Seven Sisters fossils and fossil collecting
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 There are two good access points, due to the large amount of chalk at Seven Sisters, there are a number of locations.
The Seven Sisters section can be accessed in two places. To the south east, you can park in the car park at Birling Gap and access the beach via stairs. To the north west, you can park at the Seven Sisters country park and walk about a mile through the park to the beach. Both start points are reached by the A259, with Birling Gap reqiuring a turn off from the road at East Dean, onto Gilbert's Drive, which then becomes Birling Gap Road.
GRID REF: 50.75947°N, 0.14871°E
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Supervised Children
Seven Sisters is suitable for families, but not recommended for small children. Please keep away from the base of the cliff at all times.
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Fair Access
It is a long walk down to the cliffs at Seven Sisters with many steps. This can make access to this location difficult for some.
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Cliffs and Foreshore
Fossils at Seven Sisters are mostly found simply lying on the foreshore, but they are also be found in the cliff face and scree slopes.
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No Restrictions
There are no restrictions at this location, but please follow our own code of conduct for all locations.
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Seven Sisters
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 |
Common sense when collecting at all locations should be taken and knowledge of tide times should always be noted. Two dangers are apparent along the Seven Sisters coastline, the first is the tidal conditions which need to be taken note of, and good time allowed to return. The other important note is the danger of falling debris and cliff falls from the high cliffs. Stay away from the foot of the cliff and if you are knocking fossils or hitting rocks, do so well away from the cliff as hammer vibrations can cause debris to fall. Hard hats should be worn. Be careful of slipping on seaweed on some of the rocks on the foreshore. |
| Last updated: |
2009 |
| last visited: |
2008 |
| Written by: |
Alister and Alison Cruickshanks |
 
Other Locations similar to Seven Sisters
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In Sussex and Kent, there are many excellent locations for collecting chalk fossils. Newhaven, Seaford, Eastbourne, Seven Sisters, Peacehaven and Beachy Head, Dumpton, Kingsgate, Samphire Hoe, Pegwell Bay, Dover and St Margarets Bay.
You can also find middle chalk at Hookend Cliff, and Pinhay Bay in Devon, and at Hunstanton in Norfolk.
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Erosion rates along this coastline are so extensive that there are regular fresh cliff falls. Fossils are mostly found on the scree slopes, cliff falls and from the boulders on the foreshore. Sometimes fossils can be found loose just waiting to be picked up.
Chalk wave cut platform
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Cretaceous, 85mya |
At Seven Sisters, the chalk is of Santonian age. It is the Margate Chalk Member. This member is Marl-free smooth white chalk with little flint and is weakly developed with iron-stained sponge beds....[more]
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Coprolite containing fish remains...[more]
The most common fossils at Seven Sisters are echinoid's. There are many different species. They are in four main groups. Micrasters, which are the heart shaped variety, Conulus which are the small round type, Echinocorys which are the large oval type and regular echinoid's which are similar to modern day regular sea urchins. There are two main types of Micraster here, Micraster coranguinum and Micraster cortestudinarium. Other species such as Micraster turonensis can also be found. This location is also rich in bivalves and brachiopods. Sponges can also be found here. You never know what you may find since this site is rich in fossils.
Flint Micraster...[more]
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Related Books |
Microscopes |
Test Sieves for Microfossils |
 Fossils of the Chalk
A fantastic book covering the chalk of the UK. This book covers most of the fossils that can be found in the chalk. It is a fully illustrated guide. This is the second edition of this popular book and is available from our own UK Fosils/UKGE Store.
All of our books have FREE UK Delivery, We have hundreds of geological books for sale.
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At Seven Sisters, you can find Microfossils from the chalk. They are much easier to collect because they are so small that you only need a small amount of chalk sample. You then need to break it down in water and view using a microscope to view these.
Chalk is actually composed of fossil shells, so you only need a small amount of sample on your microscope.
We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, you will need a Stereo microscope for viewing microfossils.
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Test Sieves are used when searching for microfossils. We recommend that you use a test sieve with water at different levels. Test sieves for chalk fossils should be 300 microns, and 500 microns.
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 fully certificated to EU Standards. |
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