Swanage fossils and fossil collecting
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 To access the beach at Swanage, follow the signs to 'New Swanage'. Along the route, you will see a sign pointing to 'the beach'
From this road, you will see a large car park, and you should walk East until you reach the promenade and you can descent just before the high cliffs.
Once on the shore, the cliffs continue North. The beach can be quite rocky, and at high tide, the sea often reaches the base of the cliff.
Being not far from the main town of Swanage, there is plenty to do and see, toliets and food are all closeby.
GRID REF: 50.62238°N, 1.95353°W
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Quite Good
Swanage can yield a lot of fossils in one day, but normally you have to work for you finds, using a hammer and chisel.
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Older Children
Swanage is suitable for older children, but they must keep away from the base of the cliff. Please also check tide times. |
Good Access
Accessibility is excellent at Swanage, a car park is very close by with a short walk. |
Foreshore, Cliffs
The vast majority of the fossils are found within chalk boulders on the foreshore. Fossils are normally in situ, and therefore you will need a hammer and chisel to get these out. |
World Heritage Site
Swanage is part of the Jurassic World Heritage Coastline. Please follow the Fossil Code of Conduct on the safety notes page below. |
Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken and knowledge of tide times should always be noted. The main issue one should be aware of is the tide. It is easy to become cut off so it is important to return at least 3 hours before high tide. The other danger is falling debris. Rocks frequently fall due to weather and birds. Hard hats are recommended. |
Swanage
Tide Times
UK Tidal data is owned by Crown Copyright, and therefore sadly we are not allowed to display tide times without paying expensive annual contracts. However we sell them via our store, including FREE POSTAGE
Click here to buy a tide table
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Accommodation
Higher Spence
Farm Cottage, beautiful location 3 miles Charmouth. Double and Family rooms En Suite.
£20-£22.00 per night per adult. Under 12, Half Price.
Contact: Christine Nutkins
Tel: UK (01297) 560556
Tel: International +441297 560556 Address: Higher Spence, Wootton, Fitzpaine, Charmouth, Dorset.
Email: higherspence@eurolink.ltd.net Website: (Typing "Higher Spence into your search engine)
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We are a holiday agent for 120 carefully selected and inspected cottages within 10 miles of Dorset's spectacular World Heritage Coast and Path. All are old, many are beamy and thatched, most have open fires or logburners plus central heating. Rents include electricity, gas etc. and all linen/towels.
Rentable by the week or 3 day Short Break all year round!!
Please call: 0800 9804070 for a Brochure or visit our website on www.dorsetcoastalcottages.com
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Last updated:
last visited:
Written by: |
05/04/08
2008
Alister and Alison Cruickshanks
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From the Wealden which is at the Southern end of New Swanage, you can find ostracods of Cypridea and snails of Viviparus. These along with Oysters are the most common fossil here. These Wealden beds are not that productive for fossils.
From the Lower Greensand, bivalves, gastropods ( Cassiope) and ammonites ( Deshayesites) can all be found. Fossils from the Upper Greensand include many different species of ammonites ( Anahoplites, Prohysteroceras and Mortoniceras), oysters and Echinoids..... [more]
Fossils can be found on the foreshore and in the cliff at Swanage.
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Cretaceous, 90-125mya |
At New Swanage, the cliffs begin with Wealden Shales. These include the Unio Bed. The Wealden is from the Barremian stage, and the Wealden/Perbeck boundary is present at Swanage although currently obscured. The Wealden Shales show evidence of very salty conditions and is why fossils are not plentiful. Blocks of thin Wealden limestone can also be seen on the beach. There is around 750m of Wealden at Swanage.
Further North and you will come to the Lower Greensand. This is very similar to that from the Isle of Wight with the Atherfield Clay and Ferruginous Sands exposed. Exposures are poor due to a lack of recent cliff falls, but some exposures remain. There is 61m of Lower Greensand here covering the following beds.....[more]
Wealden and Lower Greensand at Swanage
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Fossils from Swanage are quite common, ammonites, echinoid's and mollusc's can all be found. Corals and even starfish. Swanage takes you through the Wealden, Lower and Upper Greensand, Gault and finally the Lower and Middle chalk, so you just don't know what you could find...[more]
Ammnonite from Swanage....[more]
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A hammer and chisel is the most important tool at Swanage. Be sure to also bring some paper to wrap your finds. A pick for the softer Gault and wealden are also recommended. We recommend good walking boots as the foreshore can be rocky. Please remember to check tide times...[more] |
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Other Locations similar to Swanage
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For collecting fossils from Greensand, you can try Pinhay Bay, Seaton in Devon. Hookend Cliff in Devon is another similar excellent location.
For chalk and Greensand locations in Dorset, try Whitenothe or the famous Lulworth Cove coastline,
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Stone Tumblers |
Microscopes |
Test Sieves for Microfossils |
If you are interested in fossil collecting, then you may also be interested in a stone tumbler (Lapidary). You can polish stones and rocks from the beach which
will look fantastic polished using a stone tumbler.
You can polish rough rock and beach glass whilst collecting fossils, on those days where you come back empty handed.
These are all high quality machines to give a professional finish to your samples. They can even be used for amber and fossils. |
At most locations, you can find microfossils. You only need a small sample of the sand. You then need to wash it in water and sieve using a test sieve. Once the sand is processed, you can then view the contents using a microscope.
We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, you will need a Stereomicroscope for viewing microfossils. The best one we sell is the IMXZ, but a basic microscope will be fine. Once you have found microfossils, you will need to store these microfossils.
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Test Sieves are used when searching for microfossils. Microfossils can be found in many locations, and all you need is a small amount of sample such as clays, sands and shales, or if you have acid, limestone, oolite or chalk.
Our UKGE Store sells Endecotts Test Sieves, which are the highest in accuracy and extremely durable and long lasting. These Test Sieves are fantastic for microfossils. Endecotts Test Sieves come in a variety of sizes, frame material and types, they are certificated to EU Standards. |
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