Doniford Beach

A foreshore for fossil hunters

Doniford sits along Helwell Bay between Watchet and Williton. Its beach is a fossil beach known for rock pools and eroding cliffs, running between Doniford and St Audries. Next to it stands an early 19th-century lime kiln, thought to have been used until the 1930s.

It is a working fossil site, not a sandy resort. Come for the rock and the tidal pools, and look at Watchet Beach or St Audries Bay for the neighbouring shores.

Getting there

Doniford Halt is a stop on the West Somerset Railway, and the railway describes Doniford Beach as a fossil beach with rock pools and sand, good for finding fossils and marine life. The halt is a request stop: to catch a train you put your hand out to signal the driver, and anyone returning tells the guard they want to alight at Doniford. There is no ticket office, so tickets are bought on the train, and the halt has no other facilities.

Parking near the beach is limited. The railway page lists no car park at the halt, so the train is the simplest way to arrive. Check the railway’s own site for running days before you plan around it.

Cliffs, tides and fossils

The cliffs are eroding, so keep away from the base and from fresh falls. Somerset Council warns that on Bristol Channel beaches people can be trapped by an incoming tide and by mud at low tide, and asks visitors to heed the signs. Check tide times and keep a clear route back.

This stretch lies in the Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest, which is protected for its geology. Look rather than dig, and check collecting guidance before you take anything. Compare Kilve Beach further along the coast.

Dogs

Somerset Council sets dog rules for the coast, so read its public spaces protection orders page and any signs. The council’s beach safety advice covers tides and mud.