West Angle Bay Fossils and Fossil Collecting
Your SW Wales Geological Guide and Geology Info

West Angle Bay is eroded out of Carboniferous Limestone Series rocks which are packed with crinoid fossils. It is an excellent location to take children to – there is a nice sandy beach, a café and public conveniences.

Fossils are extremely abundant here. Most of the exposed rock strata on the north side of the bay are extremely fossiliferous – with crinoid fossils exposed over the majority their surfaces. On the south side of the bay there are many blocks of shale and limestone that also contain crinoid pieces in association with other types of fossils.

(Suitable for Children)

An excellent location to visit with children. The beach is popular with holiday makers and there are numerous on site facilities such as a café and toilets.

There is a free car park with plenty of room for many cars just behind the beach. The beach itself is accessed from the car park and the fossil hunting areas are no more than 200m away.

  Rock outcrops, cliffs, boulders

Fossils are found on the surfaces of large rock outcrops on the north side of the bay and can be observed in situ in the cliffs of the south side. Cobbles and boulders below the cliffs here also contain fossils.

SSSI

The location is an SSSI. Only loose pebbles and cobbles may be collected. Please do not damage or deface any in situ rocks or larger boulders. There is free access to the beach.

Other Locations similar to West Angle Bay

You can also collect carboniferous Corals from; Portishead and Weston-Super-Mare in Avon, or along the South West Coast, you can also collect Devonian Corals from Torquay along Hopes Nose and Daddy Hole and Castleton, Parkhouse Hill,in the Derbyshire district. From South Wales, Carboniferous Corals can be found at Lydstep Headland, West Angle Bay, and Manorbier Bay