Walk with us: Fossil Hunting at Kilve Beach
Posted by In this post our Campaign Manager Gemma, shares an easy family walk to a beach perfect for fossil hunting in Somerset. on 28th Mar 2022
WALK WITH US
The Little Trekkers team are spread across the country, from Northumberland and Cumbria to the Peak District and Devon, along with some of our blogger friends we will be sharing some of our favourite family friendly UK walking routes with you in our Walk with Us series.
In this post our Campaign Manager Gemma, shares an easy family walk to a beach perfect for fossil hunting in Somerset.
KILVE BEACH, SOMERSET
Route: Kilve Beach, from East Quantoxhead
Length: Approx 2 miles
Difficulty: Easy/Flat, walk is across fields and along coastal path, this walk is not pushchair friendly, but is not too demanding on little legs.
Time taken: Approx. 25 mins each way
Facilities: There are no toilet facilities on this route.
Through fields and along a flat stretch of the England Coast Path, this is an easy walk in South West Somerset, 30 minutes west of Bridgwater, through Quantox Hills countryside to an incredible and unique beach, full of fossils for your little trekkers to discover.
Parking
We decided to walk to Kilve Beach via this route after reading horror stories online of parking fines in the main Kilve Beach car park, choosing instead to park in nearby East Quantoxhead and make it more of an adventure. Parking is in a field in front of the village church and there’s an honesty box with a suggested donation of £1.50, as well as some snacks and drinks available for a donation. The village is very picturesque and a lovely starting and end point, but the parking is limited.
Route
- Leave the Car Park, cross the road and walk to the end of the village pond where you’ll find a lane, head down the lane, continuing until you come across a fork in the path.
- Follow the Left hand path, which will lead you out in between two fields. Follow this path until you reach East Quantoxhead Beach.
- You will now join the South West coast path, following this right will lead you along the cliff edge ( the path is very wide, with plenty of room to pass and much of the coastline is fenced but caution is advised with younger ones) Follow the coast path for half a mile.
- After a slight slope, you’ll come to a gate at the top of the Kilve Beach picnic area. A lovely large grassy area perfect for a pre or post fossil hunt picnic. From here you can access Kilve Beach and start hunting.
- Once you have finished your fossil hunt and filled your bellies, retrace your steps back along the coast path to the car park. Alternatively to make it a loop, you could walk up the road from the beach to St Marys Church and take the path by the Tea Gardens, which would join you back at the fork in the path, before continuing back to the pond and car park.
The beach at Kilve is made of large loose rocks and slate beds so sturdy footwear is recommended, flip flops will not be your friend here if visiting in Summer. My eldest wore his Teva Sandals which were perfect, comfortable with enough support but still rock pool friendly. You’ll find some fossils here loose if you look hard, but most are exposed in the surface of the slate beach.
The area is protected as a site of scientific interest, and removing fossils from the rockface is prohibited, but your Little Trekkers will love seeing how many they can spot and seeing who can find the biggest. The rockpools are also great for spotting crabs, mussels and other rockpool creatures.
ST AUDRIES BAY
We also visited St Audries Bay, which is just along the coast a little ways. There is an incredible waterfall here, as well as the same slate beach perfect for rockpooling.
Parking here is in the Beach Car park at St Audries Bay Holiday Park, and the beach is accessed by a short walk down the beach path and some fairly steep steps. There is a toilet in the car park and a small shop.
Both beaches are well worth exploring whether you are holidaying in the area or local to Somerset & North Devon.
Our Coastal Walking Essentials
Discover team Little Trekkers favourite products to keep them comfortable while exploring in our Walking & Hiking Shop.
You can learn more about the fossils you may find at Kilve Beach HERE