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Today at Kimmeridge Bay
Good day to huntBig tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
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. A big 0.6 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
Safe window: 1:48pm – 4:48pm
Leave the beach by 4:48pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
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. A big 0.6 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
19° · overcast · Low tide: 3:48pm (0.6 m) · Wind up to 35 km/h · Waves 1.2 m
Safe window: 3:00pm – 6:00pm
Leave the beach by 6:00pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
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. A big 0.7 m low tide falls towards evening.
20° · overcast · Low tide: 4:25am (0.5 m), 5:00pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 29 km/h · Waves 1.2 m
Safe window: 5:54am – 6:34am
Leave the beach by 6:34am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
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. A big 0.7 m low tide falls first thing. Daylight cuts the collecting window to under 45 minutes, so don't plan a long session.
21° · overcast · Low tide: 5:34am (0.7 m), 6:16pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 36 km/h · Waves 1.4 m
Safe window: 5:55am – 7:39am
Leave the beach by 7:39am — 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.
20° · overcast · Low tide: 6:39am (0.8 m), 7:35pm (0.9 m), 11:40pm (1.1 m) · Wind up to 11 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 7:14pm – 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.
23° · clear · Low tide: 8:07am (1.0 m), 12:11pm (1.1 m), 9:14pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 7:36am – 10:36am
Leave the beach by 10:36am — 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-morning, though it is not an especially big one.
21° · mostly clear · Low tide: 12:51am (0.9 m), 9:36am (1.0 m), 1:15pm (1.0 m), 10:24pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 20 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Safe window: 12:04pm – 3:04pm
Leave the beach by 3:04pm — 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 · 9mm rain · Low tide: 1:43am (0.7 m), 10:36am (0.8 m), 2:04pm (0.8 m), 11:12pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 40 km/h · Waves 2.3 m
Look among the loose flat stones between the ledges at low water — ammonites show as coiled outlines on slab surfaces. The big spectacle here is in the ledges themselves: photograph, don't extract. The Etches Collection in the village shows what this bay can produce.
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: Small loose fossils from the beach may be collected for personal use.
Never allowed: No hammering, digging or extraction from bedrock or ledges — Kimmeridge sits in a Marine Conservation Zone with stricter rules than neighbouring beaches.
Important finds: Check current rules with the Wild Seas Centre before collecting; scientifically significant finds belong with The Etches Collection in the village.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
Toll road to a car park above the bay (Smedmore Estate).
Toilets and the Wild Seas Centre; The Etches Collection museum in the village.
Short walk down to the ledges; slipway access.
Wave-cut ledges are extremely slippery and flood quickly on a rising tide. Cliff falls east and west of the bay — keep off the cliff base.
Fossil Forecast