The Fossil Shop reopens its doors to public

The Fossil Shop, on Eastborough, Scarborough, offers a wide range of fossils from around the world, and owner Will Watts is pleased to finally welcome people back through the doors.

Will (pictured) has been involved in fossils and geology along the coast for 20 years. He played a major part in the redevelopment of the Rotunda Museum and has also worked for the Scarborough Museums Trust, before he set up his own business, Hidden Horizons, which offers a wide range of outdoor activities such as star gazing, bushcraft, beach schools and fossil hunting. Will said: “People’s interest in the outdoors and discovering more about what is on their doorstep has definitely grown in the last 18 months.

“The nice thing about geology and finding fossils is that you don’t need any special equipment, anyone can do it. “Before lockdown we were running fossil hunting birthday trips and we would get people of all ages booking in for them.”

Will has been unable to run any outdoor activities during lockdown, but he has been running online courses for people with an interest in fossils.

He said: “We started running the online courses as we were unable to run any of our usual activities, and they have been very popular. “We have had people joining us from Holland and the USA, which shows how recognised the Yorkshire Coast is for its geology across the world.

“After all, the geology of our coastline is the main reason why we have our museums here, they owe their existence to it really.”

Will tries to make sure that he has a good balance of fossils in the shop, some are bought in from around the world and some have been found locally by Will himself.

He said : “I used to regularly come as a child fossil hunting on the coast.

“You cannot beat the feeling of finding something that you know is millions of years old.” Although The Fossil Shop opened last year, due to the pandemic it is only now in its eighth week of opening.

To find out more about what is happening at The Fossil shop you can visit the Facebook page, or to keep updated with details of outdoor events visit www.hiddenhorizons. co.uk