A FOSSIL hunting festival is going virtual.

The Lyme Regis Fossil and Earth Science Festival is returning in virtual form, starting on Saturday, July 10.

The annual event has been transferred online as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions.

Traditionally, the physical festival, previously known as the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival attracts some of the world's best palaeontologists and geologists to Lyme Regis.

The two day festival will be available to access via the brand new Fossil and Earth Science Festival website, which will go live in the early hours of July 10.

The festival will feature more than 100 separate pre-recorded video contributions from world experts on wide ranging topics in the fields of palaeontology, geology, earth sciences and more.

Among the organisations contributing are the Natural History Museum, The Palaeontological Association, Jurassic Coast Trust, Dinosaur Isle, the Universities of Bristol, Birmingham, Plymouth and many others.

There will also be live zoom talks and lectures from world leaders in the field throughout the weekend.

Jon Doody, the chief festival organiser, says he hopes that the virtual festival will fill the gap left by the physical festival being cancelled.

He said: “Once again, I can’t begin to thank all the amazing contributors to the virtual festival. Taking the time and effort to record fascinating and amazing talks and demonstrations, often from their homes, has been a real boon.

"Festival fans from around the world can now enjoy material from the comfort of their own homes.”

The 2020 virtual fossil festival was enjoyed by more than 50,000 people from all over the world, from the USA to China and reaching a brand new set of fans.

The footage of the virtual festival will be available to watch online until at least the end of the year.

The festival organisers are already planning ahead for the return of the physical festival on the early May Bank Holiday in 2022 with some fantastic features.

To view this year’s virtual event, visit www.fossilfestival.co.uk