Dorset
Today at Charmouth
Quiet dayLow tide falls at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
Safe window: 11:25am – 2:25pm
Leave the beach by 2:25pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Low tide falls at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
Low tide: 1:25pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 12:10pm – 3:10pm
Leave the beach by 3:10pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
A big 0.8 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
Low tide: 2:01am (0.7 m), 2:10pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 23 km/h · Waves 0.5 m
Safe window: 12:54pm – 3:54pm
Leave the beach by 3:54pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
Low tide: 2:45am (0.7 m), 2:54pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 18 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
Safe window: 1:39pm – 4:39pm
Leave the beach by 4:39pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
Low tide: 3:29am (0.8 m), 3:39pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 12 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
Safe window: 4:38am – 5:13am
Leave the beach by 5:13am — the tide will cut off your route back.
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.
Low tide: 4:13am (0.9 m), 4:24pm (1.1 m) · Wind up to 11 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 4:40am – 5:56am
Leave the beach by 5:56am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
Low tide: 4:56am (1.0 m), 5:10pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 9 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
Safe window: 4:41am – 6:40am
Leave the beach by 6:40am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
Low tide: 5:40am (1.2 m), 5:56pm (1.5 m) · Wind up to 15 km/h · Waves 0.2 m
Work the loose shingle and the fresh tideline as the water drops — every tide re-sorts the gravel and the sea does the digging for you. The east beach towards Stonebarrow is richest after a blow. Ammonites and belemnites lie loose among the pebbles; nothing at the cliff base is worth the risk.
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 →
Large car park by the Heritage Coast Centre.
Toilets, café, and the Heritage Coast Centre for free fossil identification.
Flat access from the car park; the east beach is richest after storms.
Mudslides at Black Ven. Never approach the cliffs. Easy to get cut off east of the beach on a rising tide.