Red Wharf Bay fossils and fossil collecting
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 Parking can be found half way up the west side of the bay. From the car park access the beach and walk north, checking the pebbles and rock ledges for fossils.
Free access – there is free parking next to the shore and no restrictions on the beach itself. Beyond the houses at its northern end, the land behind the beach is private.
In general this is a safe location. However, if you venture past the houses at the northern end of the beach, make sure you do so on a retreating tide.
GRID REF: 53.30569°N, 4.20778°W
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Low
It takes quite a bit of hunting to find coral specimens in pebbles. A few large examples may be seen in rock ledges, along with numerous worn brachiopods.
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Suitable for Children
There are no particular dangers at this location. The only place where being cut off by the tide may pose a threat is beyond the houses at the northern end of the beach, under the cliff. |
Beach, Ledges and Pebbles
Fossils are most commonly seen in the limestone ledges that run across the beach, but can also be found loose in pebbles. |
No Restrictions
Free access – there is free parking next to the shore and no restrictions on the beach itself. Beyond the houses at its northern end, the land behind the beach is private. |
In general this is a safe location. However, if you venture past the houses at the northern end of the beach, make sure you do so on a retreating tide, otherwise you may get cut off. The low cliffs here should also be avoided. |
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
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Last updated:
last visited:
Written by: |
05/06/08
2008
Joe Shimmin
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Other Locations similar to Red Wharf Bay
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Red Wharf Bay is an excellent location for corals, other similar locations for Carboniferous Corals are;Parkhouse Hill, Castleton, Portishead, Weston-Super-Mare in Avon. In Derbyshire, you can find corals from Monsal Dale
in the Shropshire District. Along the South West Coast, you can also collect Devonian Corals from Torquay along Hopes Nose and Daddy Hole. In Scotland, you can also find corals at St Monans. From Wales, Carboniferous Corals can be found at Lydstep Headland, West Angle Bay, Caim, Halkyn, Great Ormes Head, Red Wharf Bay, Prestatyn, Llangollen, and Manorbier Bay.
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Geological Tools
A number of bags and newspaper in which to wrap your finds is all that is needed at this location.
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As the tide retreats check over the wet pebbles and rock ledges for fossils. It can be very hard to make these out if the rock is dry. In places on the rock ledges worn brachiopods can be found. Corals are also present, but infrequent. With enough searching a few fossils in pebbles should be found.
Limestone ledges
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Carboniferous, 330mya |
The Carboniferous Limestone Series at Red Wharf Bay is of Visean age. It is part of the Clwyd Limestone Group, This is around 330 million years old. This is a diverse range of limestone facies with subordinate sandstone and mudstone units, and exhibiting local dolomitisation. Records the initiation and growth of a carbonate platform along the northern flank of the Wales-Brabant Massif.... [more]
How life in the oceans would have looked at Red Wharf Bay 350mya
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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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Our International Rock
and Fossil Magazine |
 
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