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Today at Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex
FairWhy: Heavy rain in the last two days may have washed fresh material out of the cliffs. Low tide falls at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one.
Safe window: 10:18am – 1:18pm
Leave the beach by 1:18pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Heavy rain in the last two days may have washed fresh material out of the cliffs. Low tide falls at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one.
15° · overcast · 2mm rain · Low tide: 12:18pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 1.0 m
Safe window: 11:28am – 2:28pm
Leave the beach by 2:28pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Heavy rain in the last two days may have washed fresh material out of the cliffs. Low tide falls at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one.
15° · drizzle · 2mm rain · Low tide: 12:53am (1.7 m), 1:28pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 35 km/h · Waves 1.4 m
Safe window: 12:33pm – 3:33pm
Leave the beach by 3:33pm — 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.
14° · drizzle · 6mm rain · Low tide: 2:03am (1.7 m), 2:33pm (1.1 m) · Wind up to 39 km/h · Waves 1.3 m
Safe window: 1:29pm – 4:29pm
Leave the beach by 4:29pm — 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.
12° · mostly clear · 3mm rain · Low tide: 3:04am (1.5 m), 3:29pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 1.1 m
No safe daylight window
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: Winds gusting around 78 km/h forecast — not a day to be under cliffs.
13° · drizzle · 17mm rain · Low tide: 3:56am (1.3 m), 4:18pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 45 km/h · Waves 1.2 m
Safe window: 3:02pm – 6:02pm
Leave the beach by 6:02pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: Heavy rain in the last two days may have washed fresh material out of the cliffs. A big 0.4 m low tide falls towards evening.
11° · mostly clear · 8mm rain · Low tide: 4:40am (1.1 m), 5:02pm (0.4 m) · Wind up to 35 km/h · Waves 0.9 m
Safe window: 2:44pm – 5:17pm
Leave the beach by 5:17pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: Heavy rain in the last two days may have washed fresh material out of the cliffs. A big 0.3 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
17° · drizzle · 5mm rain · Low tide: 4:22am (0.8 m), 4:44pm (0.3 m) · Wind up to 34 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Search the orange Red Crag shell gravel at the base of the beach and sieve the loose sand at the tideline — shark teeth turn up on almost every visit. London Clay pyrite fossils lie among the darker gravel at low water.
Shark teeth from the Red Crag are glossy black or grey triangles in the orange shell gravel. Whale ear-bones look like heavy, folded knuckles of stone. Screw-shaped shells are classic Crag finds. Identification: the Naze Education & Visitor Centre helps with finds in season.
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
Allowed: Collecting from the beach and foreshore is welcomed — sieve the shell gravel to your heart's content.
Never allowed: No digging into the Naze cliffs (SSSI).
Important finds: Rare finds — especially fossil bird bones — should be shown to the Naze Education & Visitor Centre.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
Naze car park by the tower, north end of town.
Naze visitor centre, café and toilets by the car park.
Steps and sloping paths down to the beach below the Naze cliffs.
Soft slumping cliffs and sticky London Clay mudflows — stay off them. The beach below the cliffs narrows to nothing at high water: go out on a falling tide.
Fossil Forecast