Fossils and Scottish Fossil Collecting in St Monans
Midland Valley and Grampian Geological Guide

Although much of the beach at St Monans is largely unfossiliferous, when the right spot is found in situ fossils are abundant. These should be observed rather than collected however.

(Suitable for children)

The beach at St Monans is easily accessible and with supervision should not prove too demanding for children. There is a coastal path just above the beach which can be used to circumnavigate any more difficult areas.

There is plenty of free parking at St Monans beside the beach and a coastal path just above it for those who do not want to clamber over rocks. Areas of geological and palaeontological interest are easy to reach but must be accessed on a retreating tide.

Foreshore

Although a few fossils can be collected loose here, the majority at St Monans will be observed within layers of sandstone and limestone protruding from the beach.

! IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTES !

Other Similar Locations

Portishead is an excellent location for corals, other similar locations for Carboniferous Corals are Portishead, Parkhouse Hill, Weston-Super-Mare in Avon. Mortimer Forest, Shadwell Quarry, Upper Millichope , Llanymynech Quarry, and Wenlock Quarry, Wenlock Edge in the Shropshire District and Castleton in the Derbyshire district.. Along the South West Coast, you can also collect Devonian Corals from Torquay along Hopes Nose and Daddy Hole. In South West Wales, you can also find Silurian Corals from Marloes Sands.

For Corals from Younger period, the Coralline Crag at Ramsholt makes ideal collecting.

If you like looking for trace fossils, there are lots of locations all over the UK from various time periods. Abereiddy, Barns Ness, Blackgang, Causey Pike, Crail, Elgol, Fishguard, Freshwater East, Newhay, St Monans, Stair Stream, Presipe.

Microscopes

Microfossils are much easier to collect because they are so small that the vast majority of collections only concentrate on large finds. These small finds can simply be found by taking small samples of sands, crags, clays and soft rocks and examining them under a microscope.

We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, both for the study of fossils, but also educational and professional for use in the laboratory. We have Stereo microscopes, Compound Microscopes, Polarising Microscopes and Monocular Microscopes.