Charmouth Fossils

I went into several fossil stores in Lyme Regis, but this one was the best. It is dusty, dark and by my estimation, very legit… what you want out of a fossiler.
The owner finds most of the bigger ammonites himself (after storms, etc) and then chisels /​cleans them up in his workshop in the back which is worth asking to see because it is a great little setup. He will tell you why some are grey and others are orange (hint — the minerality of the surrounding soil) and was not trying to upsell me in any way.
Really great range of local and international fossils all well labelled and well priced.
The owner sold me 2 great pieces which are officially the oldest things I now own and also threw in a free 1£ turquoise ring for my wife… everyone wins!
They also rent hammers for anyone who wants to go find their own (I found a good handful of small ones).

Charmouth Fossils is situated right on the edge of Charmouth beach, the perfect location for such a shop. From the bargain basket of fossils and polished fossilised wood by the entrance, you know that this is a store reflecting the passion of its owner. The store is myriad of impressive stone fossils, mineral sections, gemstones, jewellery, and larger impressive structure like the huge Icthyosaur skull to the rear of the shop. A fascinating place that has gifts to suit all budgets from a few pounds for a keyring, to many hundreds of pounds for the larger fossils. You can also hire a fossil hammer from the shop for around £10, and with a little instruction from the owner, you can go and hunt for your own fossils on the nearby beach.