Washed up along the seashore
As well as the the creatures that thrive in the inter-tidal region, we also see evidence of some that live further offshore and rarely reach the beach alive. All the items on this page can be found washed ashore, some daily and others after stormy weather.
Cuttlebones
Cuttlefish, related to the octopus, have a bone which is used to give them bouyancy. When they die the bone, which floats, gets washed up along our shore.
Mermaid's Purse
These are the empty egg cases of sharks, skates and rays. Several types get washed up on our shore but the most common is that of the Thornback Ray.
Whelk Egg Cases
This sponge-like collection of capsules was laid by lots of Common Whelks and glued together. Each would have contained about a thousand eggs.
Necklace Shell Eggs
The Necklace Shell lays this mass of eggs bound together with mucus and grains of sand.
Barrel Jellyfish
This jellyfish can be up to 80cm across but has a relatively mild sting. This one is upside down.
Common Starfish
Young starfish sometimes get thrown onto the sand by the receding tide and are unable to return to the sea.
Small-spotted Catshark
Also known as the Dogfish, these occasionally wash ashore, often as discarded by-catch.
Goose Barnacle
Storms often drive driftwood or bouys ashore and sometimes these have travelled right across the Atlantic carrying a colony of Goose Barnacles.
Hornwrack
This is actually a Bryozoa, a colony of individual Zooids. They get washed up after storms and smell of lemons when fresh.
Mermaid's Glove
This is a sponge, a filter-feeding animal, which lives just off-shore and sometimes gets washed ashore.