Church Ope Cove fossils and fossil collecting
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 Follow signs to the Isle of Portland from Weymouth and once you are on the island, you will drive through Fortuneswell, follow the road from here to Easton, take the Eastern Road towards the museum and continue down the eastern side of the Island.
There is car park just before Perryfield Quarry, with a footpath on the opposite side of the road taking you to Church Ope Cove.
Parking is FREE on the Island of Portland (with the exception on the privately owned car park at Portland Bill). Follow the path to the church, and from here the path continues down some steps on the northern side of the church yard, this will take you all the way down to the beach, from here walk to the South.
GRID REF: 50.53731°N, 2.42884°W
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Low
Fossils at Church Ope Cove are not common and those that can be found are poorly preserved.
The ammonites have mostly been taken, although fragments can be seen in the cliff face around the Southern end of the bay.
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Not for Children
Church Ope Cove is not suitable for children to fossil hunt, as the rocks are too big for children to climb over. There is no easy access around the two headlands. |
Poor Access
Accessibility at Church Ope Cove is poor at Church Ope Cove, since you have to climb over some very large rocks which is not easy. |
Cliffs, Rocks
Fossils are mostly found in the rocks fallen at the base of the cliff. At Church Ope Cove, you will have to climb over these.
There are plenty of fossils that can be seen in the blocks, and these are best photographed so that others can enjoy seeing them in the rocks. |
No Restrictions
There are no restrictions on the Isle of Portland, but sensible collecting is important for all locations. Please follow our Code of Conduct found under our safety notes section below.
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. Although the bay itself is quite safe, the two headlands are very rocky, you will have to climb over the rocks which can be quite dangerious, so please take extra care. |
Church Ope Cove
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
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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: |
09/03/08
2008
Alister and Alison Cruickshanks
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| Most of the fossils at Church Ope Cove 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 Church Ope Cove, is the Purbeck Beds, 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, an example is the photo below which shows a block full of poorly preserved shells from this bed....[more]
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Other Locations similar to Church Ope Cove
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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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