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Introduction to Hamstead

Fossils and Fossil Collecting in Hamstead
Isle of Wight Geological Guide and Geology Info

The Early Oligocene beds at Hamstead are highly fossiliferious in mammal, crocodile, turtle, crustaceans and fish remains. Molluscs, Plants and Seeds can also be found simply lying
on the foreshore.

Hamstead - Isle of Wight
Last updated: [02/11/06]  last visited 2006
Oligocene
Written by Alister and Alison Cruickshanks
Fossils & Fossil Collecting in Hastings
(Hamstead Cliffs and Foreshore) - 2005

Location Information

This location has been classified as 'High' the beds here are highly fossiliferious and rich in many fossils. The fossils are also very good quality and of superb preservation. This is a fantastic location to visit and the best on the island.

(Not Suitable for Children)

Hamstead is ideal for families, but access may be difficult down to the shore. It can also be a fair walk, so it is not recommended for children.

 

All 3 access points from Hamstead and also from Yarmouth and Bouldnor Cliff are difficult. Hamstead is the easiest but has the longest walk. You have to also make your way down the landslip by footpath which can be slippery after rain and steep in places.

Foreshore

All of the fossils are found on the Foreshore, you just simply pick them up!

ACCESS
RIGHTS
There are 'NO' restrictions to this location

Please follow our national fossil collecting code

A UK Fossils & Discovering Fossils initiative (c) 2006

! IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTES !

Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken and knowledge of tide times should always be noted.

The tidal conditions for this location are dangerous. Sometimes double tides affect this coast. You MUST return before the tide turns and MUST check out tide times before you visit. It is very easy to become cut off.


Other Similar Locations to Hamstead

If you enjoy this location (collecting from the Oligocene), you could try nearby Yarmouth, at the opposite side of Hamstead which has the same geology and same finds.

For collecting from the Bembridge Limestone, try Bembridge, Whitecliff Bay, Yarmouth and Hamstead.

The London Clay of the Eocene age is also similar, there are plenty of locations in the South East, the most popular being the Isle of Sheppey. Other areas such as Levington, Nacton, Ramsholt, Bognor Regis, or Bawdsey, in Suffolk or Maylandsea, Walton-on-Naze or Burnham on Crouch in Essex are also very good.

Stone Tumblers (Lapidary)


Stone Tumblers are used for tumbling and polishing rough rock, stones and pebbles including those found on the beach and glass.

Whilst collecting fossils, on those days where you come back empty handed, you could collect rocks, stones and glass from the beach and tumble then at home.

These are all high quality machines to give a professional finish to your samples. The tumblers can be used with a variety of grits, most commonly Silicon Carbide Grit and Cerium Oxide. We have a wide range of rough rocks for sale too.

Microfossils are much easier to collect because they are so small that the vast majority of collections only concentrate on large finds. These small finds can simply be found by taking small samples of sands, crags, clays and soft rocks and examining them under a microscope.

We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, both for the study of fossils, but also educational and professional for use in the laboratory. We have Stereo microscopes, Compound Microscopes, Polarising Microscopes and Monocular Microscopes.


We have thousands of Test Sieves for Particle Analysis.

Endecotts Sieves: For accurate dependable results you can't buy a better test sieve than Endecotts. At every stage of manufacture each test sieve is individually inspected.

High Precision Tecan manufactures precision apertures as small as 3 microns for a wide array of applications such as filtering, sieving and nozzles. Its high-performance, ASTM/ISO compliant test sieves satisfy the most demanding fine particle grading requirements.




Images, Graphics & Content - (C)opyright 1998-2005 Alister Cruickshanks.
UK Fossils Management - Alister Cruickshanks & Roy Bullard
UK Fossils Curator - Ian Cruickshanks
UK Fossils is a division of CWA Design and run in conjunction with UKGE. Whilst we try to ensure that all content is accurate and up to date we cannot guarantee this. UK Fossils takes no responsibility in the accuracy of this content, nor takes any liabilities for any trips, events or exchanges between visitors using either the discussion board or the UK Fossils planner. Any posted trips and events by UK Fossils are personal and not arranged by UK Fossils, therefore visitors should seek their own personal insurance cover. Please remember to always check the tide times.
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