Trifter

THE Yorkshire Coastline is rich in dinosaur fossil remains.   These fall into two distinct groups.

Remains that are found around Redcar and Staithes are the older section, dating from the time when the land was a shallow, tropical sea, which was the habitat of ammonites, incthyosaurs and plesiosaur.

The southern section, which reaches down almost to Famborough was a tract of swampy forest where the fossilised footprints of brontosaurus and diplodocus are frequently found.

This spectacular coastline, more than 40 miles of cliffs, sandy bays and countryside is now owned by the National trust on behalf of Everyone.  It provides sanctuary for many types of wildlife from orchids to nesting birds and also protects many vulnerable habitats.

There is an abundance of history in the area, especially the industry sites of alum workings near Ravenscar and the jet workings at Whitby.

However it is the Jurassic Period when the large lizards trampled through the mud of the great estuaries that attracts the most visitors.

There are two visitor centre along this shoreline.  One is at the Old Coastguard Station in Robin Hood’s Bay.  Tourists can let the fossils take them back to the time when dinosaurs ruled the earth and examine plaster casts that have been taken of their footprints.  The hidden depths of the sea can be explored through the marine aquarium where people can observe the local sea life at close quarters, before travelling over to look at the rock pools left on the beach by low tide.  An interactive exhibition allows visitors to discover the story of the cliffs that surround the bay, learn about the power of the weather and marvel at the force of the tides.

The Coastal Centre at Ravenscar reveals the one time industrial past of this quiet unspoilt village which was the centre of Britain’s first chemical industrial complex.  It shows how alum was extracted from the ore to be used as a dye fixative and in some unusual remedies. The centre reveals the big plans which the Victorians had for Ravenscar and how they all went wrong.                         

The foreshore has always been a magnet for fossil hunters and both individuals and groups began to get concerned over the amount that were being collected and the damage that was being done while the fossils are being removed.

An alliance between museums, councils and the North Yorkshire National Park Commission in 2000 enabled all these interested bodies to attract enough funding to create the post of Dinosaur Coast Project Officer.  They chose Alistair Bowden from the neighbouring county of Lancashire to take the new position.  He had obtained an honours degree in geology at Durham University before becoming a geology curator at the Museum of Lancashire and then a field geologist for the British Geological Survey

Concerned that enthusiast amateurs are stripping the area of its remains he appealed to visitors to show more restraint so that these relics from between 140 and 210 million years ago can be preserved.

“We have always had people who go out looking for fossils along the Yorkshire Coast and we want to encourage that interest.” he said.  “It is a limited natural resource and although it is a long coast line stretching from Saltburn to Filey, only one a two places are accessible which means that they take a real hammering

“People, including school parties go out looking for fossils with their hammers and remove them without sufficient care and end up ruining them in the process.  If everyone goes out hammering there will be nothing left for anybody else”.

He admits that it was a school fossil hunting trip to Whitby that originally fired his abiding interest in the Dinosaur Era,

Alistair believes that has the public discover more about the Dinosaur Coast, so they must also consider the impact of unrestrained fossil hunter and the damage that it can cause to irreplaceable relics of the world’s past

Events organised by the National Trust range from rambles, through rock pool safaris to trips down local mines.  There are all grades of walks from easy strolls to the ranger’s Rock On trek.  Family learning days and local history talks are held.  An open day and fruits of the forest festival introduces visitors to the edible fruits and plants that can be found behind the beaches.  Crafty bats are craft afternoons based on a bat theme, followed by an evening bat workshop.                        

More information is available from 01723 870423 and there is a website for this coastline on