Fossils / Hauts-de-France
Fossils: Cap Blanc-Nez (Escalles)
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The 7-day forecast, hourly plan and an alert for this place are in pre-sale.
See the pre-saleWhere to look
Go down to the beach at Escalles by the Cran d'Escalles and, at low tide, walk north-east below the headland. Check loose lumps of clay and chalk at the water line after a north-westerly storm. Across the strait, Folkestone has the same Gault Clay.
What you can find
Gault ammonites, belemnites, inoceramid bivalves, sea urchins in chalk
Best wind: NW, N, W
Rules and safety
The cliff between Cran d'Escalles and Sangatte is covered by a bird habitat protection order (APPB) that bans climbing, among other things, from January to August, but does not list collecting. Take only loose finds and do not dig into the cliff. The tides are large here and the cliff falls, so come back before the tide turns.
About the cliff
Cap Blanc-Nez is a chalk headland above the Strait of Dover, part of the Grand Site des Deux-Caps. At its foot the Lower Cretaceous Gault Clay is exposed. Small ammonites and belemnites turn up in that clay.
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