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Today at Kimmeridge Bay
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: 6:27pm – 6:44pm
Leave the beach by 6:44pm — 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.
13° · mostly clear · 3mm rain · Low tide: 3:42am (1.1 m), 7:21am (1.1 m), 4:26pm (1.2 m), 8:27pm (1.0 m) · Wind up to 21 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Safe window: 7:06am – 9:50am
Leave the beach by 9:50am — 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.
14° · overcast · 22mm rain · Low tide: 4:15am (1.2 m), 8:50am (1.1 m), 9:50pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 34 km/h · Waves 0.9 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Winds gusting around 84 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
15° · drizzle · 13mm rain · Low tide: 4:51am (1.4 m), 10:01am (1.0 m), 10:33pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 49 km/h · Waves 1.9 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Winds gusting around 72 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
14° · overcast · 20mm rain · Low tide: 10:43am (0.9 m), 11:06pm (0.6 m) · Wind up to 40 km/h · Waves 1.6 m
No safe daylight window
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: Winds gusting around 100 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
13° · drizzle · 7mm rain · Low tide: 11:17am (0.7 m), 11:36pm (0.4 m) · Wind up to 58 km/h · Waves 2.0 m
Safe window: 9:49am – 12:49pm
Leave the beach by 12:49pm — 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 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 at lunchtime.
16° · drizzle · 12mm rain · Low tide: 11:49am (0.6 m) · Wind up to 30 km/h · Waves 1.6 m
No safe daylight window
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: Winds gusting around 80 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
17° · mostly clear · 2mm rain · Low tide: 12:06am (0.3 m), 11:20am (0.4 m), 11:36pm (0.2 m) · Wind up to 46 km/h · Waves 1.2 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