Fossil Hunting in Cornwall
Cornwall is not an area of the UK that is particulary good for fossils, in spite of it being one of the top tourist sites in the South West. The rocks are extremely old, and mostly unfossiliferous. Most of the sites offer poorly preserved fossils. However, the coastline from Bude to Boscastle is one exception which is a well known site yielding corals, fish, plant remains and Goniatites, Pendower Beach in the south also offers the chance to find trilobites (although rare), in Ordovician deposits. Cornwall is only for the enthusiast, that appreciates that even though the fossils are poorly preserved or rare, they are just as important as they are so old. |
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This popular tourist location, famous for a large sandy beach, is actually full of Upper Carboniferous fossils. Corals and crinoids can be found in the wave cut platforms, while fish and crustaceans can be collected from the shale and nodules. The vertical cliff section also makes this site of interest to geologists. |
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Widemouth Bay contains a number of popular holiday parks, situated with easy access to the sandy beach. This is a well-known tourist hot-spot, especially for surfers, yet few realise that it has spectacular geological features and yields a variety of Upper Carboniferous fossils. |
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Rusey Cliff is one of the few places in Cornwall where well-preserved fossils can be collected. Plant remains can be found in slabs of Lower Carboniferous Boscastle Measures, and corals, brachiopods and goniatites can be found in similar aged limestone rocks along the foreshore. The site can be accessed by walking along a cliff top footpath, which takes you through a large area of landslip. |
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Wanson Mouth is located just to the south of Widemouth Bay. It is a privately owned beach, but with public access permitted and no restrictions on collecting fossils. It is also a quick and easy site to access, with some excellent Upper Carboniferous fossils to be found, such as goniatites, ostracods, molluscs and worm tubes. |
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Upton Cross is situated between Widemouth Bay and Bude. The Bude Sandstone, which is carboniferous in age, sandwiches outcrops of shale at two areas of the cliff and foreshore. These contain nodules that yield fish remains, worm tubes and tracks. |
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An old, cliff top quarry, situated along the coastal footpath near Boscastle, was once rich in trilobites. Today, most of the quarry has fallen into the sea, but a small part still exists with blocks that can yield fossils when split. |
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Foxhole Point features the Crackington Measures, which continue from Widemouth Bay. While it is possible to walk here from Widemouth Bay, it is best accessed from the village of Millook to avoid a long walk over difficult terrain. Plant remains and goniatites can be found here from the Upper Carboniferous. |
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The Ordovician rocks at Pendower Beach contain shell impressions, but are poorly preserved and trilobites are extremely rare. However, as with all Cornish fossil locations, this site is mainly for fossil enthusiasts and geologists who are not expecting lots of finds, but who can appreciate an interesting location. |
 Cliff |
Fossils collected direct from cliff face |
 Foreshore |
Fossils collected from the foreshore |
 Cliff/Foreshore |
Fossils collected from the cliff and foreshore |
 Quarry |
Location is a quarry or pit |
 Stream |
Fossils collected from a stream or river bed, |
 Field |
Fossils collected from a farm field |
 Cutting |
Fossils collected from road or railway cutting. |
 Scree Slope |
Fossils collected from hill or mountain scree slope. |
 Rock Outcrop |
Fossils collected from rock outcrops. |
 Lake / Reservoir |
Fossils collected from lake or reservoir banks. |
 Microfossils |
Samples taken back for processing microfossils. |

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Fossils are common |
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Fossils often found |
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Fossils are not common |
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Fossils rarely found |
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Site protected, no collecting permitted, or no access to beach |
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Quaternary
Neogene
Palaeogene
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Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic |
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Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian / Pre Cambrian |
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