Best Places to See Dinosaur Fossils in the UK

Dinosaurs are iconic prehistoric animals. Visit attractions across the UK to meet them and bring their stories to life!

Fossil hunters can locate fossils anywhere, but coastal sites with soft cliffs such as Chilton Chine on the Isle of Wight offer ideal hunting grounds. Look out for graptolites, which were planktonic filter feeders that drifted through the ocean leaving traces behind as they moved. While at home you are stopped by possibilities and can only see options like the Animatronic T-Rex Dinosaur, at the following locations you can actually see real fossils.

Walton-on-the-Naze

Fossil hunters will find Walton-on-the-Naze an invaluable treasure trove for finding fossilized shark teeth, pebbles, pyritized twigs and bivalve shells; even bird bones have been discovered along its coast. As it continues to erode away over time, more evidence from its past is emerging and will likely remain. As Walton-on-the-Naze's coastline erodes further back, more ancient artifacts may surface from beneath its waters such as fossilised shark's teeth fossilised shark teeth have also been found here as fossilised shark's teeth fossilised shark's teeth fossilised shark's teeth fossilised as pebbles pyritised twigs bivalve shells and even bird bones!

The Nazeman Education Trust offers a free "ID and bag it" service; bring any finds with you and they'll identify if they come from London Clay or Red Crag geological formations, date it, and give its name. Please keep children away from cliff edges to comply with safety guidelines.

Yorkshire's Fossil Coast and Isle of Wight provide more relaxed dinosaur hunting experiences, where you can follow in the footsteps of dinosaurs at Compton Bay and Yaverland beaches, or join one of the experts on a guided fossil walk around these places. Additionally, at Drusillas in East Sussex you can even enter its jaws to catch a glimpse of life-sized Tyrannosaurus rex that might appear.

Abereiddy Bay

Abereiddy Bay's sandy and pebble beach is abundant with fossils, particularly graptolites (which resemble miniature hacksaw blades or tuning forks). No special tools are necessary; however a hammer may come in handy. In addition, you can collect fossils from the cliff top quarry but be mindful that it has now been closed due to health and safety considerations.

The Isle of Wight is a haven for dinosaur enthusiasts, offering numerous footprints and bones along its beaches - particularly those along its western coastline around Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay, while on its eastern shore head to Compton Bay or Yaverland for your best chances.

Scotland is also home to an abundance of dinosaur sites, such as Staffin's An Corran beach in Skye where visitors can follow footprints left 165 million years ago by an ornithopod dinosaur like Mantellisaurus or Brighstoneus.

At the Horniman Museum's Brick Dinos exhibition, journey back through time and uncover prehistoric creatures. This family-friendly show recreates some of the largest beasts ever to walk the earth using Lego bricks.

Herne Bay

Herne Bay was part of a shallow tropical sea during the late Palaeocene and early Eocene periods, bordered by lush forests. At low tide, exposed cliffs revealed fossilized remains such as pyritised branches, seeds, and even insects carried along tidal currents.

Compton Beach has long been a mecca for fossil hunters and several dinosaur footprints have been documented there. They were made by herbivorous ornithopods and sauropods searching for sustenance in the form of mud and silt that eventually hardened into rock over time.

Searching for fossils doesn't need to be difficult, provided you do your research in advance and bring along appropriate equipment. A geological toolkit, sturdy shoes and waterproof clothing should all be brought along; for optimal results use steel points instead of hammers/chisels!

Lyme Regis and Charmouth

Lyme Regis is another fantastic place to find dinosaur fossils. The town's cliffs and beach have been slowly eroding since 2010 - this means more fossils are exposed every year for public view. Parking can be found near Naze Tower (an 18th-century lighthouse), while fossil hunters should head north along the beach and keep an eye out for shark teeth, pyritised twigs, and bivalve shells as you search the shoreline. Tidal information can be found by clicking here

Rocks here date back to the Jurassic period. Look out for massive ammonite fossils amongst the pebbles on East Beach (though at high tide it isn't possible to walk there).

The beach is also an excellent place to find fossils of Iguanodons, herbivorous herbivores that roamed Britain around 132 million years ago and had nostril openings high up on their skulls instead of at the end of their snouts like other terrestrial vertebrates.