Scremerston fossils and fossil collecting

From the village of Scremerston, take the road next to the church, east, towards the coast. Follow the road to the left when you come to the farm and then take the next right. Go over the train track and park by the road a short distance later, where the road bends round to the right.
Walk back along the road, the way you came but instead of turning the corner, walk straight across the road at the bend and along the footpath.
Follow the footpath, going north west for about 250m and then descend the cliff where it becomes hilly rather than precipitous. (Continued...)

GRID REF: 55.73883°N, 1.96464°W

Brachiopods, corals, crinoids, trace fossils

A good location at which to find a range of Carboniferous fossils, including crinoidal limestone and corals, as well as plant remains and trace fossils in sandstone.

Medium

With a bit of exploring, numerous fossils can be observed in boulders and the exposed strata at beach level, and collected as pebbles and larger cobbles.

Suitable for children

The southern site is very family friendly. There is easy parking and a sandy beach, with rock layers exposed nearby. The northern area is more suited to adults and older children with adult supervision due to the steep walk down to beach level.

Excellent Access

The southern site is very accessible – perfect for a casual fossil hunt on a summer’s day while enjoying a trip to the seaside. The northern site is less easily accessed due to a longer walk and a fairly steep route down to the beach. Type – Exposed rock strata at beach level, boulders, cobbles and pebbles. Fossils can be observed in sloping rock strata exposed at beach level and in huge sandstone boulders, and collected as limestone cobbles and pebbles.

Foreshore

Fossils are collected on the foreshore where rocks have been eroded out of the protruding layers.

No Restrictions

There are no restrictions at this location, but please follow our own code of conduct for all locations.

Scremerston
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

It is virtually impossible to become cut off at the southern site. The northern stretch of coastline, however, has high cliffs and it is possible to get cut off here, so be aware of your tide times and collect on a retreating tide. Always tell someone where you are going and what time you expect to return. If at all possible, collect as a pair or a group and take a mobile phone.

Last updated:	2010
last visited:	2009
Written by:	Joe Shimmin

A good eye is mostly all you need, but a pick will prove very useful for the shale. Wear hiking boots as this is a foreshore location.

Video: View of Scremerston


At the northern site, tilting limestone layers on the foreshore are packed with crinoid stem pieces. Rolled coral cobbles can also be picked up. In large sandstone blocks, some larger plant fossils such as Stigmaria roots may be found. On freshly exposed bedding planes, trace fossils are abundant. At the northern site fossils are less common. However, a couple of strata do contain numerous brachiopod fossils. If you can find these you will not go home empty handed. These strata are softer than most of the others here, so look out for hollows between other layers where they have been worn away. If you investigate these you should find some pieces. Tilting limestone layers

	Carboniferous, 330mya
At Scremerston, the marine Carboniferous deposits are of Visean age, this is part of the Brigantian stage of the Beadnell Formation...[more]


Brachiopods...[more]

Other Locations similar to Scremerston

In Northumberland, there are a number of good Carboniferous sites. These are Beadnell, Berwick, Howich and Scremerston.

Stone Tumblers

Field Loupes

Gold Pans

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.

Field loupes are an essential part of your field equipment for any fossil hunting trips. We sell a wide range of Field Loupes, including our own brand name and the Ruper range. Field Lenses will enable you to view small fossils in detail.

At Scremerston, Field Lenses can be used to look at the detailed coral structure. A hand lense is a very handy piece of equipment to carry around with you!

For our full range, see our website.

We sell a very wide range of equipment at UKGE, and one of our popular lines is Gold Pans. Gold panning is popular in the UK, in Scotland and Wales. Panning for Gold can be done by using Gold Pans in streams. You can find flakes of gold or if your lucky, nougats.

We have a wide range of gold pans, which are availble in plastic or steel and manufactuered by the Estwing, USA. We offer sizes of 12", 14" or the full size 16". We keep them all in stock and available next day.