West Bay fossils and fossil collecting
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 West Bay is easy to access, its main beach of Bridport is a popular tourist attraction. Follow signs to West Bay from the Bridport roundabout, There is a large car park near to the beach. From here the cliffs of Bridport can be clearly recognised by the steep vertical yellow cliff.
There is a large sandy beach at West Bay which is ideal for children with nearby car parking, toilets and food. The beach can be very popular during the summer. Please keep children away from the base of the cliff, which is dangerous.
West Bay can also be accessed from Burton Bradstock if you are planning on visiting Burton.
GRID REF: 50.70866°N, 2.75905°W
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Low
Fossils are not common from West Bay since cliff falls are quite rare. Ammonites during these times can be found in the Bridport Sands, otherwise trace fossils or fossil shells can be found in the 'Snuff Boxes'.
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Suitable for children
Providing that children keep well away from the base of the cliff, West Bay is superb for the family. It has a lovely sandy beach and plenty car parking space, cafes and toliets. |
Cliffs
Since cliff falls don't occur very often, there is little material on the foreshore to collect, apart from the 'Snuff Boxes' which contain poorly preserved fossils. Instead, fossils are best found after cliff falls. |
No Hammering Cliff
This site is part of the Jurassic World Heritage Coastline. Please follow the Fossil Code of Conduct. Access is permitted SSSI -
NO HAMMERING THE CLIFF - The unstable cliffs are very unpredictable and can fall at anytime, you won't find anything in the sands and can only find fossils in the Oolite blocks which come from the very top of the cliff.
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Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken and knowledge of tide times should always be noted. Care should be taken of tides at all locations. The well-known exposures of fossiliferous limestone at the foot of the cliffs are of course the result of cliff falls. Major falls like this are not common, but special care must be taken to watch for areas where loose material may fall. Wet or frosty weather conditions may cause falls. If at the time of a visit pieces of rock are falling from the cliff , then this locality must be considered unsafe and the place should be avoided until relative stability resumes. Some other places such as the low cliffs east of West Bay, some parts of Portland and the Chesil Beach could be visited instead. At all times wear safety helmets and watch out for any dangerous activity of the cliff. Since this is at the western part of the Chesil Beach there is some risk of being cut off by the tide or swept into the sea in very stormy weather conditions. |
West Bay
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.
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)
Dorset coastal cottages
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.
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Please call: 0800 9804070 for a Brochure or visit our website on www.dorsetcoastalcottages.com
Jennifer Owens Direct:
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£10/Year or 'FREE' for return links from accommodation website pages. |
Last updated:
last visited:
Written by: |
26/05/08
2008
Alister and Alison Cruickshanks
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The best fossils are found after cliff falls, but these are not common. Therefore you should examine the 'Snuff Boxes' on the foreshore. These (pictured above), contain fossil shells, trace fossils and moulds. They are also very hard and are layers with stromatolites. The sea washes away the stromatolite leaving holes.
If you are lucky enough to arrive after a cliff fall, there is a small thin layer of Inferior Oolite at the top, which would not only provide fresh exposures of 'Snuff Boxes', but also contains similar fossils to Burton Bradstock.
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Jurassic, 180-195mya |
Burton Cliff is similar to East Cliff at West Bay but in its middle part the Bridport Sands are succeeded by the full thickness (3.7m) of Upper, Middle and Lower Inferior Oolite and a little of the Fuller's Earth. The Inferior Oolite is not safely accessible in the cliff, but large fallen blocks are present on shore, in these almost the full thickness of the unit can be studied. There is access to the beach near to the stream, the River Bride or Bredy, and 155m east of this point a fault down throwing eastwards cuts the cliff, dropping the Inferior Oolite capping sufficiently to bring in Fuller's Earth in a cliff top outcrop. Beyond the fault are the large fallen blocks of Inferior Oolite.
The sandstone is blue-grey when unweathered but has a think weathered surface layer of yellow. Here, fine-grained pyrite is oxidised to limonite or goethite. The sands contain Belemnites and trace fossils and occasional moulds of Ammonites . Aragonite shells have been dissolved away.
There is a smaller cliff just after these high cliffs at Burton, which is made of Forest Marble and Frome Clay, but it is much degraded at its base, as it is protected by a stretch of shingle, part of the Chesil beach. In this cliff, 200m east of the car park the Boueti Bed can be traced in eroded ground between the footpath and the cliff top. It yields the brachiopods Goniorhynchia boueti, Avonothyris, Digonella with bivalve and other fossils. In the cliffs below the Frome clay can be examined and it crops out in the low cliffs at Burton Common and Cliff end....[more]
Snuff boxes - These are layers with stromatolites.
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The Bridport Sands Formation (Upper Lias age) is 43m thick and represents relatively shallow faces of a major rhythm of Jurassic sedimentation. The formation is an important oil reservoir rock underground at the Wytch Farm Oilfield and this is the best exposure at the surface. This sandstone formation is a classic diachronous sequence that becomes younger southward. The main sequence is Upper Toarcian (Dumortieria levesquei ) zone. It is interesting, containing heavy minerals of metamorphic type (e.g. garnet), probably ultimately derived, via the Permo-Trias, from Brittany.
Above this is a thin later of Inferior Oolite, this is much thinner than at Burton Bradstock and contains fewer fossils. Blocks from this bed contain the layer known as 'Snuff Boxes' can be found on the foreshore. These are layers with stromatolites. The sea washes away the stromatolite leaving holes. The Inferoir Oolite is missing at the middle part of the cliff.
Right at the top along whole cliff at West Bay, is the Fullers Earth, shown in the above photo.
Ammonite from West Bay....[more]
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West is a location where you have to work for your finds, take good strong heavy hammers to crack the Oolite rocks. Some people also take diamond cutting equipment to slice rocks. Remember to take plenty of paper to wrap any specimens...[more] |
 
Locations similar to Burton
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For locations which also have Inferior Oolite or Bridport Sands of which fossil collecting is permitted, try 'Burton Bradstock', next to West Bay, 'Ketton Quary' in Lincolnshire, or in Gloucestershire you could visit, 'Gilberts Grave' On the Isle of Skye, Bearreraig Bay also has Inferior Oolite.
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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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