Forthcoming title: Fossil Collecting in England and Wales

We are pleased to announce the following new title, which is currently in preparation for publication in early to mid 2017: Fossil Collecting in England and Wales - A guide to the collection, preservation and display of fossils, with 50 locations fully described by Craig Chapman and Steve Snowball, both of the UKAFH (UK Amateur Fossil Hunters).

This is a guide on how, where and what to find, when collecting fossils in the UK. It looks at the best locations across England and Wales, where collectors are likely to obtain productive results, whether on an organized field event or on a family day out. All locations within this comprehensive guide are based upon the many successful fossil hunting events hosted over the years by UKAFH (UK Amateur Fossil Hunters), an organization headed up by the authors. With information on how fossils are formed and how they can be collected, prepared and preserved for display, Collecting Fossils in England and Wales also examines 50 fossil-bearing localities in detail, each richly illustrated to show the geology of the site, with location photographs and photos of the fossils that can be found. This is the long-awaited book, which brings fossil locations right up-to-date and avoids the pitfalls of directing collectors to inland pits or quarries that have long closed and are now land fill sites or a new housing estate! The book is for collectors of all ages, in the hope that some of the writers' passion for fossils can inspire others to start a collection of their own or to develop the one they already have with more clarity and purpose.

I hear some people screaming: What about Northern Ireland and Scotland? This is very much a book resulting from the direct fossil hunting activities of UKAFH and its members. At present they have not conducted any hunts in Northern Ireland because they have no members based there and the region is almost entirely unfossiliferous, being composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Hence, the authors have no experience of the fossils and geology in Northern Ireland as a result. Although field events have been run in Scotland, the sites are not easily accessible and there is a lot of red tape associated with gaining formal permission to look for fossils at the better localities. All the decent sites are SSSIs (sites of special scientific interest) and all collecting falls under the Scottish Fossil Code, which requires permission to collect by law. To an extent, this deems these sites unsuitable for the average day out, on a productive fossil collection event. Consequently, they fall slightly outside the remit of this book.

We will keep you updated on this title as the project develops. In the meantime, do not forget to check out our other new titles, such as So you want to be a Palaeontologist? currently only available as advance copies via our website. Click the cover below to read more about this title.