Wells-next-the-Sea tide times
The working quay and harbour channel. Keelboats need water under them, so the high-water window is everything.
Get a printable sheet — free for 7 daysYou can be cut off by the tide here — read this before you go ↓
Next high tideHigh tide now · Wells-next-the-Sea
BST ±30 min
- Tide size
- 6.0 m
size of tide, not depth here · at Immingham - Tide
- Neap
- Wind then
- Force 4 W · 14 kn
The next high tide at Wells-next-the-Sea is 12:54 BST ±30 min on Sat 5 Sept.
Tide predictions for Wells-next-the-Sea have run out. Reload the page for the latest.
Next 48 hours
Next 7 days
times in BST · high ±30 · low ±60| Day | Early | Late |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 05 Sept ☀ 06:13–19:36 Neap | 00:27 6.0 m 07:09 low | 12:54 6.0 m 19:47 low |
| Sun 06 Sept ☀ 06:15–19:34 Neap | 01:43 5.8 m 08:38 low | 14:34 5.7 m 21:25 low |
| Mon 07 Sept ☀ 06:17–19:32 Neap | 03:18 5.8 m 10:23 low | 16:29 6.0 m 23:04 low |
| Tue 08 Sept ☀ 06:18–19:29 Mid | 04:41 6.2 m 11:39 low | 17:39 6.5 m |
| Wed 09 Sept ☀ 06:20–19:27 Spring | 05:42 6.7 m 00:09 low | 18:30 6.9 m 12:35 low |
| Thu 10 Sept ☀ 06:22–19:24 Spring | 06:32 7.2 m 01:00 low | 19:13 7.2 m 13:22 low |
| Fri 11 Sept ☀ 06:24–19:22 Spring | 07:17 7.5 m 01:44 low | 19:52 7.3 m 14:03 low |
Two high waters most days, roughly twelve hours apart. Each high water is accurate to ±30 min. Low water is worked out from the high waters either side of it, so it is a wider estimate — ±60 min — and is shown smaller for that reason. “Spring” tides run higher and faster than “neap”.
Heights are the size of the tide, not the depth of the water here. They are metres above chart datum at Immingham, our reference port — we carry a timing offset to Wells-next-the-Sea but no height ratio, so a big number does not mean a deep creek.
Want Wells-next-the-Sea for the whole year, not just this week? Get the calendar — from £2.
High tide
Low tide
What the tide controls here
At Wells, the tide controls when boats can cross the bar, when the beach channels fill, and when swimming at the quay is allowed.
- Harbour access
- Entry depends on draft. Most vessel movements run two hours before high water to two hours after. Port of Wells →
- Swimming
- Swimming is not permitted in the quayside area 2.5 hours either side of high tide. Harbour Master’s Directions →
- Flood warnings
- The Environment Agency issues tidal flood warnings for this stretch of coast. Check live warnings →
Want Wells-next-the-Sea all year?
Get 365 days of high tides for this location — sheet, calendar and spreadsheet — instead of just the next 7 days above.
15% of people in the UK and Ireland have been cut off — or nearly cut off — by the tide in their lifetime (RNLI/Bangor University, April 2025). A calendar you don’t have to remember to check is one less thing to get wrong.
- 1 month · £2
- 3 months · £5
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- 12 months · £20
Dangers here
Specific to this location. The sea is dangerous everywhere on this coast — this is what the tide does here.
The channels on Wells beach fill from four hours before high water
The RNLI warn that the natural channels or “drains” on Wells Beach can be up to two metres deep with uneven ground at the bottom. From about four hours before high tide at Wells Bar they begin to fill rapidly, forming isolated islands.
The water is cold and fast-flowing, and wading it risks cold-water shock, hypothermia and drowning. Be back on dry sand or dry land four hours before high tide. In summer a siren sounds to mark that point.
How this time is worked out
Every time on this page is high water at Immingham, shifted by 36 minutes for Wells-next-the-Sea, and published as a ±30 minute window.
Checked against a tide gauge. The only location we can check directly, and the only one we have calibrated. There is an Environment Agency tide gauge here, so we compared 39 measured high waters against our predictions and corrected this timing by 19 minutes in July 2026. Our other locations have no gauge and have not been calibrated this way — they are likely to run a little late.
How we work out every time on this site
This is a prediction of the astronomical tide. It cannot know what the weather is doing, and wind, pressure and surge all move real water. It is one input to a decision you make — never the decision itself.
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Things to do at Wells-next-the-Sea
The Globe Inn
Relaxed coastal pub on Wells' Georgian square, serving hearty pub food and fresh fish and chips, with rooms above.
The Crown Hotel
Refurbished former coaching inn on the Buttlands green, with 20 rooms and a seasonal, locally sourced menu.
French's Fish and Chips
Family-run fish and chip shop on Wells Quay since 1921, four generations in, with harbour-wall seating.
BJR Marine / Off The Hook
Sea fishing charter trips departing Wells harbour for cod, skate and tope.
Nobody pays to be on this list. Check opening times before you set off. Want your business here? See how it works or email ahoy@norfolktidetimes.co.uk.
Generated 5 September 2026 · TICON-4 harmonic constants via @neaps/tide-database (CC-BY-4.0, Hart-Davis et al., 2025)
What the tide allows here
All activities- Sailing
Next window here
09:54–15:54
Sat 5 Sept
- Beach walking
Next window here
06:13–09:09
Sat 5 Sept
Windows are published by the clubs, harbours and operators named on each activity page — not by us. Always use your own judgement, and ask whoever you are hiring from.