James J Browne

Collecting Fossils Between Whitby and Sandsend. James J Browne

"The seashore between Whitby and Sandsend is never the same from one day to the next, the tides and the English weather make sure of that. At one moment you can be gazing at the tiny pebbles and creatures in a limpid rock pool, the next you can look out towards the crashing waves and feel dwarfed by the sheer scale of sea and the vastness of the sky above you."Enjoy the very best of the English coast whilst dipping your toe into the intriguing waters of one of the world's most popular hobbies, fossil collecting. Written for beginners, the vaguely interested and parents/grandparents under pressure to go out "fossilling," this volume gets down to the nitty gritty. The basics are covered and there are lots of tips to "get your eye in." As usual, Browne's wit and irreverence shine through in this gentle guide to discovering earth's ancient past. All the fossils photographed in this book were collected by Browne in one afternoon. This was done to give as fair a representation as possible of what the reader might find themselves in the same time period."As time went on, I realized that collecting fossils was not really my sole motivation for spending so much time by the sea. I was drawn to the shoreline because of the dynamics of the environment and how it made me feel about my place in it.""Looking for fossils along a quiet stretch of beach can be very conducive to mindfulness. In an increasingly noisy world, the serenity of an open stretch of shore can often be a balm for troubled souls.""If you go to the beach just looking for fossils, that'll be all you find."