Woolacombe fossils and fossil collecting
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The Baggy Beds at Woolacombe have yielded fish fragments and shells in the past from the area heading towards Croyde. However these are extremely rare and it is unlikely that fossils will be found on any excursion to this area. |
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Rare
Fossils at Woolacombe are quite rare, You will be very lucky to find any, but if you do, it is likely to be fish scales.
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Very Good Access
An excellent car park with toliets, cafe etc, and a very short walk to the beach. This is also a major tourist location. |
Foreshore
Rock outcrops can be seen along the foreshore at the two headlands of the bay, these outcrops contain 'pockets' of fossils. |
SSSI
This site is an SSSI, therefore please do not Hammer the Bedrock, but photograph any fossils. You may collect from the loose material. |
Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken and knowledge of tide times should always be noted. The tide can easily cut you off at Woolacombe and the rocks are very slippery and dangerous, suitable hard-gripping footwear should be worn. The rocks are also very hard to split and jagged fragments from a hammer blow could easily pearce the skin, Goggles should be worn. |
| Last updated: |
2008 |
| last visited: |
2002 |
| Written by: |
Alister and Alison Cruickshanks |
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Within the Bittadon Felsite layer, armoured fish fragments have been found including Holonema cf ornatum, Holoptychius, Coccosteus, Polyplocodus and Bothriolepis. It is better to access these beds via Croyde as the beds tend to be more fossiliferious, at Woolacombe bay they are quite rare.
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Devonian, 360mya |
The rocks at Croyde are from the Devonian age. The beds continue from Baggy point to the South West end of Woolacombe with the Sandstones and Siltstones embedded within the Baggy Beds. The Pickwell Down beds become present from the middle Famennian age. At the base of this bed between the Pickwell Down Beds and Baggy Beds, a tuff band layer can be seen known as the 'Bittadon Felsite'....[more]
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Other Locations similar to Woolacombe
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Woolacombe is similar to Croyde, where similar fossils can also be found.
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TOOLS: A large lump hammer here is required and chisel. googles and suitable footwear should be used. The rocks here are very hard indeed, it may be a good idea to sharpen hammers before any visit to Woolacombe, otherwise the slate is difficult to split. CONTAINERS: Fossils are quite hard in the Slate, but once the Slate is split into sizeable pieces, it can become brittle and so fossils should be wrapped well.....[more] |
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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.
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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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