A quaint and largely unknown seaside town is home to fantastical historical treasures unlike anywhere else in the United Kingdom — and winter is the best time to find the glories
A pretty UK seaside town has been named as the best place to go fossil hunting, but hardly any Brits know the location exists.
Despite not being known by 70 per cent of the population, Walton-on-the-Naze, located in Essex, is a quaint seaside resort with sandy beaches, narrow streets and a family-friendly atmosphere. The town is known for its rich fossil finds, as well as stunning coastal scenery.
Dating back millions of years, Walton-on-the-Naze is home to the Red Crag formation, which has produced an abundance of Paleogene fossils, including a megalodon shark tooth, discovered in 2023. Research by South Western Railway found the sight to have a perfect fossil find frequency score of five out of five, offering a great location for keen fossil hunters.
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Winter offers the ideal time to scour the beaches, as the winter tides reveal more of the prehistoric creatures in the rocks. The northern edge of the town has a stretch of rapidly eroding cliffs, which is known as The Naze. Here, fossiliferous clays and sands expose evidence of prehistoric life from around 54 million years ago, and fossils occur commonly throughout the cliff formations.
To get to the beach where The Naze can be found, there is a cliff-top car park next to the 18th Century Georgian lighthouse, The Naze Tower. From the car park, visitors can head down a series of concrete steps which takes you to the beach. Due to the rapidly eroding cliffs, much of the coastline has a constant supply of loose material on the beach. This loose material is often where you will find fossils such as shark teeth and pyritised twigs.
To make sure there is enough beach to wonder and fossils to find, you need to coordinate your visit with a falling or low-tide. In addition to shark teeth and pyritised twigs, bones from various ocean life and other pyritised object have been found on the beach.
Located just above the beach in the car park, is the site of the 86 foot octagonal Naze Tower. Currently used as a gallery spread across six floors, the tower was built in 1720 and is grade II* listed. A spiral staircase containing 111 steps runs up the middle of the tower, and for those who climb it but need a refreshment afterwards, there is a tea room serving various food and drink.
The town, which is home to around 6,000 people, has many other places to explore including The Naze Nature Discovery Centre, where visitors can explore a fossil sculpture fossil trail. Alternatively, adults might enjoy the East Coast Distillery Tour, which offers free tours on Saturdays or simply, a coastal walk to talking in panoramic views.
