Isle of Wight · Isle of Wight
Fossil hunting at Compton Bay
The Isle of Wight's best-known dinosaur coast, with footprint casts on the foreshore at low tide.
Representative photography of this stretch of coast, not a photograph of the site on a particular day.
What can you find?
- Dinosaur fossilsBone fragments and footprint casts, chiefly from the Isle of Wight's Wealden beds.Identify →
- Fossilised woodDriftwood and tree remains replaced by minerals, sometimes as jet or lignite.Identify →
- Plant fossilsLeaf, frond and stem impressions, mostly in Carboniferous shales.Identify →
- BivalvesFossil shellfish with two matching valves, common on most marine sites.Identify →
About the site
Compton Bay exposes Early Cretaceous Wealden beds along the island's south-west coast. Dinosaur footprint casts are visible in the ledges at low tide, and bone fragments, fossil wood and plant material turn up in the loose material on the beach.
This is the place most people mean when they talk about fossil hunting on the Isle of Wight. The footprints should be photographed and left; collecting is confined to loose foreshore material.
The island has an active museum service and local fossil experts. Anything that looks like substantial bone should be reported rather than taken home.
Planning a visit
- Geological period
- Early Cretaceous (Wealden Group), around 130–125 million years old
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Suitable for children
- Yes, with supervision and attention to the tide and cliffs.
- Best time to go
- A low spring tide, especially in winter after storms have scoured the sand off the ledges.
- Tides
- The footprint casts are only exposed at low tide and are covered again quickly. Time the visit around low water.
- Access
- Steep steps from the cliff-top car park down to the beach. Not wheelchair or pushchair accessible.
- Parking
- National Trust car park at Compton Bay on the Military Road.
- Walking and terrain
- About 200 m including a steep stairway.
- Location type
- Beach, Cliff
- Collecting
- Do not attempt to remove footprints or dig into the cliffs. Report significant bone finds to Dinosaur Isle museum in Sandown.
Safety
- The cliffs are soft and collapse frequently — stay well clear.
- Ledges are slippery.
- Strong currents; this is an exposed coast.
What to bring
- Boots
- Tide table
- Camera for the footprints
- Bag for loose finds