A boy dipping in a rock pool, Cornwall, England. Alexander Mustard/naturepl.com
AS I clamber out of the car for a day at the beach, it is – in typical British fashion – absolutely freezing. Most sensible people have stayed at home. But despite the conditions, I am in a joyous mood. I have come to West Runton, Norfolk, to do something I have loved ever since I was a child: go rock pooling.
Even better, I have persuaded one of the world’s foremost experts on seashells to come along with me. Author Helen Scales trained as a marine biologist and has written . There isn’t much about marine creatures she can’t tell you.
We pull on windcheaters and woolly hats. But as we stride towards the water, I worry that we won’t find anything interesting. How fascinating can life get on a cold and windy beach in England? As it turns out, I needn’t have been concerned. Rock pools are just as beguiling in real life as they are in our collective imagination, and I am about to encounter an incredible range of underappreciated species.
What’s more, you can too. If you look closely and arm yourself with a little knowledge, there is an awful lot to appreciate about the lives in this little-understood habitat.
As we walk towards the beach, we pass a sign encouraging us to be “respectful rockpoolers”. Scales gives me a quick primer on what that means. Lift up rocks carefully and always put them back where they came from. Don’t pull animals like snails off rocks – you could hurt them. For extra…
