The Jurassic Coast at Lyme Regis

Various shots of the Jurassic Cliffs and coastline at Lyme Regis, Dorset. The cliffs feature rock formations, fossils and other geologic features formed 145 to 200 million years ago – the Jurassic period. The cliffs are open to the public for most of the year, when it is safe to visit them. They are in a constantly crumbling state, with pieces of broken rock littering the beaches. You can actually look for fossils in the rocks if you have the time and patience – but do not expect to find the skull of a T-Rex or anything like that. We spent 2 hours scouring the beach and rocks and found a third of a spiral shellfish fossil embedded into some stone. This was a lot more than most people around us found – I can imagine many children going home disappointed after dreaming of finding loads of amazing prehistoric objects. Fossil hunting is a strong tourist attraction however, and many shops in the area make a tidy sum selling equipment for the archaeological dinosaur hunter tourists, items such as little hammers and brushes. There are also numerous found fossils from the cliffs for sale, a possible way for parents to avoid disappointed children returning empty-handed form the beach.