Dorset · Directions ↗
Today at Burton Bradstock (Hive Beach)
FairWhy: A recent south-westerly blow should have brought fresh cliff material onto the beach. An early-autumn blow like this restocks beaches after the quiet summer. Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
Safe window: 1:48pm – 4:48pm
Leave the beach by 4:48pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: A recent south-westerly blow should have brought fresh cliff material onto the beach. An early-autumn blow like this restocks beaches after the quiet summer. Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
19° · overcast · Low tide: 3:48pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 36 km/h · Waves 1.3 m
Safe window: 2:25pm – 5:25pm
Leave the beach by 5:25pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: A recent south-westerly blow should have brought fresh cliff material onto the beach. An early-autumn blow like this restocks beaches after the quiet summer. Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
21° · overcast · Low tide: 4:11am (1.0 m), 4:25pm (1.2 m) · Wind up to 27 km/h · Waves 1.2 m
Safe window: 3:11pm – 6:11pm
Leave the beach by 6:11pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: A recent south-westerly blow should have brought fresh cliff material onto the beach. An early-autumn blow like this restocks beaches after the quiet summer. Low tide falls towards evening, though it is not an especially big one.
21° · mostly clear · Low tide: 4:50am (1.3 m), 5:11pm (1.5 m) · Wind up to 37 km/h · Waves 1.5 m
Safe window: 5:58am – 6:42am
Leave the beach by 6:42am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: A recent south-westerly blow should have brought fresh cliff material onto the beach. An early-autumn blow like this restocks beaches after the quiet summer. Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one. Daylight cuts the collecting window to under 45 minutes, so don't plan a long session.
20° · mostly clear · Low tide: 5:42am (1.6 m), 6:23pm (1.8 m) · Wind up to 10 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 6:30pm – 8:21pm
Leave the beach by 8:21pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: A recent south-westerly blow should have brought fresh cliff material onto the beach. An early-autumn blow like this restocks beaches after the quiet summer. Low tide falls towards evening, though it is not an especially big one.
23° · clear · Low tide: 7:17am (1.9 m), 8:30pm (1.8 m) · Wind up to 27 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 7:53pm – 8:19pm
Leave the beach by 8:19pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: A recent south-westerly blow should have brought fresh cliff material onto the beach. An early-autumn blow like this restocks beaches after the quiet summer. Low tide falls towards evening, though it is not an especially big one. Daylight cuts the collecting window to under 45 minutes, so don't plan a long session.
21° · mostly clear · Low tide: 9:04am (1.9 m), 9:53pm (1.6 m) · Wind up to 22 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Rough seas with big waves forecast — stay off the beach today.
18° · drizzle · 10mm rain · Low tide: 10:14am (1.6 m), 10:53pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 40 km/h · Waves 2.5 m
Hunt the shingle and the wave-washed gravel at mid-beach — ammonites from the Bridport Sands and the beds above weather out and roll along the tideline. Stay well out from the cliff: everything reaches the open beach eventually.
Ammonites show as coiled ridges in grey limestone, or as golden pyrite spirals the size of a coin. Belemnites are smooth amber-brown rods shaped like rifle bullets. Ichthyosaur vertebrae look like dark, shiny cotton reels. Free identification: the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre identifies finds in person and from emailed photos (charmouth.org).
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
Allowed: Loose fossils from the beach and foreshore are yours to keep — collecting them here is positively encouraged, because the sea destroys what nobody saves.
Never allowed: Never dig or hammer into the cliffs, ledges or landslide material; fossils still in place must stay in place.
Important finds: Register scientifically important finds with the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre under the West Dorset Fossil Collecting Code.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
National Trust car park at Hive Beach.
Hive Beach Café and toilets by the car park.
Flat access onto the beach from the car park.
The vertical Bridport Sands cliffs shed large falls without warning and have caused fatalities — stay at least the cliff's height away from the base at all times.
Fossil Forecast