Charmouth's Sea Dragon and Dippy the Dinosaur!
Over the last couple of weeks the Jurassic Coast has been hitting the headlines and appearing all over our TVs. Chris Moore and his team were working with Sir David Attenborough on Lyme Regis beach and in the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre discovering the Ichthyosaur, Sea Dragon!
UPDATE: on 8th November 2018 Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre announced on Twitter that the Sea Dragon display will be staying for another year! Their winter team have been busy putting together the missing skull that artist Darrell Wakelam helped the centre make in the Summer. Remember the centre has free entry and is currently on winter hours when they are open Friday to Monday 10:30am - 4:00pm. The display is fantastic at the Centre, providing lots of information on the Sea Dragon. Throughout the Heritage Coast Centre there are also many other displays of fossils found on our coastline.
They have tools you are able to hire and there are also adult and children’s fossil hunting backpacks full of information, tools and safety equipment you can buy to take out on the beach after you have seen the displays. Fancy finding your own Sea Dragon or other creatures? Have a look here for fossil finding details.
You can still catch the TV program that documented the discovery and evacuation of the fossil on the BBC IPlayer, which aired on the 7th January, available to watch until the 13th February 2018.
Over the news there has also been a lot of articles with more details about the discovery and Charmouth’s team working with Sir David Attenborough. Follow this link here to read up on the Telegraphs write up… https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/articles/david-attenborough-interview/
As the BBC worked on this program they also featured the grand opening of the Sea Dragon on the BBC South Today, the grand opening of which Sir David Attenborough was a surprise special guest for!
At Newlands, we are only a stone throw away from Charmouth Beach and Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, both providing the perfect day out or place for a morning walk in the Dorset sunshine. Check out on our website availability for the upcoming season so plan your Sea Dragon holidays! https://www.newlandsholidays.co.uk/Bookings
You may have seen on Facebook or Twitter that Dippy the Diplodocus will be travelling from the Natural History Museum around the UK. Follow #Dippyontour to keep up with the travels! Dippy will be making the first stop in, you’ve guested it, Dorset! Dorset Country Museum will be holding the Full display from 10th February to 7th May 2018. On Sunday 11th February the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre will have a display for the day of the Skull of Dippy to see. It will feature alongside Charmouth's very own dinosaur the Scelidosaur!
A quote from Museum Dinosaur Research Paul Barrett, ‘Dippy would have recognised many of the same kinds of plants and animals that were also present in Jurassic Dorset. Cousins of Dippy roamed all over the area leaving their fossilised bones and footprints behind.'
Have a look on the Natural History Museum for full tour dates and see the CHCC (Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre) and DCM (Dorset Country Museum) Twitter pages for more detail on the displays they will be holding!
If you do have Twitter or Facebook follow us to keep up to date with all the details of what is happening around Charmouth... anymore Sea Dragons we may discover!