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Portland |
Introduction and Info |
Location Information (key) |
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(Not Suitable for Children) |
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Area (for location see below) |
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  Foreshore, Cliff, Qry |
PERMISSION REQUIRED |
Perryfield: Hanson Bath and Portland Stone |
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LOCATION
The Isle of Portland has several locations for collecting fossils, from the cliff & foreshore to many working and disused quarries. The Island is very small and so many of the locations are easy to find. Inland quarries provide excellent collecting in the Portland Stone and to the North West and North East along the coast there are exposures of Kimmeridge Clay on the foreshore. There are many other locations and quarries not featured on this site, it is a good idea to explore the island. But please remember that permission is normally required to enter both disused and working quarries.
Perryfield Quarry - 300m west of the museum, near Pennsylvania Castle, the quarry is disused on one side of the road but working on the other. Location Map
Portland Bill - At Portland Bill, there is a very large car park with excellent facilities, toilets, cafe etc. West of the lighthouse the raised beach can be examined. Location Map
Tar Rocks - From the main car park South of Portland Square, close to Brandy Row. Follow the coastal footpath to Tar Rocks. The cliff here often slips and access can be variable. Location Map
Church Ope Cove - Bear left through Easton Square, there is a narrow road next to the Portland Museum. This leads to a castle and beyond this a park with steps down to the shore. Location Map
Freshwater Bay - From the Eastern to Southwell road, take a track at the top of the hill, this will lead to parking near an old cliff top quarry. There is an easy route down to the beach. Location Map |
(Portland Bill) - 2001
At Perryfield Quarry, Portland Stone contains trace fossils and alga. The internal moulds of the gastropod Aptyxiella portlandica can be seen, this is commonly known as the 'Portland Screw'. The Lower Purbeck Beds from the Slatt Marl to the Skull Cap are well exposed and the Portland Freestone from the Roach to the top of the cherty series is also well exposed.
At Portland Bill, pebbles from local rocks, porphyry and granite can be seen as part of the 'raised beach'. molluscs and trace fossils can be found in these rocks.
EQUIPMENT
TOOLS: For collecting from the portland stone, heavy hammers and chisels are required, for the Kimmeridge clay, a pick is ideal. Please note that the old quarries are potentially very sensitive to collecting and especially hammering.
CONTAINERS: Fossils from the Portland Stone are quite hard and can be placed into bags, fossils from the clay are very fragile and need to be wrapped well and placed into bags. |
(Portland Quarry) - 2001
At Tar Rocks, exposures of the Kimmeridge Clay yield ammonites of Virgatopavlovia and Progalbanites on the foreshore, brachiopods especially that of Rhynchonella can also be found in the Black Nore Beds. Below this, the Black Nore Sandstone is full of sponge fragments,.
Church Ope Cove contains excellent exposures of the Cherty Series to the Lulworth Beds, fossils here are badly worn but can be found, and finally at Freshwater Bay, trace fossil Glomerula gordialis is common from the Cherty Series with Basal Shell bed. The Large ammonite Gloucolithites is common here, fragments can be seen around the foreshore.
(Portland Quarry) - 2001
Most fossils from Portland are actually trace fossils or they are badly worn, they can also be very difficult to knock out as the Portland stone is very hard.
(Portland Bill) - 2001
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SAFETY & DANGERS
Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken. Hard Hats and high visibility vests must be worn at all quarries and care must be taken with soft areas at the bottom of the quarry. Tide times should also be noted, it is easy to get cut off at Portland, return within good time. |
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