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Today at Folkestone (Copt Point), Kent
Quiet dayWhy: 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. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
Safe window: 4:42pm – 4:52pm
Leave the beach by 4:52pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: 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. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
9° · overcast · 21mm rain · Low tide: 6:26am (1.1 m), 6:42pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 27 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Safe window: 6:29am – 8:00am
Leave the beach by 8:00am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Heavy rain in the last two days may have washed fresh material out of the cliffs. Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one.
10° · overcast · 15mm rain · Low tide: 7:00am (1.2 m), 7:13pm (1.1 m) · Wind up to 24 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 6:31am – 8:31am
Leave the beach by 8:31am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Heavy rain in the last two days may have washed fresh material out of the cliffs. Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one.
10° · clear · Low tide: 7:31am (1.3 m), 7:43pm (1.2 m) · Wind up to 30 km/h · Waves 0.8 m
Safe window: 6:33am – 9:00am
Leave the beach by 9:00am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Heavy rain in the last two days may have washed fresh material out of the cliffs. Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one.
7° · clear · Low tide: 8:00am (1.4 m), 8:11pm (1.5 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 6:34am – 9:29am
Leave the beach by 9:29am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one.
9° · clear · Low tide: 8:29am (1.6 m), 8:41pm (1.7 m) · Wind up to 18 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 7:02am – 10:02am
Leave the beach by 10:02am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-morning, though it is not an especially big one.
11° · overcast · 2mm rain · Low tide: 9:02am (1.9 m), 9:15pm (2.0 m) · Wind up to 27 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 7:41am – 10:41am
Leave the beach by 10:41am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-morning, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
12° · clear · 11mm rain · Low tide: 9:41am (2.1 m), 9:57pm (2.3 m) · Wind up to 27 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
At East Wear Bay, search the Gault clay foreshore at low water — ammonites sit proud of the washed clay surface after the tide has rinsed it. Firm gravel patches are the safe footing; wrap fragile finds immediately.
Gault clay ammonites are small, brown or pearly, and fragile — wrap them as soon as you find them. Glossy black fish teeth and coiled 'ram's horn' shells also wash onto the foreshore. Identification: Folkestone Museum, or photograph finds for the Natural History Museum's identification service.
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
Allowed: Surface-collecting loose fossils from the beach and foreshore is permitted.
Never allowed: No digging into the Gault clay cliffs or landslips at this SSSI.
Important finds: Notable finds can be reported to Folkestone Museum.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
Parking near the Martello tower / Wear Bay Road, East Cliff.
Café at the Martello tower area in season; full facilities in Folkestone.
Paths down to East Wear Bay; the fossil-rich Gault clay foreshore is exposed at low tide.
The Gault clay is deep, sticky and can trap boots — keep to firm ground. Landslipped undercliff is unstable; the tide reaches the base of the point, so return before it turns.
Fossil Forecast