Berwick-Upon-Tweed fossils and fossil collecting

Parking can be found at the end of Pier Road on the north bank of the Tweed, where the river meets the sea. From here, access the beach and walk north.
Fossils can be found along the beach, up to the caravan park.
If, by the time you reach this point, you are fed up of walking over big rocks, you can return along the path on top of the cliff. Keep an eye out for the interesting geological feature on the foreshore which can be seen from the area by the coastguard station. This was formed by ancient volcanicity in the region.

GRID REF: 55.76637°N, 1.99259°W

Crinoids, corals, plant remains, trace fossils

Many pretty coral fossils can be seen in the rocks on the beach north of where the River Tweed meets the sea. Smaller coral pebbles can be collected, while larger examples in boulders can be observed.

Medium

Many of the rocks and rock layers at this location contain fossils, however, these are mostly unspectacular fragments of crinoids and shells dispersed throughout the rock. Good quality rounded coral fossil pebbles can be found with a little looking.

Older children

The beach is easily accessible but in places is very rocky. Younger children may find the going tough here.

Good Access

Fossils can be found within a few hundred metres of the car parking area. However, to properly investigate this location a walk of around a kilometre and then back, over boulders in places, is required.

Pebbles and Boulders

Fossil corals can be seen within limestone boulders and collected as smaller cobbles and pebbles on the beach.

No Restrictions

There are no restrictions at this location, but please follow our own code of conduct for all locations.

Berwick
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

Between Berwick and the large caravan park north of the town, there are cliffs with no access points off the beach. As such, it is important to investigate this stretch of coastline on a retreating tide. Always tell someone where you have gone when fossil hunting, and what time you expect to return. Be careful when walking across areas of larger rocks, they can be slippery and sprained ankles may result.

Last updated:	2010
last visited:	2009
Written by:	Alister and Alison Cruickshanks

A good eye is mostly all you need, but a pick will prove very useful for the shale. Wear hiking boots as this is a foreshore location.


Fossils here are mainly preserved in dark grey coloured limestone. Corals are the most common and most interesting finds, but crinoid pieces can also be collected. The occasional plant remain, such as Stigmaria roots, and bark imprints, may be found in large sandstone blocks. To find coral fossils look out for light coloured, regular markings on a darker coloured rock background. These will be especially visible when the rock is damp. Fossils can be found across the width and length of the beach. Boulders, cobbles and cliffs

	Carboniferous, 330mya
At Berwick, the marine Carboniferous deposits are of Visean age, this is part of the Holkerian stage, Borders Group. The Border Group comprises interbedded sandstones, siltstones and limestones, with conglomerate and ferroan dolostone ("cementstone")...[more]


Coral in Limestone ...[more]

Other Locations similar to Berwick-Upon-Tweed

In Northumberland, there are a number of good Carboniferous sites. These are Beadnell, Berwick, Howich and Scremerston.

Stone Tumblers

Field Loupes

Gold Pans

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.

Field loupes are an essential part of your field equipment for any fossil hunting trips. We sell a wide range of Field Loupes, including our own brand name and the Ruper range. Field Lenses will enable you to view small fossils in detail.

At Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Field Lenses can be used to look at the detailed coral structure. A hand lense is a very handy piece of equipment to carry around with you!

For our full range, see our website.

We sell a very wide range of equipment at UKGE, and one of our popular lines is Gold Pans. Gold panning is popular in the UK, in Scotland and Wales. Panning for Gold can be done by using Gold Pans in streams. You can find flakes of gold or if your lucky, nougats.

We have a wide range of gold pans, which are availble in plastic or steel and manufactuered by the Estwing, USA. We offer sizes of 12", 14" or the full size 16". We keep them all in stock and available next day.