Portland Bill fossils and fossil collecting |
 Portland Bill is the islands main attraction, so accessing it is very easy, simply follow the main road signposted to Portland Bill, or 'The Bill of Portland' as written on some maps.
There is car park at the bill, but as it is privately owned there is a car parking fee. Toilets are provided on site, and there is a museum and cafe along with an excellent pub.
From the car park, there are plenty of rocks around which contain fossil oysters and other shells, West of the lighthouse, a raised beach can be examined with local mesozoic rocks, as well as granite, bunter and quartzite pebbles.
GRID REF: 50.51458°N, 2.45826°W
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Very Low
Fossils at Portland Bill are not common and those that can be found are poorly preserved.
Most of the fossils are oysters and other mollusc's that can be found in the Portland Beds.
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Suitable for Children
Portland Bill is suitable for children, they can look at the rocks and toilets are provided on site. |
Disused Quarry, Rocks
Fossils are mostly found in the rocks lying around from the old disused quarry, and quarry waste.
Fossils are found mostly in the piles of rocks around the area. We suggest photographing rather than collecting, so that others can see them. |
Private - No Collecting
Portland Bill is privately owned, and collecting, hammering and taking samples is not permitted.
We do recommend leaving the fossils in the rocks for others to view and photograph. |
Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken and knowledge of tide times should always be noted. If exploring the foreshore at Portland Bill, extreme care should be taken as the sea often hits the cliffs. |
Portland Bill
Tide Times
UK Tidal data is owned by Crown Copyright, and therefore sadly we are not allowed to display tide times without paying expensive annual contracts. However we sell them via our store, including FREE POSTAGE
Click here to buy a tide table |
Accommodation
Seaview
Family run bed & breakfast, comfortable non-smoking accommodation with tea & coffee making facilities and networked & wireless broadband in all rooms. Open all year. Private parking.
151 Weston Street, Portland, DT52DG
Tel: 01305 821573
If you would like to advertise on this page, please 'contact us'.
£10/Year or 'FREE' for return links from accommodation website pages. |
Last updated:
last visited:
Written by: |
10/03/08
2008
Alister and Alison Cruickshanks
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| Most of the fossils at Portland Bill are found by in the hard Portland Stone. You will need a good quality hammer and chisel to get any fossils out. A Crack hammer is recommended at this location....[more] |
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At the top of the cliffs at Portland Bill, is the Purbeck Beds of, these are the Lulworth Formation.
Below this is the Jurassic, Portland Beds, Cherty Series. Rocks from the Basal Shell Bed can also be seen in blocks fallen from the cliff.....[more]
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Other Locations similar to Portland Bill
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Stone Tumblers |
Microscopes |
Test Sieves for Microfossils |
If you are interested in fossil collecting, then you may also be interested in a stone tumbler (Lapidary). You can polish stones and rocks from the beach which
will look fantastic polished using a stone tumbler.
You can polish rough rock and beach glass whilst collecting fossils, on those days where you come back empty handed.
These are all high quality machines to give a professional finish to your samples. They can even be used for amber and fossils. |
At most locations, you can find microfossils. You only need a small sample of the sand. You then need to wash it in water and sieve using a test sieve. Once the sand is processed, you can then view the contents using a microscope.
We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, you will need a Stereomicroscope for viewing microfossils. The best one we sell is the IMXZ, but a basic microscope will be fine. Once you have found microfossils, you will need to store these microfossils.
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Test Sieves are used when searching for microfossils. Microfossils can be found in many locations, and all you need is a small amount of sample such as clays, sands and shales, or if you have acid, limestone, oolite or chalk.
Our UKGE Store sells Endecotts Test Sieves, which are the highest in accuracy and extremely durable and long lasting. These Test Sieves are fantastic for microfossils. Endecotts Test Sieves come in a variety of sizes, frame material and types, they are certificated to EU Standards. |
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