Seaton fossils and fossil collecting

To Access the cliffs at Seaton, drive down to the Seaton Promenade, there is good parking facilities here.
Head to the West, where the cliffs contain a varied geology of Lias, Chalk, Greensand and Triassic. This is where the fossils are mostly found.
Note that you cannot cross the river from the beach for accessing the Seaton cliffs, therefore use the road or foot bridge near the harbour.
You can also walk towards Beer Head at the Eastern end of the down, visiting the Triassic cliffs, and Upper Greensand.

GRID REF: 50.70216°N, 3.05201°W

echinoids, brachiopods, bivalves,
crinoids, sea urchin spines

Chalk and Greensand at Seaton is highly fossilferious and makes ideal collecting. Ammonites, Echinoid's, Brachiopods and Bivalves can all be collected. There is plenty of rocks and fresh falls to look through.

Medium

The variety of geology at Seaton means you never know what you might find. Echinoids and molluscs are the most common find.

Suitable for Children

This location is suitable for children and has a nice large car park close to the town where toliets and cafes can be found.

Very Good Access

A short walk to the shore, plenty of

parking and lots of shops. Seaton is a major tourist resort and so can be busy during peek times.

Cliffs, Foreshore

Most fossils are found in the fallen blocks which can be found on the foreshore, or at the bottom of the cliffs in the scree.

SSSI

Seaton is part of the Jurassic World Heritage Coastline. However there are no restrictions other than following our code of conduct below.

Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken and knowledge of tide times should always be noted. The sea often hits the cliffs at Seaton, it is easy to be put off with no access to Beer or Seaton during high tide, once the Upper Greensand has been passed. Be careful of both falling rocks and slippery seaweed.

Seaton
Tide Times

UK Tidal data is owned by Crown Copyright, and therefore sadly we are not allowed to display tide times without paying expensive annual contracts. However we sell them via our store, including FREE POSTAGE
Click here to buy a tide table

Last updated:
last visited:

Written by:

24/06/08
2002

Alister and Alison Cruickshanks


Geological Tools Fossils are very hard and either containers or bags are suitable. You will need a heavy hammer and chisel to split some of the rocks. Upper Greensand fossils can also be quite worn and sometimes difficult to see. Look out for patchs of 'Soft Greensand' it is a good idea to take a trowel or knife for this, some excellent shells can be found.

Other Locations similar to Pinhay

The Upper Greensand at Seaton can also be found at Beer, Pinhay Bay and Hookend Cliff. As well as Eastbourne and Peaceheven in Sussex further east along the south coast.


There are a vast variety of shells at Seaton, ammonites and echinoids can also occasionally be found too. The best place to look is the fallen lumps of Greensand, especially then ones that have been weathered for sometime. Shells can be easily removed from these but are brittle and fragile. Another good collecting point is to look for areas of any 'Soft' Greesand, this is a dark green colour and trowels and knives can be used to search for shells. This soft layer is usually found at the base of the cliff where it has slipped. Take a heavy hammer to break apart any lumps of Greensand, you never know what could be inside. Most of the sea urchin spines and Echinoid are found in the VERY large boulders which are extremely hard but weather badly. Removing fossils from these is quite difficult but most of the finds can be made by searching through these.

Mesozoic, 85-210mya

The upper chalk at Seaton is particularly interesting for the Holaster planus Zone, the chalk extends to Beer Head where it is the most western crop of Upper Chalk.

Seaton is ideal for collecting from the Upper Greensand as the entire series can be seen, the foreshore is full of various greensand rocks and some from the Cherty Beds.

At Seaton, the red cliffs just before the chalk are part of the Triassic and are the 'New Red Rocks'. The New Red Rocks are part of the 'New Red Sandstone Series'. These are unfossiliferious...[more]

Upper Chalk (Left), Upper Greensand (Right)


Fossil molluscs are the most common find here.

Stone Tumblers

Microscopes

Test Sieves for Microfossils

If you are interested in fossil collecting, then you may also be interested in a stone tumbler (Lapidary). You can polish stones and rocks from the beach which will look fantastic polished using a stone tumbler.

You can polish rough rock and beach glass whilst collecting fossils, on those days where you come back empty handed. These are all high quality machines to give a professional finish to your samples. They can even be used for amber and fossils.

At most locations, you can find microfossils. You only need a small sample of the sand. You then need to wash it in water and sieve using a test sieve. Once the sand is processed, you can then view the contents using a microscope.

We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, you will need a Stereomicroscope for viewing microfossils. The best one we sell is the IMXZ, but a basic microscope will be fine. Once you have found microfossils, you will need to store these microfossils.

Test Sieves are used when searching for microfossils. Microfossils can be found in many locations, and all you need is a small amount of sample such as clays, sands and shales, or if you have acid, limestone, oolite or chalk.

Our UKGE Store sells Endecotts Test Sieves, which are the highest in accuracy and extremely durable and long lasting. These Test Sieves are fantastic for microfossils. Endecotts Test Sieves come in a variety of sizes, frame material and types, they are certificated to EU Standards.

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