Dorset · Directions ↗
Today at Charmouth
Quiet dayWhy: Low tide falls towards evening, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
Safe window: 4:39pm – 6:47pm
Leave the beach by 6:47pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls towards evening, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
13° · rain · 6mm rain · Low tide: 5:36am (1.9 m), 6:39pm (1.9 m) · Wind up to 21 km/h · Waves 0.9 m
Safe window: 6:31pm – 6:45pm
Leave the beach by 6:45pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: 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. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
14° · overcast · 11mm rain · Low tide: 6:57am (2.1 m), 8:31pm (2.0 m) · Wind up to 27 km/h · Waves 1.0 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Winds gusting around 76 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
13° · overcast · 10mm rain · Low tide: 8:55am (2.1 m), 10:08pm (1.8 m) · Wind up to 41 km/h · Waves 1.6 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Winds gusting around 74 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
14° · overcast · 23mm rain · Low tide: 10:17am (1.9 m), 10:55pm (1.5 m) · Wind up to 39 km/h · Waves 1.6 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Winds gusting around 108 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
12° · mostly clear · 7mm rain · Low tide: 11:05am (1.5 m), 11:30pm (1.2 m) · Wind up to 61 km/h · Waves 1.8 m
Safe window: 9:43am – 12:43pm
Leave the beach by 12:43pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: A recent 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 at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one.
16° · drizzle · 16mm rain · Low tide: 11:43am (1.2 m) · Wind up to 29 km/h · Waves 1.2 m
Safe window: 9:19am – 12:19pm
Leave the beach by 12:19pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: A recent 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 at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one.
16° · mostly clear · 2mm rain · Low tide: 12:03am (0.9 m), 11:19am (0.9 m), 11:36pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 33 km/h · Waves 1.1 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