Siyaya: Ammonites on the Jurassic Coast

Ammonites on the Jurassic Coast

One of the most exciting moments of our visit to Dorset was when we picked up our first Ammonites. I could not really understand why Kevin was breaking off pieces of what looked like mud, bits of shale really, on the coast at the Moonfleet Hotel. It has to be said we had experienced so much that was new and not really part of our everyday reality that we could be excused for not being immediately clued up. He showed us fossil remains right there and then.

We had seen strange rock used like bricks or stone in walls of houses and public places, but had never realised that these might not be artificial. Can you imagine such wealth? One is allowed to pick up and keep these fossils which explains why lots of people flock to places like Lyme Regis, nicknamed the "Pearl of Dorset".

Soon after spending time on the Fleet, Madeleine and Kevin decided we would take the bus to Lyme Regis.

Here I am on the bus. This trip was also quite an experience as the bus had to go through some narrow streets fringed by foliage as well. It was a double decker so some branches did get broken off.

We took a photo of the pretty post office to remind ourselves that we had really been there.

Lyme Regis has many fossil shops and museums. In one of these we were reminded of the contribution of Mary Anning who made important finds in the Jurassic marine fossil beds at Lyme Regis. She found a variety of dinosaur skeletons.

Having browsed in one of the fossil shops we went to the beach.

Can you imagine how thrilling it was to see that even the lampposts are shaped like ammonites?

We walked along the beach front admiring the old houses. The pink house has its plumbing on the outside from a time when indoor plumbing was such a novelty you had to brag about it!

This was by far the most impressive house we saw. Notice it has ammonites on the outside wall.

We happily explored the coast still not expecting that we would soon be fossil hunting.

We passed these beach huts. Notice the cliff behind them. Cliff falls occur regularly - one needs to be careful - but what those falls yield are ever more fossils! Here there are rock formations spanning 185 million years. The coast here is therefore part of a World Heritage site.

We started scouring the beach for our very own fossils. There were large groups of tourists that were clearly part of guided tours doing the same.

Some of the fossils are clearly visible but are part of big rocks and not so easily carried away. They contribute much to the sense of treasure just lying there waiting to be picked up.