Fossiliam: Dr Liam Herringshaw
Fossil-hunting fun near Cromer I had a lovely couple of days in North Norfolk last month, enjoying the Deep History Coast in the excellent company of six visitors from the US. At West Runton, everyone wanted a mammoth. Or a rhino tooth. Or some hyaena poo. I wouldn’t have said no to any of these, but the creatures I craved...
The 2026 schedule for Fossils-UK’s Yorkshire fossil-hunting tours has gone live, and I’m up first, leading a trip to Runswick Bay on Sunday February 8th from 12-2pm. But why on Earth might anyone want to go fossil-finding there, with me, in the depths of winter? Let me explain… Why February? OK, there’s always a chance the trip will get called...
Everyone knows that I live my life for shopping. Why would I go out on the wild, wet and cold Yorkshire Coast when I could be knee-deep in fossil-fuelled fast fashion made by children in Chinese sweatshops? But seriously, rather than buying overpriced, environmentally unfriendly plastic tat with a huge carbon footprint this Christmas, how about supporting British small businesses...
Much like Taylor Swift, Yorkshire Coast fossil trips should be all about the ERAS*: Enjoyable, Responsible, Accessible, and Safe. Accessibility is probably the biggest challenge, though. If you’re a wheelchair user, for example, where can you safely go fossiling? Many of Yorkshire’s most fossiliferous beaches are surrounded by steep cliffs. Places like Saltwick Bay and Port Mulgrave do not have...
I was invited by Faith Douglas and Dr Sarah Owen Hughes to talk all things fossiliferous on their Human Gardener stage at the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show. This was at Newby Hall & Gardens, and having never been there before, I felt palaeontologically obliged to see if I could find any interesting rocks and fossils around the site. I could!...
Last year, I wrote a blogpost about stegosaurs in Whitby, after I found a lovely block of fallen sandstone containing Deltapodus (stegosaur) footprints in it. Last week, The Rock Showman gave me a shout and said “I’ve found another Deltapodus, in Saltwick Bay, and I’ve left it by the path for all to enjoy!” As I was leading a Natural...
