Bawdsey fossils and fossil collecting

The vast majority of fossils are hidden around deposits of fossil wood, your best chance of finding fossils is to use a shovel and scoop out fossil wood samples into bags, take this home and wet sieve.

Other locations similar to Bawdsey

If you are interested in locations where you can find Mollosc Crag Shells from the Red Crag and Norwich Crag, try Covehithe, Easton Wood, Alderton, Ramsholt, Wangford Quarry and Walton-on-Naze.

For locations where you can find fossils from the Eocene London Clay, try Isle of Sheppey, Ramsholt, Maylandsea, Nacton, Levington, Walton-on-Naze, Bognor Regis or Burnham on Crouch.

If you like collecting sharks teeth you could also try Harwich, Bracklesham Bay, Herne Bay, Barton-on-Sea or Taddiford Gap which are also of the
Eocene age.

If you enjoy collecting Crocodile and Turtle, you could try Hamstead or Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, here the Oliogocene bed yield plenty of remains.

The London Clay here is highly rich in bird and fish remains, but reptiles and shark can also be found. From the Red Crag, molluscs can be collected along with derived fossils. Bawdsey also has some of the most well preserved fossil wood in the London Clay and it is around this where the fish and bird remains are found. If you take samples of the clay in and around these areas, they in most occasions contain fish remains, bird or reptile. Vertebras are also common and can get to quite a size at Bawdsey.

Some of the larger fossils can be found on the shingle, especially nodules which often contain well preserved fossils. It is a hands on your knees job to find them. Many of the smaller fossils including small sharks teeth and loose fish remains become broken up and you will only find half vertebrae, teeth without their roots or the roots separate. You need to obtain these in situ or in samples and treat as soon as possible.

You can also find red crag fossils including fragments of bone on the single and these are much better preserved. (Searching on the foreshore)

You need a low tide, or scouring conditions when the foreshore is stripped down of the sand. Search the clay and look around the areas where their is fosssil wood. Most of the fossils are so fragile that unless you are careful, they will break up. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you take back samples from around the areas with fossil wood and wet sieve at home. most of these areas contain fossils of some sort and often you can find remains from complete fish, bird bones or reptile remains.

If you are interested in crag fossils, search the scree slopes at the base of the cliff, they are full of shells and derived fossils. Occasionally you can find sharks teeth, fish remains and crustaceans from the basement bed,

Various London Clay fossils from Bawdsey...see more

At the base of the cliff and foreshore, the London Clay (Eocene age), is exposed along the cliff at East Lane. Above this, and the cliffs consist of both pleistocene gravels and Red Crag (Pliocene Age). Pockets of shell beds and the London Clay basement beds yield a variety of mollusc's, shark teeth, crags, fish remains and lobster fragments.

Fantastic view of glacial beds which has cut into the London Clay