Tagged by "Fossils"
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Barton-on-sea fossil walk
(route)
This walk starts and ends at the Crow's Nest car park in Highcliffe. As you descend the clif pause a moment and observe that to the west is the Dorset coast, protected by extensive sea defences. The other side of Chewton Bunny is in Hampshire and here you can see lots of erosion and cliff slumps. The route is along the foreshore so check the tide times before going. The best time for fossil collecting is the approach to low tide when it is still going out. Also after a storm or rain the cliffs are muddy and soft and it's easier to extract whole fossils.
It's very tempting to climb the cliffs but the ledges are full of sinking soft mud - at least once a year this results in a full-scale coastguard rescue. Many more peopel lose shoes or get temporarily stuck. There are loose boulders in the mud that can trap a foot or leg. There are no safety notices so in the summer lots of kids think its fun to get covered in mud and then swim it off - little realising the danger.
Shell fossils can be found all along the cliff where it meets the beach, there are millions of them but most are broken.
Sharks teeth can be found nearer the water.
Other attractions include a little stream crossing the beach to the sea. Endless fun for anyone who likes to build dams, pools and generally play with sand and water. The sand is quality sand-castle material but with stony areas.
Something for everyone in quite a short walk.
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Kimmeridge fossil hunt
(route)
This is a very short stroll around Kimmeridge Bay in Dorset, part of the Jurassic Coast, one of the most spectacular World Heritage Sites.
Kimmeridge is a really interesting place to spend an hour or so as the ground is littered with fossils (which by the way you are allowed to collect if loose but you can't go down with a hammer and start hacking away at the rock - it's a protected site don't you know).
Kimmeridge has a natural stone ledge which extends into the bay making the landscape rather lunar! There are plenty of rock pools at low tide which is great for kids and for surfers there are a couple of reefs.
When I was there yesterday there were lots of kayakers, which I reckon would be a great way to see this amazing coastline which runs from Exmouth on the East Devon coast, to just north of Swanage on the Purbeck Coast.
Check out the Jurassic coast website.
P.S. This area is a military training zone so you may be restricted on where you walk.
