Sea-washed rock and crumbling cliff edges are where good days end. Run through these ten points before you step off the path onto the stone.
Tick everything that applies before you step onto wet rock or a cliff-top path. Your score updates as you go.
Each ticked item removes one layer of risk. 9–10 ticks means conditions are good for exposed rock; 6–8 means fix the unchecked items before you proceed; 5 or fewer means this is not the day for that headland. The tool lists exactly which boxes you left unticked and why each one matters.
A seaweed-covered rock surface can be as slick as ice, even in light rain. Footwear with a decent grippy sole — not flip-flops or flat trainers — and staying off the green, slimy slabs is what keeps you upright. Most cliff falls happen in dry weather but on sea-washed rock.
On a rocky shore the tide does not rise evenly — it crawls up gullies and channels and can cut off your return long before it reaches the cliff top. Always work back toward your exit with the tide, and be off the lower rocks well before high water.