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Today at Charmouth
Quiet dayWhy: Low tide falls at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
Safe window: 11:25am – 2:25pm
Leave the beach by 2:25pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
28° · overcast · Low tide: 1:25pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 12:10pm – 3:10pm
Leave the beach by 3:10pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 0.8 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
29° · overcast · Low tide: 2:01am (0.7 m), 2:10pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 23 km/h · Waves 0.5 m
Safe window: 12:54pm – 3:54pm
Leave the beach by 3:54pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
26° · clear · Low tide: 2:45am (0.7 m), 2:54pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 18 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
Safe window: 1:39pm – 4:39pm
Leave the beach by 4:39pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
25° · mostly clear · Low tide: 3:29am (0.8 m), 3:39pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 12 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
Safe window: 4:38am – 5:13am
Leave the beach by 5:13am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: 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.
24° · drizzle · Low tide: 4:13am (0.9 m), 4:24pm (1.1 m) · Wind up to 11 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 4:40am – 5:56am
Leave the beach by 5:56am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
27° · clear · Low tide: 4:56am (1.0 m), 5:10pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 9 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
Safe window: 4:41am – 6:40am
Leave the beach by 6:40am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
25° · clear · Low tide: 5:40am (1.2 m), 5:56pm (1.5 m) · Wind up to 15 km/h · Waves 0.2 m
Work the loose shingle and the fresh tideline as the water drops — every tide re-sorts the gravel and the sea does the digging for you. The east beach towards Stonebarrow is richest after a blow. Ammonites and belemnites lie loose among the pebbles; nothing at the cliff base is worth the risk.
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 →
Large car park by the Heritage Coast Centre.
Toilets, café, and the Heritage Coast Centre for free fossil identification.
Flat access from the car park; the east beach is richest after storms.
Mudslides at Black Ven. Never approach the cliffs. Easy to get cut off east of the beach on a rising tide.
Fossil Forecast