Finding fossil hunting locations near you

The quickest way to answer this question is to open the UK map, select your region and see what is actually documented there. Fossil sites are geologically determined — they cluster on particular coasts — so the honest answer for some parts of Britain is that the nearest good site is a few hours away.

The north Kent coast at Herne Bay and the Isle of Sheppey, and the Naze at Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex, are all reachable in well under two hours and all produce shark teeth and London Clay material. They are the best day trips available from the capital.

The Yorkshire coast is the obvious destination: Whitby, Runswick Bay, Robin Hood's Bay, Staithes and Saltburn are all within an hour of each other and all productive. From the north-west, the Carboniferous limestone of the Pennines and Morecambe Bay offers corals and brachiopods closer to home.

Dorset and East Devon hold the Jurassic Coast; Somerset's Kilve and Watchet are quieter alternatives; and the Glamorgan Heritage Coast is the equivalent for south Wales. From the Midlands, all of these are a long day or a weekend.

The near-me page can use your browser's location, with your permission, to sort every documented site by distance. If you would rather not share it, search for your town or pick a region instead — the same results are available either way.