West Quarry fossils and fossil collecting

Head towards the National Stone centre, which is marked on maps and can be found between Matlock and Wirksworth.
Enter the National Stone Centre, follow all the way down until you get to the main car park. This has an honesty box for donations to use the park.
When you enter the car park, you will notice an old train. There is a footpath in this corner of the car park, that exits along the main path. Exit the car park, and a little to the right, you will see a track heading down the deep embankment. This path will take you round to the quarry (to the right).

GRID REF: SK 28460 55264

Crinoid stem pieces, corals
and brachiopods.

This is an excellent, large quarry owned by the National Stone Centre. It exposes the Eyam Limestone Formation which is full of excellent corals, crinoids, bivalves and brachiopods. Access is easy, by entering the National Stone Centre.

High

This quarry has a high rating as it is a clean, large quarry which is rich in fossils. Fossils can be easily collected from the loose rocks on the floor. Plenty of material to look through means you should easily make some finds.

Older Children

The main National Stone Centre and trail itself is quite child friendly, the quarries owned by the centre around the outside of the site are not for young children as they tend to be steep, and/or with overhanging and falling rocks.

Good Access

Access to all of the quarries within the national stone centre is excellent. The track down can be a little steep to the quarry for some.

Disused Quarry

This is a disused quarry, part of the National Stone Centre. Fossils from loose smaller rocks and scree can be collected from the quarry floor.

SSSI
No Hammering Bedrock

This quarry is owned by the National Stone Centre and has been left open for those to examine the geology of the site. Whilst you are free to collect from the loose rocks, you must not hammer the bedrock.

At West Quarry, the cliff faces are sheer, and constantly falling. Please keep well away from the cliff face. In addition, Lower West Quarry can also be found within the main West Quarry. This has a sudden, very deep drop from West Quarry to this lower level. Keep well away from the edge. Finally, always wear safety goggles at this site, the rock can splinter very easily when using hammers.

Last updated:	2011
last visited:	2011
Written by:	Alister Cruickshanks

Other similar locations

West Quarry is an excellent location for corals, other similar locations for Carboniferous Corals are;Parkhouse Hill, Castleton, Monsal Dale, Steeplehouse Quarry in Derbyshire.

Portishead, Weston-Super-Mare in Avon. In South West Wales, you can also find Silurian Corals from Freshwater East, Marloes Sands. Mortimer Forest, Shadwell Quarry, Upper Millichope , Llanymynech Quarry, and Wenlock Quarry, Wenlock Edge in the Shropshire District. Along the South West Coast, you can also collect Devonian Corals from Torquay along Hopes Nose and Daddy Hole. In Scotland, you can also find corals at St Monans.

From South Wales, Carboniferous Corals can be found at Lydstep Headland, West Angle Bay and Manorbier Bay.


Bags for any loose fossils and a small hammer could be taken for the smaller rocks, but should not be used on the bedrock.


This quarry contains plenty of rocks, full of crinoids/brachiopods and corals. These are in excellent condition and easy to find. The best place to look is in the rocks along the quarry floor. Please always be away of the deep and sudden vertical drop into the lower level of “Lower West Quarry”, this is not as productive as the upper West Quarry, so we suggest sticking to this level rather than trying to find safe access to the bottom. The carboniferous limestone is easy to split, especially since weathering has helped weaken the rocks. Although sometimes this weathering on rock surfaces, can make collecting more difficult. Eyam Limestone Formation

	Carboniferous, 330mya
The carboniferous limestone is of the Eyam Limestone Formation (Dinantian age). This is a thinly bedded, dark grey, cherty, bioclastic limestone with fossiliferous beds of brachiopods, corals and crinoids and a few dark mudstone intercalations....[more] How life in the oceans would have looked at West Quarry 350mya (C)opyright - Free Software Foundation (FSF)


The most common fossils are bivalves and brachiopods ....[more]

Stone Tumblers

Microscopes

East Midlands Guide

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.

Locations of Geologicl interest and for collecting rocks, minerals and fossils in the East Midlands Area. Includes the Geological History of the area. Areas covered are Charnwood Forest, The Peak District & The Vale of Belvoir. 130 pages. £15.95.
Buy from UKGE