Earlier this year the Natural History Museum named the Isle of Wight as dinosaur capital of Britain. With the Bank Holiday weekend looming, and fond memories of previous trips to the island, we decided to see whether we could discover some dinosaur bones ourselves.
A browse through Trip Advisor suggested the Fossil Hunting trips run by Dinosaur Expeditions. My inner child was immediately captivated by the name, and putting aside all thoughts of Jurassic Park I booked us onto an afternoon ‘hunt’.
Tennyson Trail
We caught an early morning ferry to the Isle of Wight so had time spare to walk a stretch of the Tennyson Trail. It was a gentle uphill walk, along a broad trail over West High Down to The Needles. Newly arrived swifts swooped along the trail, and with the gorse bushes smelling of coconut (suntan lotion) it really felt like summer had arrived.
The walk ended at a viewpoint over the white cliffs out to The Needles. A coastguard helicopter was practising below us, adding a touch of excitement to the otherwise serene spot.
Dinosaur fossil hunting
Back in the car, we managed to fit in a quick picnic at Freshwater Bay before heading over to start our fossil hunt. Oliver, our guide, met us in the car park near Brook Chine on the south coast of the island. He started by explaining the types of fossil we might find, and handed round samples for us to familiarise ourselves with. The children listened attentively to the ground rules (no paddling, no cliff climbing and don’t throw stones) before we walked down to the beach to start our fossil hunt.
The group consisted of 6 families, and I’m pretty sure the adults were as excited as the kids, I know I was! We trawled our way through the stones on the beach, picking up anything that looked fossil like and taking it to Oliver for identification. We quickly became adept at identifying flints, sandstone, fossilised wood and sea sponges.
After a while, Oliver took us on a walk to see some dinosaur footprints. He also explained the geological history of the beach, and talked about the various strata in the cliffs behind us. The tide wasn’t quite low enough to visit the footprints, instead he pointed out dinosaur footprint casts. I’d have never realised these were the slimy green rocks we’d been clambering over earlier but it was obvious the minute he showed us!
The walk back along the beach provided more fossil spotting opportunities. My daughter was desperate to find a dinosaur bone, but sadly it was not to be. However, at the end of trip Oliver surprised the children with a small fragment of dinosaur bone each.
We rounded off our day with a cream tea at Chale Bay Farm. Our first of the year, it was a delight to laze in the sunshine, and feast on fruit scones, jam and cream.
Back home the kids had fun washing and sorting their finds. You might think this just looks like a selection of stones, but we know better!
Kids view:
The dinosaur fossil hunt was very good because the man knew the names of all the things we picked up.
More info:
- Take a bag or bucket to collect your fossil specimens in.
- There are no toilet facilities at Brook Chine, so ensure you pay a visit before arrival.
- The beach isn’t accessible for either wheelchairs or buggies.
On the way home