Cornwall Fossil Collecting and Geological Guide to Pendower and thousands of photos

Fossils and fossil collecting in
Pendower, Cornwall
Location summary information for collecting fossils in Pendower, Cornwall

Pendower Beach

The Ordovician Rocks at Pendower Beach contain shell impressions, these are poorly preserved and trilobites are extremely rare, however as with all Cornish fossil locations, these are mainly for fossil enthusiasts and geologists who are not expecting lots of finds.

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Location Information for Pendower, Cornwall
	A word of warning about the nature of collecting in Cornwall. If you are used to coming home with bags full of beautifully preserved specimens then I’m afraid Cornwall is not for you, almost all Cornish fossils are relatively rare and you must be content with maybe one or two finds (at most a handful) from each location. Even then the preservation is often poor with the fossils mainly being preserved as flattened impressions, however having said that the area is under researched and collected, so if you can bear to drive past Dorset why not give it a go.
	(Not Recommended) Pendower is not suitable for families or beginners, please ready satiety notes. This location is mainly for the enthusiast and geologist.
	Access to Pendower beach is fairly easy, use the maps on the location access page for easy navigation.
	Cliff, Foreshore Pendower is a cliff and foreshore location, however please be aware of the SSSI Restrictions.
ACCESS RIGHTS	SSSI - NO HAMMERING Please DO NOT disturb cliff formations.

Grid Reference

British National Grid	SW 90051 38102
Degrees	50.20561°N, 4.94356°W

! IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTES !

Pendower beach is a generally safe area and at low tide there is a beautiful large sandy beach (ideal for the kids). There is a small risk of being cut off by the tide but due to the shape of the bay you can see the approaching tide from a long way off, so there really is no excuse, and anyway of course you will be collecting on a falling tide. The fossil bearing rocks at the eastern end are very jumbled and contain many fairly deep rock pools and drop-offs, for this reason we would not recommend this site for small children as it would be easy for them to become separated or slip and injure themselves. Older responsible children should be fine, please wear suitable footwear boots/wellingtons.

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