Elsewhere · Directions ↗
Today at Compton Bay, Isle of Wight
FairBig tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 0.4 m low tide falls first thing. Daylight cuts the collecting window to under 45 minutes, so don't plan a long session.
Safe window: 6:06am – 6:44am
Leave the beach by 6:44am — 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 0.4 m low tide falls first thing. Daylight cuts the collecting window to under 45 minutes, so don't plan a long session.
20° · overcast · Low tide: 5:44am (0.4 m), 6:03pm (0.6 m) · Wind up to 21 km/h · Waves 0.9 m
Safe window: 6:07am – 7:21am
Leave the beach by 7:21am — 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 0.6 m low tide falls first thing.
21° · mostly clear · Low tide: 6:21am (0.6 m), 6:41pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 19 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 6:09am – 7:58am
Leave the beach by 7:58am — 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 first thing.
20° · overcast · Low tide: 6:58am (0.7 m), 7:19pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 29 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Safe window: 6:10am – 8:37am
Leave the beach by 8:37am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
19° · clear · Low tide: 7:37am (0.9 m), 8:00pm (1.0 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Safe window: 6:19am – 9:19am
Leave the beach by 9:19am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
19° · drizzle · 5mm rain · Low tide: 8:19am (1.1 m), 8:45pm (1.1 m) · Wind up to 41 km/h · Waves 1.4 m
Safe window: 7:42pm – 7:49pm
Leave the beach by 7:49pm — 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 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.
17° · drizzle · Low tide: 9:08am (1.3 m), 9:42pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 40 km/h · Waves 1.5 m
Safe window: 8:13am – 11:13am
Leave the beach by 11:13am — 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 mid-morning, though it is not an especially big one.
18° · overcast · Low tide: 10:13am (1.4 m), 10:59pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 35 km/h · Waves 1.5 m
From Hanover Point westward, search the dark shingle and clay-washed gravel at low tide — dinosaur bone rolls in the beach gravel looking like heavy black pebbles. The three-toed footprint casts on the foreshore at low water are the free show.
Dinosaur bone is black to dark brown with a spongy, bubbly texture — often mistaken for a worn pebble until you feel how heavy it is. Ammonites usually show as a curved ridge poking out of grey rock. Free identification: Dinosaur Isle at Sandown identifies finds in person and runs guided fossil walks.
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
Allowed: Loose fossils from the beach may be kept for personal collections.
Never allowed: No digging into the cliffs (SSSI), and dinosaur footprint casts must be left in place for everyone to see.
Important finds: Report significant finds to Dinosaur Isle, Sandown.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
National Trust car park at Hanover Point.
Seasonal food van at the car park; toilets at Compton Farm end in season.
Steps down to the beach; dinosaur footprint casts show near Hanover Point at low tide.
Soft crumbling cliffs slump after rain — keep off them. The bay narrows at high water: check the tide before walking far in either direction.
Fossil Forecast