Elsewhere · Directions ↗
Today at Folkestone (Copt Point), Kent
Quiet dayWhy: 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.
Safe window: 8:14pm – 8:16pm
Leave the beach by 8:16pm — 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.
19° · drizzle · Low tide: 9:54am (1.0 m), 10:14pm (1.0 m) · Wind up to 28 km/h · Waves 0.8 m
Safe window: 8:29am – 11:29am
Leave the beach by 11:29am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-morning, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
22° · overcast · Low tide: 10:29am (1.4 m), 10:52pm (1.4 m) · Wind up to 30 km/h · Waves 1.1 m
Safe window: 9:11am – 12:11pm
Leave the beach by 12:11pm — 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.
23° · overcast · Low tide: 11:11am (1.8 m), 11:41pm (1.9 m) · Wind up to 36 km/h · Waves 1.4 m
Safe window: 10:13am – 1:13pm
Leave the beach by 1:13pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one.
20° · mostly clear · Low tide: 12:13pm (2.3 m) · Wind up to 18 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 12:07pm – 3:07pm
Leave the beach by 3:07pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
23° · mostly clear · Low tide: 1:04am (2.3 m), 2:07pm (2.5 m) · Wind up to 30 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Safe window: 1:47pm – 4:47pm
Leave the beach by 4:47pm — 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.
22° · mostly clear · Low tide: 3:01am (2.4 m), 3:47pm (2.2 m) · Wind up to 27 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 2:57pm – 5:57pm
Leave the beach by 5:57pm — 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.
18° · overcast · 3mm rain · Low tide: 4:23am (2.0 m), 4:57pm (1.7 m) · Wind up to 40 km/h · Waves 1.9 m
At East Wear Bay, search the Gault clay foreshore at low water — ammonites sit proud of the washed clay surface after the tide has rinsed it. Firm gravel patches are the safe footing; wrap fragile finds immediately.
Gault clay ammonites are small, brown or pearly, and fragile — wrap them as soon as you find them. Glossy black fish teeth and coiled 'ram's horn' shells also wash onto the foreshore. Identification: Folkestone Museum, or photograph finds for the Natural History Museum's identification service.
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
Allowed: Surface-collecting loose fossils from the beach and foreshore is permitted.
Never allowed: No digging into the Gault clay cliffs or landslips at this SSSI.
Important finds: Notable finds can be reported to Folkestone Museum.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
Parking near the Martello tower / Wear Bay Road, East Cliff.
Café at the Martello tower area in season; full facilities in Folkestone.
Paths down to East Wear Bay; the fossil-rich Gault clay foreshore is exposed at low tide.
The Gault clay is deep, sticky and can trap boots — keep to firm ground. Landslipped undercliff is unstable; the tide reaches the base of the point, so return before it turns.
Fossil Forecast