Fossil Hunting at Southerndown

When I was a kid one of my all time favourite pastimes was fossil hunting. Back then my ambition was to be a paleontologist (something I wish I had stuck to), and I was thrilled whenever I had the chance to go looking for goodies. In this area one of the best beaches for fossils is Southerndown.

It's a striking beach, with massive boulders and looming striated cliffs. Those cliffs are prone to crumbling, which means it's dangerous to look for fossils directly beneath them, even though that it where the best examples are likely to be. This beach is particularly rich with fossilised gryphaea, a type of mollusk often called Devil's Toenails. 

I wasn't lucky enough to find any fully complete ones on this occasion, but I found plenty that were almost complete and good enough to stash away in my pocket to take home - they'll be proudly displayed along the edge of my flower bed. 

After the beach I went for a mosey along the footpaths, past an adorable thatched cottage half hidden amongst the trees. A footpath sign pointed over a stile, and after wading through ferns I emerged up on a hill with lovely views of the beach, including the small gate house. 

A walk along the road leads to the ruins of Dunraven Castle, but I didn't head that way on this occasion. I did have a look through the small brook running alongside the path, and was thrilled to find hundreds of tadpoles! A dearth of them and now two sightings on two different outings, very happy!