Norfolk · Directions ↗
Today at Hunstanton
FairBig tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 0.5 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
Safe window: 12:32pm – 3:32pm
Leave the beach by 3:32pm — 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: 2:12am (1.1 m), 2:32pm (0.5 m) · Wind up to 29 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 1:07pm – 4:07pm
Leave the beach by 4:07pm — 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 mid-afternoon.
22° · clear · Low tide: 2:47am (1.0 m), 3:07pm (0.6 m) · Wind up to 19 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 1:39pm – 4:39pm
Leave the beach by 4:39pm — 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 0.8 m low tide falls mid-afternoon.
22° · mostly clear · Low tide: 3:20am (1.1 m), 3:39pm (0.8 m) · Wind up to 21 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 2:09pm – 5:09pm
Leave the beach by 5:09pm — 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.
21° · drizzle · 1mm rain · Low tide: 3:50am (1.3 m), 4:09pm (1.2 m) · Wind up to 30 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 2:39pm – 5:39pm
Leave the beach by 5:39pm — 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° · overcast · Low tide: 4:20am (1.6 m), 4:39pm (1.6 m) · Wind up to 21 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 3:10pm – 6:10pm
Leave the beach by 6:10pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls towards evening, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
18° · overcast · Low tide: 4:51am (1.9 m), 5:10pm (2.0 m) · Wind up to 31 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Safe window: 6:03am – 6:26am
Leave the beach by 6:26am — 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° · mostly clear · Low tide: 5:26am (2.2 m), 5:47pm (2.5 m) · Wind up to 35 km/h · Waves 1.0 m
Search the fallen blocks and chalk rubble spread along the beach — belemnites and sea urchins weather out and collect in the gravel between the boulders. The blocks on the open beach have already fallen; those are the safe ones to search.
Belemnites weather out of the striped red-and-white chalk as amber bullet shapes. Sea urchins appear as domed flints with a faint five-pointed star. Brachiopod shells pepper the fallen blocks. Identification: Norfolk Museums Service accepts photo enquiries; Lynn Museum is nearest.
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 →
Large seafront car parks along the Esplanade and at the cliff top.
Full seaside-town facilities: toilets, cafés, shops.
Flat access onto sand below the famous red-and-white striped cliffs.
Blocks fall from the undercut Red Chalk and Carstone cliffs — stay off the fallen debris and away from the base. Wide flats and fast tides over the Wash sandbanks.
Fossil Forecast