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Today at Speeton (Filey Bay)
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: 3:16pm – 6:16pm
Leave the beach by 6:16pm — 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.
14° · mostly clear · 4mm rain · Low tide: 4:44am (2.2 m), 5:16pm (2.7 m) · Wind up to 32 km/h · Waves 2.1 m
Safe window: 7:02am – 7:10am
Leave the beach by 7:10am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Recent heavy seas should have washed fresh 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. Daylight cuts the collecting window to under 45 minutes, so don't plan a long session.
13° · overcast · 16mm rain · Low tide: 6:10am (2.2 m), 6:43pm (2.6 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 1.8 m
Safe window: 7:04am – 8:24am
Leave the beach by 8:24am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Recent heavy seas should have washed fresh 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.
12° · drizzle · 22mm rain · Low tide: 7:24am (2.0 m), 7:49pm (2.4 m) · Wind up to 27 km/h · Waves 1.4 m
Safe window: 7:06am – 9:20am
Leave the beach by 9:20am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Recent heavy seas should have washed fresh 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.
11° · clear · Low tide: 8:20am (1.7 m), 8:40pm (2.1 m) · Wind up to 25 km/h · Waves 0.8 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Winds gusting around 88 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
13° · drizzle · 39mm rain · Low tide: 9:07am (1.3 m), 9:24pm (1.7 m) · Wind up to 53 km/h · Waves 1.4 m
Safe window: 7:49am – 10:49am
Leave the beach by 10:49am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: A recent north-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.
10° · overcast · 2mm rain · Low tide: 9:49am (1.0 m), 10:05pm (1.4 m) · Wind up to 39 km/h · Waves 0.9 m
No safe daylight window
Why: Winds gusting around 76 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
16° · drizzle · 4mm rain · Low tide: 9:30am (0.8 m), 9:46pm (1.1 m) · Wind up to 46 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Work the clay-streaked beach at the south end of Filey Bay after scouring tides — small ammonites, belemnites and crushed shell patches weather straight out of the Speeton Clay onto the sand. Keep to the firm beach and off the wet clay flows.
Ammonites and belemnites weather out of the soft clays; crushed white shell patches often mark productive spots. Jet is matt black and feather-light. Free identification: the Rotunda Museum in Scarborough — the birthplace of English geology — welcomes enquiries.
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
Allowed: Collecting loose fossils from the beach is long-established and accepted here.
Never allowed: No digging into the cliffs or hammering in-place rock on this SSSI coast.
Important finds: Report significant finds to the Rotunda Museum, Scarborough.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
Limited parking in Speeton village near the church.
None — nearest facilities in Filey.
Long path down through the fields and cliff to the south end of Filey Bay.
The Speeton Clay forms deep, boot-swallowing mud flows after rain — keep to the firm beach. Remote corner of the bay; watch the tide against the cliffs.
Fossil Forecast