Saltcoats fossils and fossil collecting |
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 At Saltcoats, head for Seaview road. This is generally a good starting point with free car parking. The road can be found from the main A738 running through the town centre.
Just near a sharp bend, and just South of the railway crossing, there is a road "Nineyard Street", take this road, take the next left which will take you to Seaview road
The best exposures are west of the car park, you will see plenty of shales to look through at seaview road, but they are much less productive. Walk west towards the pools.
GRID REF: 55.47424°N, 4.52001°W
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A small area at Saltcoats yields plant remains. Although much of the rich carboniferous beds have since been washed away by the sea, and fresh beds unable to be exposed due to the sea defense, you can still occasionally find plant remains in the foreshore shale. Most of the shale today is unproductive. |
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Low
Saltcoats was once a location highly rich in plant remains. It is now over collected and the beds are hard to to find. You should however, find some fresh water bivalves.
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Not for children
We do not recommend children to this site, it is dangerous and the rocks are very slippery. It is east to get cut off by the tide at this location.
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Fairly good access
The location can be easy to find with a very short walk, the problem is that the town is very busy. Be warned that out of season they lock most of the toilets.
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Foreshore
Fossils are found on the foreshore in the shales and silts. These can be hard to find, but are generally in thin bands, especially around the dykes. |
No Restrictions
There are no restrictions at this location, but please follow the Scottish Fossil Code below, and also our own UK Fossils Code of Conduct. |
If you collect fossils in Scotland, the advice on best practice in the collection and storage of fossil specimens, set out in the Scottish Fossil Code, applies to you. The Code may be viewed and downloaded from www.snh.org.uk/fossilcode.
 
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Saltcoats has several dangers, the first is how easy you can become cut off from the tide. There is limited number of steps down to the shore with a very high seawall, collect on a low tide and ensure you have plenty of time to get back up. The second danger is the rocks themselves which are very slippery. |
| Last updated: |
2009 |
| last visited: |
2008 |
| Written by: |
Alister and Alison Cruickshanks |
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Although fossil plants are today, less common, you should be able to find some nice fresh water fossils such as bivalves and roots of stigmaria. Calamites and Lepidoderidron fragments are also common. If you are lucky enough to find plant remains, they are mostly of Neuropteris, a seed fern.
There is a series of dykes that are exposed during low tide, and it is a good idea to check these. The best area of collecting is around the South Beach, although the shales are often covered in sand.
An example of Neuropteris which can be found at Saltcoats
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Carboniferous, 310mya |
The Carboniferous Coal Measures at Saltcoats have been long studied in great detail. Although today, the exposures are not so good, their is still almost the full succession. The coal measures vary from thin sandstones with coal seams, to silts and shale's and limestone's. The most prominent bed at Saltcoats is the 'Saltcoats Main Sill'. This is split into further beds, teschenite, picrite and banded teschenite. These beds can be found just south of the southern pool. Most of the fossils are found just north of this main sill.
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Geological Tools
A pick is very handy at this location, you will need plenty of paper to wrap your finds. |
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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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