"Whilst any good ironmonger can supply cold chisels and strong knives or trowels, he is very unlikely to have safe and suitable hammers in stock. The steel of ordinary domestic and many trade hammers is far too soft for use on most rocks. It will splinter and flying fragments of steel can cause nasty wounds, particularly to the eyes, not only of the hammerer but also of his companions." Fossils in Colour - 1967 - J.F. Kirkaldy, D.Sc. Formally Head of the Department of Geology, Queen Mary College London.

Many fossils can simply be collected from the foreshore, especially along the tide line. However, any large lumps of the bone bed will require strong tools to split them up. A good eye is often all you need, but tools are there to aid the fossil hunter, and you never know when you may need them.

Crack Hammers: These are ideal for cracking open large rocks. At Blue Anchor, any bone bearing rocks are extremely hard and using picks or chisel hammers could be dangerous because splinters of the rock can pierce into the skin. Crack hammers also have more power and enable you to work at the rock. The Aust Bone Bed is not layered so it often doesn't matter how you split the rock, in these cases Crack Hammers are the most recommended tool. Crack hammers are made by Estwing, but Standard Geological Hammers are find so long as you use the 'flat end'

Chisels: Because the Blue Anchor Bone Bed is extremely hard, most normal chisels will blunt quickly. It is therefore highly recommended that Special Chrome Vanadium Steel Chisels are used. These are made from the highest quality steel and are coated for extra protection. They are also much sharper than normal chisels and will last much longer. As for the type of chisel, Wide chisels and splitting chisels are not really ideal because the lack of layers in the rocks, standard 1" or less are best, it is also ideal to take a small chisel around 1/2" for any delicate work.

Safety Wear: Goggles or Safety Glasses are absolutely essential at this location when using hammers and chisels, rock splinters can pierce the skin.

Specimen Boxes: Keep your small finds safe in these clear, cost effective specimen boxes. Perfect to build your fossil collection.

Geo Field Ruler: This Geo Ruler is ideal for field use and for photographing specimens. The Rular is colour graduated in CM with 10cm Blocks, made of hard thick plastic and is waterproof.

Waterproof Notepads and Waterproof Pens: These field notepads and field pens work in the rain, they are perfect for taking notes. The pens work in any condition, including underwater! Taking notes about where fossils were found is an essential part of any collection.

Preparation Tools:A range of hand, and automatic tools for cleaning your fossils. We have air tools, grit blasters and etchers.

Microfossil Slide Boxes: These high quality stackable display trays are ideal for microfossil storage (small fossils). You can hold up to 80 fossils in one tray, the tray slides freely out of its case, holding your collection. Capsules can be purchased to air-tight fossils and protecting them. They have a 2mm inner depth. Different trays will all stack together with as many as you like.

Microfossil Slide: These Microscope slides are specially designed for the smallest finds. They come with a glass cover which slides over the top of a 3-layer cardboard insert (circles or grids). The circles or grids are indented with a 1mm depth so that your specimens are held secure into place, and secured into place by a black plastic sleeve.

Knee Pads: For all locations which are mostly based on foreshore beach combing, knee pads are ideal, they will protect your knees and also prevent you from getting so wet. Sharp rocks or beach litter will always cause a risk of injury when searching for fossils on your hands and knees.

Microscope: Once you bring your finds home, a Stereoscope Microscope is ideal for viewing your finds, identifying them and cleaning them.

Field Lenses: Blue Anchor can yield many tiny fossils including teeth which sometimes will require a magnifying lenses. It is not always possible to tell very small objects with normal eyesight. The most common type is the 10x.

Specimen Bags: These are ideal for Blue Anchor. Sealable Clear Specimen Bags can hold your finds. These can be purchased from UKGE for low prices and can easily be re-used.

Geological Bags: Strong, Waterproof and durable geological bags that last years are ideal for any keen fossil hunter. These quality bags from Estwing are ideal for bringing back those heavy rocks that you wish to split back home.

Footwear: Hiking Boots or old trainers are usually fine for Blue Anchor because the shore is not rocky nor usually muddy, unless you venture out at low tide into the mud flaps. The beach is mostly shingle whereby the fossils can be collected amongst this shingle, especially along the tideline.