ACTIVITIES - FOSSIL HUNTING AT SPURN POINT
FOSSIL HUNTING - SPURN POINT We’ve just been to Spurn Point and really enjoyed ourselves. It’s about a year since we last went and I had read about the new Spurn Discovery Centre and was keen to go and have a look. Well, we were not disappointed. The Discovery Centre was opened at the end of March 2018 and contains a very nice cafe – you can sit inside and outside and it is dog friendly. The food I saw being served looked very tasty and we had a slice of chocolate cake and lemon a poppy seed cake both of which were delicious, in fact the chocolate cake was one of the nicest we have had in a long time. There was also an information / discovery room in the centre which had a range of things in it including a whole selection of fossils, shark eggcases, information booklets, identification guides and some colouring opportunities for children. Spurn Point is a nature reserve and you cannot take dogs down to the point. However, from the car park you can walk the other way (away from the point) with dogs either on the beach or on the top of the bank. The beach at Spurn is a particularly fossil-rich beach. There are coral fossils, chrinoid fossils, devil’s toenails and ammonites if you are lucky. We found some really nice pieces and also 6 shark egg cases (small spotted catshark) which The Child was particularly excited about. We found these walking up the beach (away from the point) from the car park. The weather when we got there was about 5 degrees colder than when we left home and we couldn’t see much as it was very misty – a sea fret I think is the technical term –I know it made my hair particularly frizzy but it was fun to experience it. The cup of tea and cake was certainly welcome after our walk and The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust who run the centre were also offering children the chance to plant a sunflower seed which The Child enjoyed doing. They also do ‘Spurn Safaris’ where you can go on a unimog (car jeep type thing) down to the lighthouse where you also get a guided tour of the point. We had missed the one on the day we went but I think we will definitely give this a go for another time! Useful Information It is £5 to park in the car park (proceeds go to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust). Entrance to the centre and the reserve is free. The Discovery Centre and cafe is dog friendly. The centre is open daily from 9am – 5pm. Links www.ywt.org.uk/visit/visitor-centres/spurn-national-nature-reserve/spurn-discovery-centre Fossil Hammer: amzn.to/2Dfiaad Fossil Chisel: amzn.to/2DiuDtE |
