BrightonBeach365: The highest tide of the year

Monday, March 31, 2025

The highest tide of the year

It is the highest tide of the year today, I believe, and possibly the lowest too. However, tide times and heights are not an exact science, and they seem to vary slightly from provider to provider. The Visit Brighton website takes its tide data from the UK Hydrographic Office which gave the following stats for 31 March 2025: high water at 13:19 - 7.0m; and low water at 19:36 - 0.3m. These two conjoined photographs were taken today under Brighton Palace Pier more or less at those exact times.

Brighton Beach experiences a semi-diurnal tide, with two high and two low tides each day. The tidal range is influenced by lunar and solar gravitational forces. The beach’s gradient can be relatively steep, composed primarily of flint pebbles that have been shaped by longshore drift and wave action. Near the Palace Pier, the retreating tide occasionally reveals patches of sand, a rare feature on this predominantly shingle-covered shoreline.

The chart here is taken from Tide-forecast.com. It shows, pictorially, the very wide difference Brighton Beach's high and low tides which range from nearly 7m today to 3m (mid-lunar cycle on 6 April for example).

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