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YOUR experiences, reports and comments of Port Mulgrave |
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(Scroll to bottom to post your own Reports or Comments)
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Fossils in Abundance |
Name: Fiona Jennings
Title: Fossils in Abundance
Date: Several times throughout 2007
Report:
We visited Port Mulgrave too many times to mention each date here, and not once did we come away without any fossils at all. My husband Ray and I went several times in the winter, spring, summer and fall months, each time collecting many many ammonites, bivalves, devils toenails and Belemnites to name but a few. I've been asked several times where I find all my goodies and so I thought I would give you a run down of the best areas at Port Mulgrave to search in my opinion and the quantity your likely to find them in.
Starting from the very bottom of climb down, turn left and walk around the North bay, you come to a section where the cliff is quite steep on your left. In front of you, you will see the shale bed stretching over towards the sandstone blocks that are by the point (before Staithes). Along this stretch of the bay and in the shale beds you will see many Belemnite deathbed sections. Clusters of belemnites scattered under a thinish layer of shale. While I do not advise you to dig these out, you can sometimes see clusters exposed and these are much easier to collect.
(Just thought I would mention this, but on one of our many visits last year, I found a dinosaur 3 toed foot cast, I couldn't carry it off the beach because it was too heavy. Though I managed to turn it over and hide it, it wasn't there the next time I went. We have look high and low for it ever since! YOU may be the lucky one to find it again.
Also along here you will often see nodules that contain ammonites. Once you reach the sandstone area you can find 'horsetail stem'sections. Some can be up to 7" in length and about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
Heading back to the South bay and decending down the yello steps, walk towards the first point of the bay that jutts outwards. Just infront of this section you can find Hilda's and some I have found to be in extremely good condition. We take a long handled small headed shovel, search between the loose black shale here and you can find better species and many don't need prepping.
Move on towards the next point jutting out, You need to search through the black shale on the other side of this point to which you are heading. Here again you can sometimes find some lovely Hilda's and we've often found many ammonites here, again you sometimes have to sift the shale around to find the nicer ones.
The next area to look at is the area by the scree slope, be careful here as though falls are small they are regular, don't go too close to the cliff face. I'd say search all around the area infront of the cliff but well away from it and in between the standing rock/shale formations in this area. Try the rock pools near here too as we have found some beautiful pyritic ammonites here! In this area you may find many multi ammonite nodules too.
If you have time, take a walk over the seaweed too, move this with your feet from side to side, as here you can find many pyritic ammonites in the shale bed underneath it. Be careful not to slip, moving the seaweed will be helpful here lol!
This is how we find our fossils from Port Mulgrave and we've has some beautiful ones over the months. Right across the whole beach area you can find other fossils that I named in the introduction.
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