Dorset · Directions ↗
Today at Seatown
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: 3:37pm – 6:37pm
Leave the beach by 6:37pm — 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 · 5mm rain · Low tide: 4:44am (2.0 m), 5:37pm (2.1 m) · Wind up to 20 km/h · Waves 0.9 m
Safe window: 6:17pm – 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.
14° · overcast · 10mm rain · Low tide: 5:41am (2.2 m), 8:17pm (2.1 m) · Wind up to 29 km/h · Waves 1.0 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Winds gusting around 77 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
14° · drizzle · 10mm rain · Low tide: 8:43am (2.2 m), 9:29pm (1.8 m) · Wind up to 43 km/h · Waves 1.6 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Winds gusting around 75 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
14° · overcast · 23mm rain · Low tide: 9:48am (1.8 m), 10:18pm (1.5 m) · Wind up to 42 km/h · Waves 1.6 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Winds gusting around 106 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
13° · overcast · 9mm rain · Low tide: 10:36am (1.5 m), 11:02pm (1.1 m) · Wind up to 60 km/h · Waves 1.8 m
Safe window: 9:20am – 12:20pm
Leave the beach by 12:20pm — 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 · 15mm rain · Low tide: 11:20am (1.2 m), 11:44pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 32 km/h · Waves 1.2 m
Safe window: 9:02am – 12:02pm
Leave the beach by 12:02pm — 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 · 3mm rain · Low tide: 11:02am (0.9 m), 11:25pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 34 km/h · Waves 1.1 m
Work the shingle west towards Golden Cap where the tide has just uncovered it. Belemnites are almost guaranteed in the fine gravel; ammonites turn up after storms. The freshest material appears at the top of a falling tide.
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 →
Pay-and-display car park behind the beach (seasonal charges).
The Anchor Inn by the beach; toilets in season.
Flat walk onto shingle; best hunting west towards Golden Cap after storms.
Frequent rockfalls below Golden Cap — keep well away from the cliff base. Shingle banks steepen quickly towards high water.
Fossil Forecast