Neutral Farm Pit, fossils and fossil collecting
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Not for Children
Quarries and pits either working or disused are no places for children as they present many dangers. |
Good Access
Neutral Farm is easy to find, but may be overgrown. It is along a public footpath, so access is fully permitted. |
Disused Pit
Fossils are found either within the cliff face, or on the scree slopes. Fossils are easier to see in the face. |
SSSI
PRIVATE LAND
Seek Permission
This site is an SSSI, whilst you are free to visit and collect, digging is not permitted in the cliff face. This site is situated on PRIVATE land, and you must seek permission to visit, or join on an organised groups. |
Although there are no major safety issues at this site, but please follow the country code. Please use common sense at all locations. |
| Last updated: |
2008 |
| last visited: |
2005 |
| Written by: |
Alister and Alison Cruickshanks |
For other Red Crag locations, you should try, Capel Green, Walton-on-Naze and Ramsholt as first locations of choice, with Bawdsey, Alderton and Wrabness as second choices.
If you enjoy collecting fossil shells, there are many other sites for collecting in Suffolk from other types of crag including the Norwich Crag, Coralline Crag and in Norfolk, the Wroxham Crag.
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Neutral Farm is rich in Red Crag shells, the most common finds are bivalves, gastropods and shark teeth.
Shells are best collected from the cliff face, or from the scree slopes at the base. Be sure to take some paper to wrap your finds and containers to put them in.
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The pit at Neutral Farm is of Pliocene age being the Red Crag. This crag is coarse-grained, poorly sorted with cross-bedded abundantly shelly sand. Cross bedding can be seen clearly in the cliff face....[more]
Red Crag shell beds with cross-bedding clearly visible.
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Stone Tumblers |
Microscopes |
Test Sieves for Microfossils |
If you are interested in fossil collecting, then you may also be interested in a stone tumbler (Lapidary). You can polish stones and rocks from the beach which
will look fantastic polished using a stone tumbler.
You can polish rough rock and beach glass whilst collecting fossils, on those days where you come back empty handed.
These are all high quality machines to give a professional finish to your samples. They can even be used for amber and fossils. |
At most locations, you can find microfossils. You only need a small sample of the sand. You then need to wash it in water and sieve using a test sieve. Once the sand is processed, you can then view the contents using a microscope.
We have a wide range of microscopes for sale, you will need a Stereomicroscope for viewing microfossils. The best one we sell is the IMXZ, but a basic microscope will be fine. Once you have found microfossils, you will need to store these microfossils.
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Test Sieves are used when searching for microfossils. Microfossils can be found in many locations, and all you need is a small amount of sample such as clays, sands and shales, or if you have acid, limestone, oolite or chalk.
Our UKGE Store sells Endecotts Test Sieves, which are the highest in accuracy and extremely durable and long lasting. These Test Sieves are fantastic for microfossils. Endecotts Test Sieves come in a variety of sizes, frame material and types, they are certificated to EU Standards. |
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Neutral Farm is to the East of Butley, there is a public footpath at the farm which takes you to the pit. 
