Go fossil hunting in East Sussex

A crocodile’s tooth, a fragment of turtle’s shell or an 83 million-year-old fish? These are just some of the things you could find on a fossil-hunting session on Peacehaven beach.

Grab your sturdy boots and a hammer, and set out on a treasure hunt with fossil expert Roy Shepherd to the Late Cretaceous Epoch (that’s between 100- and 65 million years ago).You’ll spend the afternoon scouring the shingle beach for clues on the exotic life that inhabited this area all those years ago. Like much of Britain and Europe back then, Peacehaven was underwater – global sea levels being over 200 metres higher than they are today – so the chances of finding some fishy remains in the shadow of the white cliffs are pretty high.

Bring a jacket; it’s pretty bracing here, the rock face being constantly eroded by the elements and the English Channel, but the net result is that you never quite know what to expect. Keep a beady eye out as you rootle through the loose boulders and pebbles on the foreshore, and you could end up holding millions of years of history in your hands. Just remember to keep one of those beady eyes on the tide, though – it has a habit of creeping up on you pretty sharpish.