Bracklesham Bay Fossil Hunting

At the beginning of the school summer holidays, we were given a fantastic opportunity to spend two weeks near Chichester, in East Wittering. We are a family of beach lovers, and although there are some lovely beaches along the East coast, there’s one beach in particular that remains a firm favourite of ours: Bracklesham Bay. Bracklesham Bay is just 2 miles down the road from East Wittering Beach and hides some fascinating secrets on its shore: Bracklesham Bay fossils!

From where we were staying in East Wittering, we had the option to explore many of the popular beaches, including East Wittering Beach, West Wittering, Selsey, Bognor, and Bracklesham Bay. We’ve been to Bracklesham Bay as a family for years now, and we love how calm the sea is, how quiet the beach is, and of course, the coffee and chips at Billy’s On The Beach.

This time, our visit was a little more special as we finally had enough time to visit Bracklesham Bay to go fossil hunting! To find the best Bracklesham Bay fossils, including fossilised shark teeth, there are a few things to keep in mind. If you want to find out more about our Bracklesham Bay fossil-hunting adventure and learn a few tips and tricks to make your fossil searches easier, keep reading!

A sea urchin imprint found at the top of the shingle shoreline at Bracklesham Bay — A sea urchin imprint we found at the top of the shingle shoreline at Bracklesham Bay

How To Find Bracklesham Bay

The first thing you’re probably thinking is where is Bracklesham Bay? This area is a quiet, little-known beach that lies between East Wittering and Selsey. If you are wondering where to park in Bracklesham Bay, your best bet is to head for the pay-and-display car park that is found along East Bracklesham Drive. Here you will find ample parking, even on hot and sunny days, some public toilets and Billy’s On The Beach cafe.

Fossil hunting at Bracklesham Bay is only one of the fun activities you can do here. This spot is a popular beach for water sports enthusiasts and beginners alike, and you’ll often see plenty of stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, and even windsurfers. It’s also a lovely place to swim, providing you keep an eye out for submerged groynes if swimming at high tide.

We love Bracklesham Bay as it’s a family-friendly beach that’s great for swimming and has toilets and a cafe, which is usually enough to keep everyone happy and entertained for a few hours.

The view of Bracklesham Bay at low tide - perfect for fossil hunting — The view of Bracklesham Bay at low tide – perfect for fossil hunting

Before searching for Bracklesham Bay fossils, it’s worth noting that this is a shingle beach at high tide. Fossils at Bracklesham Bay can be found at low tide, which occurs every 12 hours. I recommend checking the tide times before planning your visit, as it’s predominantly a shingle beach which gradually becomes sandier towards the water’s edge.

When the tide is out, you’ll find a large area of wet sand interspersed by wooden groynes. This area is fabulous for the kids to play on and some great sandcastles have been built here on our visits!

Why Go Fossil Collecting At Bracklesham Bay?

Collecting and observing fossils is easy at Bracklesham Bay. The beach is accessible via a slip and the car park is directly on the beachfront. For beginner fossil hunters like us, we found it to be an exciting adventure as you’re almost guaranteed to find something that is around 46 million years old!

What Types Of Fossils Can Be Found At Bracklesham Bay?

The sea erodes and exposes fossil bearing clay which formed during the Eocene epoch – around 46 million years ago. Each day, as the tide goes out, a variety of fossils can be easily found by simply walking along the beach. Keep your eyes peeled, and you may find:

Bivalve shells
Gastropod shells
Shark teeth
Fish vertebrae
Ray teeth
Corals
And many other marine fossils

As you can see, there are a variety of Bracklesham Bay fossils to find, you just have to know what you’re looking for! So without further ado, let me share with you our tips for finding fossils at Bracklesham Bay.

Note: I am by no means an expert or even an enthusiast, so these tips for Bracklesham Bay fossil hunting simply come from our own experience as a family!

A fossilised ray plate (ray teeth) found at low tide in the sand at Bracklesham Bay

Tips For Fossil Hunting At Bracklesham Bay

It’s possible to find all sorts of fossils lying in the sand or sitting at the divide between the shingle and the sand at Bracklesham Bay. Here are our tips for fossil hunting at Bracklesham Bay.

Low Tide

To find fossils at Bracklesham Bay, you need to start your search at low tide. Before visiting, be sure to check the tide times to ensure that you have the best chance of finding fossils. I use the Tides Charts website to check the tide times each time we visit.

Where To Search

From the car park at Bracklesham Bay, fossils can be found in either direction when facing the beach. We found most luck walking towards Selsey (walking left from the car park when looking at the sea).

Finding Fossils At Bracklesham Bay

When walking this way, we found (probably) hundreds of fossilised bivalve shells and gastropod shells. These can be found sitting on the sand having been uncovered by the scouring tides. It’s almost impossible to walk along the beach without finding fossils, which makes it a great place to take children and get them involved in all the excitement.

Two fossilised shark teeth and a ray plate found at Bracklesham Bay

Finding Shark Teeth Fossils, Bracklesham Bay

We found finding shark teeth to be a little harder than finding shells, although I have been assured by others that they’re literally everywhere and we were probably just not looking well enough!

Fossilised shark teeth, ray plates, fish vertebrae and other fossilised bones appear to be a very dark black colour. This makes it a little harder to find them, as there are also plenty of black shark teeth-shaped pebbles on the beach!

With that being said, if you find the right place to look and have some eagle-eyed children, walking along the edge of the shingle where it meets the sand is a great place to look. Here you can find shark teeth and ray plates, as well as other fossilised bones.

It took us a few days of looking, but I did eventually find two shark teeth, which I am very proud of!

Our collection of cool shells and fossils found at Bracklesham Bay

Fossil Hunting Tools

For the most part, all you will need to find Bracklesham Bay fossils is a keen pair of eyes and a willingness to spend some time hunting along the shoreline. However, if you want to make it a little easier, it may be worth purchasing a cheap kitchen sieve. These can be used to scoop up the shingle and take it down to the sea to wash away the sand. This makes it easier to see and eliminates the need for digging around in the sand. You may also wish to take a bag or bucket to keep your finds safe whilst you continue looking for fossils at Bracklesham Bay.

A sieve used for fossil hunting at Bracklesham Bay with a crab in it — Not quite a sieve, so it wasn’t ideal for fossils, but we did accidentally catch a crab!

More Information About Fossils In Bracklesham Bay

For more information on Bracklesham Bay fossils, I recommend heading over to the Discovering Fossils website and reading up on the geology of the area, as well as further tips on equipment to use and how to protect your fossils once you’ve found them. We used this site a lot to ensure that we were looking in the right places and to understand the geology of the area. It’s full of really useful information, so I do think it’s worth a quick read before you head to the beach.

Looking After Your Bracklesham Bay Fossils

Most fossils Bracklesham Bay goers find are unlikely to need much special care. Fossilised shark teeth, for example, are tough and are unlikely to need anything more than a gentle rinse to remove sand and salt. If you do have some particularly delicate fossils, we found that a diluted PVA solution does a good job of providing an extra layer of protection.