Dorset · Directions ↗
Today at Burton Bradstock (Hive Beach)
FairBig tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 0.7 m low tide falls at lunchtime.
Safe window: 11:21am – 2:21pm
Leave the beach by 2:21pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 0.7 m low tide falls at lunchtime.
19° · overcast · Low tide: 1:07am (0.6 m), 1:21pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 34 km/h · Waves 0.8 m
Safe window: 11:59am – 2:59pm
Leave the beach by 2:59pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 0.7 m low tide falls at lunchtime.
20° · overcast · Low tide: 1:45am (0.6 m), 1:59pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 22 km/h · Waves 0.8 m
Safe window: 12:34pm – 3:34pm
Leave the beach by 3:34pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 0.8 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
23° · overcast · Low tide: 2:20am (0.6 m), 2:34pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 18 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 1:06pm – 4:06pm
Leave the beach by 4:06pm — 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.
20° · clear · Low tide: 2:52am (0.8 m), 3:06pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 25 km/h · Waves 0.5 m
Safe window: 1:37pm – 4:37pm
Leave the beach by 4:37pm — 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° · mostly clear · Low tide: 3:22am (1.0 m), 3:37pm (1.1 m) · Wind up to 23 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 2:06pm – 5:06pm
Leave the beach by 5:06pm — 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° · mostly clear · Low tide: 3:50am (1.2 m), 4:06pm (1.4 m) · Wind up to 27 km/h · Waves 1.3 m
Safe window: 2:36pm – 5:36pm
Leave the beach by 5:36pm — 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.
17° · overcast · Low tide: 4:16am (1.5 m), 4:36pm (1.7 m) · Wind up to 21 km/h · Waves 1.0 m
Hunt the shingle and the wave-washed gravel at mid-beach — ammonites from the Bridport Sands and the beds above weather out and roll along the tideline. Stay well out from the cliff: everything reaches the open beach eventually.
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 →
National Trust car park at Hive Beach.
Hive Beach Café and toilets by the car park.
Flat access onto the beach from the car park.
The vertical Bridport Sands cliffs shed large falls without warning and have caused fatalities — stay at least the cliff's height away from the base at all times.
Fossil Forecast