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Today at Cromer
FairBig tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 0.4 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
Safe window: 12:55pm – 3:55pm
Leave the beach by 3:55pm — 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 mid-afternoon.
22° · overcast · Low tide: 2:19am (1.0 m), 2:55pm (0.4 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 0.5 m
Safe window: 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Leave the beach by 4:30pm — 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 0.5 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
20° · mostly clear · Low tide: 2:54am (0.9 m), 3:30pm (0.5 m) · Wind up to 18 km/h · Waves 0.5 m
Safe window: 2:01pm – 5:01pm
Leave the beach by 5:01pm — 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 mid-afternoon.
22° · mostly clear · Low tide: 3:27am (1.0 m), 4:01pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 16 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 2:28pm – 5:28pm
Leave the beach by 5:28pm — 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 1.0 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
22° · overcast · 2mm rain · Low tide: 3:57am (1.1 m), 4:28pm (1.0 m) · Wind up to 25 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Safe window: 2:55pm – 5:55pm
Leave the beach by 5:55pm — 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: 4:28am (1.2 m), 4:55pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 22 km/h · Waves 0.9 m
Safe window: 5:58am – 6:00am
Leave the beach by 6:00am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: 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. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
18° · clear · Low tide: 5:00am (1.5 m), 5:24pm (1.6 m) · Wind up to 28 km/h · Waves 1.0 m
Safe window: 6:00am – 6:36am
Leave the beach by 6:36am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: 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. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
17° · mostly clear · Low tide: 5:36am (1.8 m), 6:00pm (2.0 m) · Wind up to 34 km/h · Waves 1.2 m
Search the flint gravel banks towards East Runton at low tide — sea urchins in flint and the occasional rolled bone are the typical finds. After a north-westerly blow the fresh gravel is worth a slow walk.
Ice Age bone from the 'forest bed' is dark brown to black, heavy, with a honeycomb texture at broken ends. Sea-urchin fossils show as five-pointed stars on rounded flint pebbles. Free identification: Cromer Museum (photo enquiries via Norfolk Museums Service).
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
Allowed: Loose fossils and bones from the beach may be kept for personal collections.
Never allowed: No digging into the cliffs — the fossil-bearing beds are protected (SSSI) and the cliffs are dangerously unstable anyway.
Important finds: Large bones may be part of a bigger skeleton — report them to Norfolk Museums Service before removing anything substantial.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
Town car parks; short walk to the promenade.
Full town facilities; Cromer Museum has local Ice Age fossils.
Ramps from the promenade; hunt the foreshore towards East Runton at low tide.
Slumping glacial cliffs east and west of town — keep off them. Tide reaches the sea walls and cliff base at high water: plan your walk around low tide.
Fossil Forecast