It's not for the feint hearted though, Copt Point can be dangerous if you get trapped by the tide, so make sure to go when the tide is going out. You can escape if you ever get caught there, but it involves climbing crumbling clay cliffs, with huge boulders underneath them which is dangerous also!
The people on the beach are mostly friendly, eager to share their fossil finds, or to give advice on where to find them.
Type of Beach: The beach is made up of large boulders which sit on a bed of clay and gravel. There is a shingle and clay beach at low tide, with the boulders being close to the cliffs.
It is a designated SSI, so no digging in the cliffs, or digging fossils out of the ground
Is Copt Point in Folkestone Good For Kids?
Copt point is a great place to bring kids especially when the tide is out. It's not for swimming or sunbathing though, Folkestone sands to the left of Copt Point is much more civilised. Copt point is wild and exciting.
There are hazards like bits of rusty metal, and glass, so tell the kids to keep their eyes open. Plenty of kids visit copt point as it's one of the best place to find fossils that are washed out of the cliffs.
Amenities At Copt Point
There is a cafe, parking, and a golf course, on the cliffs above copt point, Access from here is by way of steep steps down to the promenade, When the tide is out you can access the beach from the stairs on the promenade, when the tide is in you will need to climb. I have vertigo and do not enjoy doing this, so keep this in mind if you are not hot on action. Saying that my brother and 60 yr old mother have no problems accessing the beach this way so it might just be me!
What Can Be Found At Copt Point?
Various crystals and minerals (more about the minerals of Folkestone here) The first picture is a Gypsum crystal, I was hoping to find one of these and I dad - yay! I have found these before at the same location, but unfortunately gypsum is very fragile and they broke apart. I am keeping this one in an air tight display case and it is fine.
Sea Glass at Copt Point is the largest and thickest I have ever found. Folkestone is a busy shipping lane and this shows with the amount of interesting things that wash up there.
This photo shows the great haul of things I found at Folkestone, pottery, fossils, various minerals, sea glass galore, even a sea horse - can you spot him? lol!
Some of the pottery and my 'sea horse' up close!
Fossils can be found in their hundreds on the beach, look in the gravel amongst the large boulders at the back of the beach. This is where the fossils land and are trapped after being washed from the delicate clay cliffs above. You can find ammonites, various sea shells, sharks teeth, belemnites. vertibrae, ray plates and more (click here for more in-depth info on fossiling at Copt Point)
Seashells - I didn't look to be honest, I was to busy finding fossils. Will update this with more info soon
I came home with an unexpected visitor that day too! (See picture below... ) but that's another story....
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