Did you know that the Isle of Wight is known as dinosaur island with the richest source of dinosaur remains in Europe. You may be wondering where you can find dinosaur footprints on the Isle of Wight. There are several places where you can find dinosaur footprints on the island. Read on and I will share where you can find dinosaur footprints on the Isle of Wight!
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We recently travelled to the Isle of Wight by ferry (find out more about travelling to the Isle of Wight by ferry and read our full review here.
Isle of Wight Camping
There are a number of great family friendly campsites on the Isle of Wight. We stayed at Adgestone campsite for our stay, and loved its countryside location with access to the red squirrel trail. The campsite is great for families and has a large field for kids to play in and a designated dog walk field. This campsite also has an outdoor heated swimming pool and features in our post on best campsites in the UK with a swimming pool!
There are so many things to do on the Isle of Wight for families that don’t cost the earth. These include cycling the red squirrel trail, visiting Shanklin beach, sandown, and visiting one of the many stunning beaches (Steeping hill cove was a favourite of ours). Did you know you can also search for dinosaur footprints on the Isle of Wight?
We headed to Compton bay, home to the dinosaur footprints. Please note you will need to check the tide times before you leave, as the footprints can be located at low tide.
Where to Park at Compton bay
Compton bay is maintained by the National Trust. There are three pay and display car parks at Brook, Hanover and Compton Chine. We parked at the Hanover point National Trust car park. You can pay by phone (for non-members) at Brook and Hanover car park. Parking is free if you are National Trust members so please do remember to bring your card (You can become a National Trust member for the year here). We then accessed the beach via a short flight of wooden steps.
Compton Bay is located on the Isle of Wight, PO30 4HB.
The car park does get busy, and there is an overspill car park but this does have a height restriction which we couldn’t access as we had our converted camper.
Dogs at Compton Bay
The beach is a STUNNING beach and one of our favourite beaches on the Isle of Wight. Please note that it has seasonal dog restrictions when dogs are not permitted on the beach west of Compton Bay car park.
Find out more about the seasonal dog restrictions here.
So where do you find the dinosaur prints at Compton bay?
Take the steps down to the beach and immediately turn left and walk along the beach. You will find a large area of rocky beach. Here you can start exploring for the dinosaur footprints.
You can also book a private fossil tour with Wight Coast Fossils for a more in-depth fossil hunting experience.
Things to know
Dinosaur footprints at Compton Bay are best located at low tide
Parking for the beach is located;
National Trust
Compton Bay
Military Road
Freshwater
PO30 4HB
There are toilets located at Hanover car park, and there was a mobile catering van offering great coffee when we visited during the summer.
Yaverland beach is another great beach and is also dog friendly. It is and is another hotspot for finding fossils too. Sandown is also home to Dinosaur Isle – a family friendly dinosaur museum.
For more information on travelling to the Isle of Wight from the UK, click through here, or visit Wightlink online
About Us
We are a family of five who love nothing more than exploring the uk and beyond in our converted VW t5 campervan. We love to share our favourite family friendly campsites in the UK. Over the years we have collated a list of the best campsites with direct access to water for your SUP, and our favourite campsites with a seaview in the UK. Our aim is to help you plan your perfect camping adventure in the UK.
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