Monmouth Beach is to the West of Lyme Regis and is a great place to go fossil hunting.

Fossils can come from almost anywhere along the Jurassic Coast, but they are mostly quite hard to find and in some places fossil collecting is not allowed without permission. For any beginner, the beaches between Charmouth and Lyme Regis are the best and safest place to try fossil hunting.

The Fossil Collecting Code requires collectors not to dig in situ within the cliffs without permission and to record specimens of key scientific importance here at the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre. If collectors want to sell important fossils, then they must first offer them to an accredited museum in the UK.

The best place for fossils is just south of Robin Hood’s Bay at Port Mulgrave where you can find ammonites as well as dinosaur and reptile fossils. These can be found on the foreshore and the scree slopes on the cliffs. The walk down to the beach is steep and the best time to visit is when the tide is going out.

The coast and the cliffs around Charmouth and Lyme Regis are famous for their fossils across the world. The Charmouth and Lyme Regis fossils can be found washed out of the cliffs loose on the beach in the gravel and shingle. The best place to look for fossils is in the loose material on the Beach and NOT in the cliffs.

Lyme Regis is famous for its geology, fossils and its unparalleled role in the birth of the earth sciences. The local blue lias clay found to the east and west contains the remarkable fossil remains of sea creatures from the Jurassic seas of 180 million years ago.

Legally, all fossils found belong to the relevant landowner, but they have agreed to adopt the code, which means fossils can be legally collected in good faith.

Fossil-hunting and the law Pay attention to any restrictions. At certain sites, such as those that are important for wildlife, there will be clear signage telling you that fossil-collecting is not allowed. In the UK, it is generally fine for amateur hunters to pick up any fossils that they find on the seashore.

Be aware that it is never legal to take minerals or fossils from national parks or heritage sites, without express permission to do so. And you should never collect specimens from scientifically important sites, such as ASSIs – Areas of Special Scientific Interest – in the UK.

The Isle of Wight is now known as dinosaur island to those in the know, so is a great place to explore if you’ve always wanted to stumble across a dinosaur bone. Along the coast from Compton Bay to Brighstone is the best place to start, with Iguanodon dinosaur bones regularly being found.

On Monmouth beach to the west of the cobb visitors can see a layer of limestone called the ammonite graveyard or the ammonite pavement. The fossils below can also all been seen in the limestone pavements on either side of Lyme Regis, but especially to the West of the town on Monmouth beach.

Mostly, however, heavy and lightly colored objects are rocks, like flint. Paleontologists also examine the surfaces of potential fossils. If they are smooth and do not have any real texture, they are probably rocks. Even if it is shaped like a bone, if it does not have the right texture then it is probably a rock.

PROFESSIONAL fossil hunter Brandon Lennon got a monster surprise when he stumbled across a giant ammonite on the beach at Lyme Regis. The perfect specimen – a rare Arietites bucklandi – is one of the largest ever found along the Jurassic Coast.

My name is Brandon Lennon ,I am a professional fossil collector from Lyme Regis,Dorset.I have taught in schools in Cambridge,London and the Dorset area as a STEM AMBASSADOR.I provide schools with practical lessons and talks on the science of geology.As well as selling fossils I also have taken fossil walks out along the Jurassic coast for 30 years.

I started preparing and selling fossils in the early 1980`s.This was at our shop we used to own called Lennon`s.It was set up by my parents.I now sell to Museums and other shops around the u.k from our lapidary workshop.

Fossil enthusiasts have been heading for Lyme Regis and Charmouth in large numbers over recent days to take advantage of the extreme tides. They were alerted to the chance of some monster finds being exposed by the respected national website Everything Dinosaur.