Conditions guidance only. Cliffs are dangerous — never dig in or stand near them.
Check tide times locally and tell someone where you're going.
Safety page
Leave the beach by 4:53pm — 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.
9° · overcast · 11mm rain · Low tide: 5:49am (1.3 m), 6:06pm (1.2 m) · Wind up to 24 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Wednesday 11 November
Quiet day
Safe window: 4:37pm – 4:51pm
Leave the beach by 4:51pm — 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.
11° · overcast · 9mm rain · Low tide: 6:21am (1.5 m), 6:37pm (1.4 m) · Wind up to 25 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Thursday 12 November
Fair
Safe window: 6:33am – 7:51am
Leave the beach by 7:51am — 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.
9° · clear · Low tide: 6:51am (1.7 m), 7:07pm (1.6 m) · Wind up to 32 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Friday 13 November
Quiet day
Safe window: 6:34am – 8:21am
Leave the beach by 8:21am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
7° · clear · Low tide: 7:21am (1.9 m), 7:37pm (1.8 m) · Wind up to 21 km/h · Waves 0.5 m
Saturday 14 November
Fair
Safe window: 6:36am – 8:52am
Leave the beach by 8:52am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one.
7° · clear · Low tide: 7:52am (2.1 m), 8:10pm (2.1 m) · Wind up to 9 km/h · Waves 0.2 m
Sunday 15 November
Fair
Safe window: 6:38am – 9:27am
Leave the beach by 9:27am — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls first thing, though it is not an especially big one.
10° · overcast · Low tide: 8:27am (2.3 m), 8:47pm (2.3 m) · Wind up to 13 km/h · Waves 0.2 m
Monday 16 November
Quiet day
Safe window: 7:08am – 10:08am
Leave the beach by 10:08am — 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° · mostly clear · 4mm rain · Low tide: 9:08am (2.6 m), 9:32pm (2.5 m) · Wind up to 13 km/h · Waves 0.2 m
Where to look
Search the London Clay foreshore for rounded brown nodules and pyrite fossils lying on the washed surface — but only on firm ground, never out on the open mudflats. The freshest material appears after a north-easterly blow.
What fossils look like here
Shark teeth are glossy, dark and triangular — usually under an inch, lying in the low-water gravel. Pyrite fossils look like brassy twigs. Rounded brown nodules with rusty cracks can hide crabs and turtle bone. Identification: photograph finds for the Natural History Museum's identification service.
Allowed: Loose fossils from the beach and foreshore may be kept; sieving loose gravel is fine.
Never allowed: No digging into the cliffs or sea defences on this SSSI coast.
Important finds: Unusual finds (bird bones, complete crabs, turtle material) are scientifically valuable — photograph them for the Natural History Museum.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Limited parking at Warden Bay / Warden Springs area.
Facilities
Very little nearby — bring everything you need.
Access
Access points change as the cliff erodes; follow current signed paths down.
Hazards
The London Clay foreshore hides deep, dangerous mud that has trapped collectors — test every step and never cross the open mudflats. Actively collapsing cliffs; go on a falling tide only.