking round at the displays and really enjoyed it. I definitely recommend a visit if you’re nearby. Donations are welcome and help keep the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre going. They also run guided fossil walks and have a gift shop. The main front entrance is steps, but there is a ramp access at the back of the building. To find out more, visit their website here: https://charmouth.org/chcc/
Free public toilets are behind the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre building (albeit not very clean!). Several kiosks by the beach and heritage centre sell hot drinks and food/snacks. If you park in the car park don’t forget to pay and display your ticket before heading to the beach. Good luck fossil hunting!
Disclaimer: We are in no way associated with Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre. All words, photos and opinions are that of my own.
