Somerset · Directions ↗
Today at Watchet
FairBig tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A big 1.3 m low tide falls at lunchtime.
Safe window: 10:48am – 1:48pm
Leave the beach by 1:48pm — 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 1.3 m low tide falls at lunchtime.
8° · rain · 11mm rain · Low tide: 12:34am (1.4 m), 12:48pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 26 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 11:21am – 2:21pm
Leave the beach by 2:21pm — 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 1.4 m low tide falls at lunchtime.
10° · overcast · 2mm rain · Low tide: 1:06am (1.4 m), 1:21pm (1.4 m) · Wind up to 27 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 11:54am – 2:54pm
Leave the beach by 2:54pm — 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.
9° · mostly clear · Low tide: 1:38am (1.6 m), 1:54pm (1.6 m) · Wind up to 31 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 12:29pm – 3:29pm
Leave the beach by 3:29pm — 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: 2:11am (1.9 m), 2:29pm (2.0 m) · Wind up to 23 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
Safe window: 1:05pm – 4:05pm
Leave the beach by 4:05pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
9° · overcast · Low tide: 2:45am (2.3 m), 3:05pm (2.4 m) · Wind up to 23 km/h · Waves 0.1 m
Safe window: 1:46pm – 4:46pm
Leave the beach by 4:46pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
11° · drizzle · 5mm rain · Low tide: 3:22am (2.8 m), 3:46pm (2.9 m) · Wind up to 28 km/h · Waves 0.2 m
Safe window: 2:33pm – 5:02pm
Leave the beach by 5:02pm — 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° · mostly clear · Low tide: 4:03am (3.2 m), 4:33pm (3.4 m) · Wind up to 35 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Walk east to Helwell Bay at low tide and search the loose stone between the ammonite-bearing ledges. The tide rinses new material out of the boulder clay constantly — the best finds sit loose on the surface waiting to be noticed.
Giant ammonites — some nearly a metre across — sit in the flat ledges: photograph them, they must stay. Loose finds are smaller ammonites, ridged oysters and occasional dark, dense reptile bone. Identification help: Watchet Market House Museum (seasonal), or photograph finds for a museum enquiry.
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
Allowed: Loose fossils from the beach may be kept for personal collections.
Never allowed: This SSSI coast has a strict no-hammering code — do not hammer or dig the ledges, cliffs or in-place ammonites.
Important finds: Ask at Watchet Market House Museum about significant finds.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
Pay car parks in Watchet town, near the harbour and station.
Full town facilities: toilets, cafés, museum.
East to Helwell Bay for the classic ammonite ledges; west towards Blue Anchor for alabaster cliffs.
Fast-flooding tide across wide ledges — check tide times at the harbour before setting out. Unstable, faulted cliffs: keep off the base and the fallen mud.
Fossil Forecast