Dorset · Directions ↗
Today at Eype
Quiet dayWhy: Low tide falls at lunchtime, though it is not an especially big one. No recent storms, so expect a picked-over beach.
Safe window: 11:16am – 2:16pm
Leave the beach by 2:16pm — 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.
28° · overcast · Low tide: 1:16pm (1.0 m) · Wind up to 29 km/h · Waves 0.6 m
Safe window: 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Leave the beach by 3:00pm — 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.
28° · clear · Low tide: 1:50am (0.8 m), 2:00pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 23 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 12:45pm – 3:45pm
Leave the beach by 3:45pm — 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.
25° · clear · Low tide: 2:34am (0.7 m), 2:45pm (0.9 m) · Wind up to 17 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
Safe window: 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Leave the beach by 4:30pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Why: Low tide falls mid-afternoon, though it is not an especially big one.
25° · mostly clear · Low tide: 3:19am (0.8 m), 3:30pm (1.0 m) · Wind up to 13 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
Safe window: 4:38am – 5:04am
Leave the beach by 5:04am — 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.
24° · drizzle · Low tide: 4:04am (0.9 m), 4:16pm (1.2 m) · Wind up to 12 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 4:39am – 5:49am
Leave the beach by 5:49am — 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.
27° · clear · Low tide: 4:49am (1.1 m), 5:02pm (1.4 m) · Wind up to 12 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
Safe window: 4:41am – 6:34am
Leave the beach by 6:34am — 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.
25° · mostly clear · Low tide: 5:34am (1.3 m), 5:50pm (1.5 m) · Wind up to 16 km/h · Waves 0.2 m
Search the gravel patches and rock pools below Thorncombe Beacon at low water. This quiet beach is rarely picked over — the tideline after a south-westerly blow rewards a slow, patient walk.
Ammonites show as coiled ridges in grey limestone, or as golden pyrite spirals the size of a coin. Belemnites are smooth amber-brown rods shaped like rifle bullets. Ichthyosaur vertebrae look like dark, shiny cotton reels. Free identification: the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre identifies finds in person and from emailed photos (charmouth.org).
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
Allowed: Loose fossils from the beach and foreshore are yours to keep — collecting them here is positively encouraged, because the sea destroys what nobody saves.
Never allowed: Never dig or hammer into the cliffs, ledges or landslide material; fossils still in place must stay in place.
Important finds: Register scientifically important finds with the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre under the West Dorset Fossil Collecting Code.
Rules can change — check locally before you collect.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
Small car park at Eype Mouth, down a narrow lane.
None on the beach; nearest facilities in West Bay.
Short steep path to the beach; walk west below Thorncombe Beacon.
Regular cliff falls from the sandstone above — stay off the fresh fall debris cones. Quiet beach: tell someone where you are going.
Fossil Forecast