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Today at Warden Point (Sheppey), Kent
Good day to huntBig tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A recent north-easterly blow should have brought fresh cliff material onto the beach. A big 0.7 m low tide falls towards evening.
Safe window: 6:20pm – 9:20pm
Leave the beach by 9:20pm — the tide will cut off your route back.
Big tide today (spring tide) — more beach exposed, but it comes back in fast.
Why: A recent north-easterly blow should have brought fresh cliff material onto the beach. A big 0.7 m low tide falls towards evening.
21° · overcast · Low tide: 8:20pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 29 km/h · Waves 0.8 m
Safe window: 7:08pm – 9:52pm
Leave the beach by 9:52pm — 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 towards evening.
22° · clear · Low tide: 8:46am (1.0 m), 9:08pm (0.5 m) · Wind up to 25 km/h · Waves 0.7 m
Safe window: 7:50pm – 9:50pm
Leave the beach by 9:50pm — 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 0.4 m low tide falls towards evening.
24° · clear · Low tide: 9:28am (1.1 m), 9:50pm (0.4 m) · Wind up to 18 km/h · Waves 0.5 m
Safe window: 8:28pm – 9:49pm
Leave the beach by 9:49pm — 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 0.4 m low tide falls towards evening.
23° · mostly clear · Low tide: 10:05am (1.1 m), 10:28pm (0.4 m) · Wind up to 19 km/h · Waves 0.5 m
Safe window: 9:05pm – 9:48pm
Leave the beach by 9:48pm — 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 0.5 m low tide falls towards evening. Daylight cuts the collecting window to under 45 minutes, so don't plan a long session.
22° · mostly clear · Low tide: 10:41am (1.2 m), 11:05pm (0.5 m) · Wind up to 18 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 9:44pm – 9:46pm
Leave the beach by 9:46pm — 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 0.7 m low tide falls towards evening. Daylight cuts the collecting window to under 45 minutes, so don't plan a long session.
26° · clear · Low tide: 11:19am (1.2 m), 11:44pm (0.7 m) · Wind up to 35 km/h · Waves 0.4 m
Safe window: 10:01am – 1:01pm
Leave the beach by 1:01pm — 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.
20° · mostly clear · Low tide: 12:01pm (1.3 m) · Wind up to 23 km/h · Waves 0.3 m
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.
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.
This coast is a protected site (SSSI). What does that mean?
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.
Detailed location guide at UK Fossils →
Limited parking at Warden Bay / Warden Springs area.
Very little nearby — bring everything you need.
Access points change as the cliff erodes; follow current signed paths down.
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.
Fossil Forecast