A time traveller on a beach holiday in Dorset during the Jurassic period, which ended some 150 million years ago, might have spent their time by the shallow Jurassic seas watching sea crocodiles and the occasional plesiosaurs. Dogs on the beach trying to eat your sandwiches would be nothing compared to the dinosaurs which stalked the marshy shores looking for tasty tourists!

Until the 19th century the existence of the Jurassic period was unknown. This all changed in 1810 when Mary Anning, at the age of 11 years, stumbled on the remains of the first ichthyosaurus known to man, which she eventually sold to the British Museum for £23 pounds. This all happened in Charmouth, Dorset which is to this day a good source of fossils. Fossil Hunting Walks operate from the Jurassic Coast Charmouth Heritage Centre. Lyme Regis is also a good centre for fossils and has a number of excellent shops which sell them.

Towards the end of the Jurassic period there was a period of warm clear water in which coral flourished, followed by an invasion of muddy water, kicked up at the dinosaur bath house at Bournemouth. This led to the formation of the Kimmeridge clay and bitumous shales. Kimmeridge Clay is an excellent source of fossils and still has large numbers of ammonites embedded in the rocks. A giant marine reptile called Pliosaraus grandis, with teeth 33 centimetres long was discovered there, so watch where you sit down to eat your lunch!

After lunch, you can attempt to get some shade in the fossil forest at Lulworth Cove.

During the time the Portland Stone was laid down there was a worldwide fall in sea level, which allowed Cycadia and Pine trees to grow on the exposed the rock. Later the land flooded and the trees died and rotted, and were preserved by layers of calcareous sediment from the freshwater algae. The bowl shapes seen in the fossil forest result from the interior of the tree rotting away. The fossil forest is located within the Army Firing Range and is only accessible at weekends, or during the Easter Holidays and the month of August.

See the Discovering Fossils web site:-

Discovering Fossils