A trip to Speeton Sands

We spend the morning at Speeton Sands. There has been a gap in the weather and it's very pleasant, long sunny spells, with just a light breeze. It is almost low tide, and as we climb down the cliff onto the beach, we watch Gannets and Sandwich Terns diving for fish not far from the shore. Squadrons of Guillemots and Razorbills move to and from Bempton Cliffs. From the hillside a Chiffchaff sings.
 We search for fossils on the clay at the base of the cliffs, and for a long while we find nothing. Then we reach an area of slate grey clay and find a cluster of belemnites, some of them the smallest I've seen. Later we find another good patch and a large fragment of an ammonite.
 We walk until the base of the chalk cliffs and then turn round. A young seal is on the edge of the rising tide, trying not to get splashed by the waves, oblivious to us. It looks healthy, so we leave it alone.
 By the caravan park, we watch a pair of wagtails courting, the female not too welcoming to the male's courtship dance.

The descent to the beach, with Filey Brigg in the distance.

Gannet diving

Sandwich Tern

View of Bempton Cliffs

The first fragment of belemnite we found.

Pied Wagtail

Shag

Kidney Vetch, Anthyllis vulneraria.

A group of Greater black-backed gulls

 A couple of shots of the young grey seal

Male Pied Wagtail displaying to the female.

A pair of swallows collected blades of grass for their nest lining.

A selection of the belemnites found showing the range of sizes.

Spring at Speeton Sands

North of the chalk cliffs of the Flamborough headland lays Filey Bay, an arc of golden sands backed by clay cliffs. Reighton and Speeton sands make the southern end of this bay. At low tide the beach is very wide and the views impressive, with the backdrop of the cliffs on one side and Filey bay in the distance. Other than the usual beach entertainment, there are other things to explore: the eroding cliffs are covered on scrub and wildflowers, and the clay they are made of is the only site in the U.K. with a marine lower Cretaceous exposure. Walking along the bottom of the cliffs it is relatively easy to collect fossil Belemnites, Ammonites and bivalve shells. There is no need of equipment as the clay is quite soft. Occasionally the tides uncover fresh clay under the sand, and then it is a good opportunity for good finds. Every visit will be different because of the speed of erosion.
 A walk on the hillside illustrates how quickly plants and animals colonise the mudlides. Little primroses, coltsfoot and violets were growing on clay that evidently had settled not long ago.
 Today we spot the first swallows of the year flying south and the first Chiffchaffs and Willow warblers sing from the blackthorn and gorse.

The view from the car park near the Reighton Sands holiday park

Colts Foot

Flowering gorse

Primroses 

Violets

A belemnite stuck to the clay

A view towards Bempton cliffs

Tiger Beetle, Cicindela campestris, fighting with an ant

These wellington boots left behind stuck to the mud serve as a warning to visitors. There are frequent mudslides and flows and the mud can be caked outside, but soft and sticky inside.

View of the fossil-bearing Cretaceous clay

Sites
UK fossils. Informative site with site and fossil photos and indications of how to access the area.

Location map
Access through the village of Speeton is not recommended due to recent mudslides. Go to Reighton Sands Holiday Village from Reighton leaving the entrance to your right. There is a car park and a relatively safe way down to the beach.


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