Next 48 hours
Next days
The 7-day forecast, hourly plan and an alert for this place are in pre-sale.
See the pre-saleWhere to look
Park at the National Trust car park at Hanover Point and take the steps down to the beach. At low tide, check the shingle, sandstone blocks and freshly exposed clay. Rolled bone fragments are dark and look porous in cross-section.
What you can find
dinosaur bone fragments, fish teeth, plant remains, dinosaur footprints (view only)
Best wind: SW, W, S
Rules and safety
The site is an SSSI owned by the National Trust. The dinosaur footprints are protected: photograph them but remove nothing. Do not hammer the bedrock; collect loose finds only. The cliffs fall often and without warning and the sea reaches their foot, so come on a falling tide.
About the cliff
Compton Bay and the nearby headland of Hanover Point lie on the south-west coast of the Isle of Wight. The cliffs of Cretaceous Wessex Formation clays and sandstones retreat fast. It is one of the best places in Europe for dinosaur remains.
Do not miss the next window
The best windows last a few hours: after a storm, after rain, on a clear night with an active Sun. Sign up and we will email you when the index at your spots goes above 60.