Having recently visited West Wittering beach in Sussex, which even in Winter looks utterly stunning, we headed to Blacklesham Bay on the hunt for fossils. There are 8 miles of continuous beach from East Head (owned by the National Trust) to Selsey. Blacklesham Bay is a popular spot for surfers, due to the strong winds, and families alike.
It was bitterly cold the day we arrived, the strong wind adding to the chill factor, but gloriously sunny. The car park was almost full with surfers and stand up paddle surfers coming from the sea with their boards or getting their wetsuits on preparing to cut up some waves. There were hoards of surfers in the water, many more than we expected to see. It’s a glorious spot, you can imagine Blacklesham Bay being very popular in the warmer months with people traveling from far and wide.
It gets its name from the Bracklesham Beds which are a mixture of clays and marls than run through to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It’s said that the beach is a well-known fossil bed with fossils dating back to the Eocene era. While we were hopeful of finding a few, we were there to blow away a few cobwebs and enjoy the sea breeze too. Dressed in multiple layers, the POD Father set about looking for treasure while POD attempted to skim stones – which mainly involved hurling them into the sea!
Our quest to find fossils was successful in that we found a collection of beautiful fossilised shells. No sharks teeth but wouldn’t that have been amazing! There are some absolute gems to discover though and POD had a whale of a time running to and from the waves. You can’t beat a trip to the beach for that feel good factor even if it’s cut short as it’s just above freezing.
I’m dying to get to the beach at the moment. Gorgeous photos as always x