South Wales · Directions ↗
Today at Penarth
FairBig tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 1.2 m low tide falls at lunchtime.
Safe window: 11:17am – 2:17pm
Leave the beach by 2:17pm — 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 1.2 m low tide falls at lunchtime.
8° · drizzle · 7mm rain · Low tide: 12:59am (1.2 m), 1:17pm (1.2 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 11:53am – 2:53pm
Leave the beach by 2:53pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
10° · overcast · 2mm rain · Low tide: 1:35am (1.5 m), 1:53pm (1.6 m) · Wind up to 21 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 12:25pm – 3:25pm
Leave the beach by 3:25pm — 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.
8° · clear · Low tide: 2:07am (1.9 m), 2:25pm (2.0 m) · Wind up to 20 km/h · Waves 0.5 m
Safe window: 12:55pm – 3:55pm
Leave the beach by 3:55pm — 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.
7° · mostly clear · Low tide: 2:36am (2.3 m), 2:55pm (2.4 m) · Wind up to 12 km/h · Waves 0.2 m
Safe window: 1:23pm – 4:23pm
Leave the beach by 4:23pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
7° · overcast · Low tide: 3:03am (2.7 m), 3:23pm (2.7 m) · Wind up to 8 km/h · Waves 0.2 m
Safe window: 1:54pm – 4:54pm
Leave the beach by 4:54pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
9° · drizzle · 8mm rain · Low tide: 3:30am (3.0 m), 3:54pm (3.0 m) · Wind up to 13 km/h · Waves 0.2 m
Safe window: 2:32pm – 5:01pm
Leave the beach by 5:01pm — 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.
12° · overcast · Low tide: 4:03am (3.3 m), 4:32pm (3.3 m) · Wind up to 22 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Search the fallen grey-blue slabs and shingle below the alternating striped cliffs towards Lavernock — ammonite impressions show on slab faces after the tide rinses them. Fresh falls feed the beach all winter; work the loose material, not the cliff.
Ammonite impressions here can be dinner-plate size, showing as coiled ridges on fallen grey-blue slabs. 'Devil's toenails' (Gryphaea) are thick, curved oyster shells lying loose in the gravel. Free identification: photograph your find for the enquiry service at Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Cardiff.
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
Allowed: Loose fossils from the beach and foreshore may be kept for personal collections.
Never allowed: No hammering or digging into the cliffs or the wave-cut ledges anywhere on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast.
Important finds: Report significant finds (this coast produced the Welsh dinosaur Dracoraptor) to Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Cardiff.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
On-street and pay car parks near the Esplanade and pier.
Full seafront facilities: toilets, cafés, pier.
Steps and ramps from the Esplanade; hunt south towards Lavernock below the alternating grey cliffs.
One of the world's biggest tidal ranges — the sea comes in very fast and cuts off the stretch towards Lavernock. Constant small rockfalls from the Triassic and Lias cliffs.
Fossil Forecast