Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunting Guide
8 Best Fossil Hunting Sites on the Yorkshire Coast
The Yorkshire coast runs for 45 miles from Saltburn in the north to Flamborough Head in the south, and almost all of it sits on Jurassic and Cretaceous bedrock exposed by wave erosion. Whitby is the most famous starting point, but the quieter bays to north and south often produce better results with less competition. Collecting from loose beach material is free and legal at most foreshore sites.
8 fossil sites
Geology of the Yorkshire coast
The Yorkshire coast exposes a nearly continuous section through the Lower and Middle Jurassic from Boulby in the north to Cayton Bay in the south. The key unit for most collectors is the Whitby Mudstone Formation — a dark, organic-rich shale deposited in an anoxic seabed environment around 180 million years ago during the Toarcian stage. The low-oxygen conditions that preserved so much organic carbon also prevented scavenging, which is why complete ammonite specimens weather out with both phragmocone and body chamber intact.
North of Whitby, the Cleveland Ironstone Formation — slightly older and iron-rich — produces a different ammonite fauna and excellent plant fossils. South of Whitby, younger Callovian and Oxfordian sediments of the Corallian Group crop out at Cayton Bay, bringing a new set of taxa. The Speeton Cliffs add a rare Lower Cretaceous exposure — the only one on this coast — before the Jurassic resumes at Filey Brigg.
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Whitby Yorkshire Fossil Hunting Guide
United Kingdom
Free collectingAmmonitesBelemnitesDinosaur FootprintsWhitby's alum shale foreshore is the most famous fossil hunting beach in northern England. The Lower Jurassic cliffs produce ammonites — particularly Dactylioceras and Hildoceras — alongside belemnites, bivalves, and fragments of ichthyosaur bone. The beach below the East Cliff steps is the most accessible starting point; experienced collectors also work the boulderfield south of the pier.
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Saltwick Bay Fossil Hunting Guide
United Kingdom
Free collectingAmmonitesBelemnitesDinosaur footprintsSaltwick Bay, 2 kilometres southeast of Whitby, is the serious collector's alternative to the town beach. The cliffs here expose slightly different horizons within the Whitby Mudstone Formation, and jet — the fossilised wood that drove Whitby's Victorian jewellery industry — erodes out with the ammonites. Access is steep but short; time your visit around mid to low tide.
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Boggle Hole Fossil Hunting Guide
near Whitby
Viewing onlyTrace fossilsAmmonitesBivalvesBoggle Hole at Robin Hood's Bay sits within one of the most visited stretches of the Yorkshire coast. The rock platform at low tide exposes beautifully preserved ammonites weathering out of the shale in their original orientation. The whole bay from Ravenscar south to the village is productive; the northern end offers quieter collecting away from the beach café crowds.
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Runswick Bay Yorkshire Fossil Hunting Guide
United Kingdom
Viewing onlyAmmonitesJetBivalvesRunswick Bay is a sheltered north-facing bay where softer shale erodes quickly after storms, exposing fresh ammonite surfaces. The site is less visited than Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay, making it a reliable choice when those beaches are crowded. Jet fragments are also found here, and occasional plant fossils appear in the darker, more carbonaceous shale bands.
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Staithes Yorkshire Guide Fossil Hunting Guide
United Kingdom
Free collectingAmmonitesBivalves and brachiopodsTrace fossilsStaithes is a working fishing village whose foreshore exposes Cleveland Ironstone Formation — slightly older than the Whitby beds — producing different ammonite genera alongside plant fossils, bivalves, and the occasional shark tooth. The site is tidal and requires care; the boulderfield to the north of the harbour is the most productive zone.
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Cayton Bay Yorkshire Fossil Hunting Guide
United Kingdom
Pay to digAmmonitesBivalvesGastropodsCayton Bay south of Scarborough exposes Callovian and Oxfordian strata — younger than most Yorkshire coast sites — producing a different fauna including oysters, belemnites, and occasional ammonites from the Corallian Group. The site is less picked over than Whitby; landslip and cliff instability require that visitors stay on the foreshore and avoid the cliff base.
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Reighton Sands Yorkshire Fossil Hunting Guide
near Reighton
Pay to digErratic bouldersKimmeridge ClayAmmonitesReighton Sands is known primarily for its glacial erratic boulders — large blocks of Carboniferous and Jurassic rock carried south by the Devensian ice sheet and dropped on the beach. Splitting the erratics reveals corals, crinoids, brachiopods, and bivalves from multiple geological periods in a single session. The adjacent Speeton Cliffs section offers true in-situ Cretaceous collecting.
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Speeton Cliffs Yorkshire Fossil Hunting Guide
United Kingdom
Pay to digAmmonitesBelemnitesThe Speeton ShrimpSpeeton Cliffs south of Filey are the only place on the Yorkshire coast where Lower Cretaceous sediments are exposed. The red and grey Speeton Clay produces ammonites from the Hauterivian and Barremian stages, including large Simbirskites and Aconeceras specimens not found elsewhere on the coast. Landslip is constant and serious — stay well clear of the cliff face and never enter caves or overhangs.
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Frequently asked questions
- What fossils can you find on the Yorkshire coast?
- The Yorkshire coast between Whitby and Flamborough Head is best known for Jurassic ammonites, belemnites, bivalves, and plant fossils from the Lower and Middle Jurassic Whitby Mudstone and Cleveland Ironstone formations. Jet — a fossilised wood — erodes from the same shale horizons at Whitby, Saltwick Bay, and Runswick Bay. Ichthyosaur and plesiosaur fragments are occasionally found but are uncommon. Reighton Sands glacial erratics add Carboniferous and other Jurassic taxa to the possible finds.
- Is fossil collecting legal on the Yorkshire coast?
- Surface collection of loose fossils from the foreshore below the mean high-tide mark is generally legal in England and Wales under the terms of the Crown Estate's foreshore rights. Several Yorkshire coast sites are designated SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest), where the SSSI designation protects the bedrock and in-situ fossils — you may collect from loose material on the beach but cannot hammer the cliff face or rock platform. Always check the Natural England SSSI notifications for specific sites.
- When is the best time to fossil hunt on the Yorkshire coast?
- Winter and early spring (December through March) are the most productive months. Winter storms expose fresh rock surfaces, and reduced tourist numbers mean popular beaches like Whitby are quiet. Low spring tides expose the rock platforms at Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay, and Runswick Bay. Always check the tide tables — several sites are inaccessible at high tide and potentially dangerous if the tide turns while you are on the rock platform.