Norfolk · Directions ↗
Today at East Runton
FairBig tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 0.7 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
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° · overcast · Low tide: 3:27am (1.0 m), 4:01pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 17 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.
20° · drizzle · 1mm rain · Low tide: 3:57am (1.1 m), 4:28pm (1.0 m) · Wind up to 24 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.
17° · overcast · Low tide: 4:28am (1.2 m), 4:55pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 22 km/h · Waves 0.8 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° · overcast · Low tide: 5:00am (1.5 m), 5:24pm (1.6 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 0.8 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 25 km/h · Waves 0.9 m
Safe window: 6:01am – 7:23am
Leave the beach by 7:23am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one.
20° · mostly clear · Low tide: 6:23am (2.0 m), 6:51pm (2.3 m) · Wind up to 28 km/h · Waves 0.8 m
Safe window: 6:03am – 8:34am
Leave the beach by 8:34am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one.
22° · overcast · 2mm rain · Low tide: 7:34am (2.3 m), 8:10pm (2.5 m) · Wind up to 24 km/h · Waves 0.8 m
Work the flint gravel and the chalk reef at low water — star-marked urchin flints and belemnites are regular finds, with Ice Age bone appearing after scouring tides.
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 →
Clifftop car park off the A149 at East Runton gap.
Toilets in season; pubs and shop in the village.
Ramp down the gap onto sand and chalk reef.
Soft, actively slumping cliffs — stay off the slumps, especially after wet weather. High tide reaches the cliff base along much of this stretch.
Fossil Forecast