Visiting the RAF Cowden Beach

We began at Mappleton and took just under one hour to reach the start of the area of interest (ambling pace).

The warning sign does not exaggerate the potential dangers.

Below the range at Cowden with the entry point at Mappleton marked......a long return if the tide is coming in.

Finding the correct tide times is not a simple matter.
Worryingly, different websites give very different times. The RNLI recommend the UK Met Office.
On the day of our visit, a prominent website from a Google search displayed the high tide at 17:46hrs.
The Met Office (and direct observation) showed the high tide occuring at 16:10hrs.

UK Met Office Tide Times (opens in a new window)

This picture is taken from the access point at Mappleton at 13:45hrs......almost 90mins before high tide.
Most of the beach is already covered.

This image is taken from Mappleton at 16:05hrs, just before high tide (September 17th 2021).....a warm, calm day.
We were clear of the beach more than 3 hours before the high tide was due.

My advice would be to find a day where you could begin your walk as the tide was going out.
This will maximise the time you have to explore.