LowTide
2001 in Cornwall
Glencoe,
Porthcothan
Four
people came to the early morning rockpool walk at Glencoe where they enjoyed looking
at the strandline, geology and life in the rockpools, guided by a local expert
couple. Low numbers were due to the early time of the walk as well as foot &
mouth in the area. This site was certainly not the only one to be affected by
the foot & mouth outbreak, as in a lot of cases the public were confused about
access to the coast and country.
Carleon
Cove, Poltesco
This
2 hour rock pool safari was attended by 17 people who, lead by an enthusiastic
National Trust Warden, examined and identified the marine life found. Attendance
numbers may have been affected by other local events taking place in the same
weekend, but feedback from people taking part was very positive: A great day out
for children and adults alike!
LowTide
2001 in Devon
Goodrington
Sands, Paignton
Two very well attended walks at this site: 166 people came to join in the morning
Rockpool Ramble to see life through the eyes of Shawn the Intrepid Prawn (what
a shame we don’t have a photo!) as well as taking part in the Peculiar Plankton
session that was held later in the afternoon. It seems that the audience was especially
captivated by the plankton, which just goes to show that size really is not that
important..!
.
Exmouth Beach
A wonderful sunny mellow day was had by the 40+ people coming to the celebrations
on Exmouth beach this year. Among the attractions on offer was a maze, parachute
games, displays, sculptures, salty sea tales and a LowTide walk, all enjoyed by
the little and the big people. There were no funds available to the organiser,
but due to public demand and lots of enthusiasm, plans are already underway to
make next year even better.
LowTide
2001 in Dorset
Ferry
Bridge, Fleet Lagoon
Due
to a very unfortunate mistake made by the local paper in this region, no details
were printed to announce the Discovery Walk held by the side of Fleet Lagoon.
Nevertheless, the organisor was unstoppable and 5 people (all adult) still turned
up to enjoy the good weather and a broad range of marine life, which is after
all the essence of the LowTide celebration. Who said something about size?
LowTide
2001 on the Isle of Wight
Fort Victoria
An
absolutely amazing day for both visitors and unsuspecting organisers of the beach
walks and activities at this site. With the tide very low here, more than 600
people (of which 40% children) turned up to find out what the sea reveals when
she retreats. Apart
from the prehistoric turtle and mollusc shells that this beach is renowned for,
other treasures found were hermit crabs, butterfish, spider crabs, a velvet swimmer
crab, a porcelain crab, a squat lobster and a pipefish. One family discovered
what appears to be a fossilized horsetooth of some description, which has been
sent to a lab for analysis and dating - LowTide about to make history!? Staff
and volunteers have now made a full recovery and are already looking forward to
next year’s event…
LowTide
2001 in Portsmouth
Southsea
Seafront/Langstone Harbour
Although
cold wind did have an effect on the number of people doing the treasure hunt organised
by Friends of the Earth (FOE) this year, the 30 people – especially the kids,
who were in the majority - who came to Southsea Seafront still tremendously enjoyed
a talk about the creatures of Langstone Harbour, making sea life mobiles, pebble
painting and slime making. Apparently the latter was just as popular with FOE
staff members and volunteers as with the public, so everyone had a good time.
We would appreciate if you could send us the recipe for publication in our LowTide
Ideas File, so we can all join in the fun!
LowTide
2001 in West Sussex East
Head, Chichester Harbour
If
you would have visited this beach on May the 5th in the early hours of the afternoon
, you might have encountered 30 children and 30 adults lying down on the beach.
This was not due to unprecedented wind speeds, but an exercise to become more
aware of, and in tune with the sounds of this tranquil spot. Afterwards the group
went in search for holes and they found lots in the shape of lugworm burrows,
empty shells and perfect circles in the clay bored by shellfish. Participants
thought it was great to be part of a national event and came away reminded of
how special the inter-tidal area really is.
Clymping Beach
Sadly, nobody
turned up for what was to be a guided walk along shingle and sand flats to the
rock islands at Elmer. Late publicity affected this site, so that area deserves
special attention next year. Hopefully things work out better for LowTide 2002,
Saturday 25th May.
LowTide
2001 in Brighton & Hove
| In Rottingdean too,
there was a strong wind, which meant that most of our activities took place in
the super yurt. However, the weather did pick up in the afternoon and around 440
people came to join in the fun throughout the day. Sand painting, pebble painting,
a fishing recycling game, lunar mobiles making, photoshop manipulation with a
fishy theme, badge making and face painting were ongoing activities throughout
the day, as well as touch tanks and aquaria (with excellent and very popular expert
at hand) showing the creatures that were brought in by the divers earlier in the
day. The looks of fascination (or was it anxiety?) on the children’s face
upon encountering giant crabs and lobsters made it all worthwhile. Lower down
on the beach, sea themed stories were told and children could leave their wishes
for the sea in the center of the Labyrinth. All of this was accompanied by music
from a local band (some members of the public even took to dancing!) and the odd
ray of sunshine. |  |
LowTide
2001 in East Sussex Rock
a Nore, Hastings
We
can only speculate why nobody turned up for the afternoon of play on Hastings
seafront, enticingly called ‘Go wild on the Beach’. Perhaps it was because
there were lots of other events going on in town or maybe the locals are of the
calmer variety, either way a shame for the organisers, better luck next year.
LowTide
2001 in Kent
| Greatstone
Beach
As always,
lots of fun and historical things going on in Romney Marsh. 46 brave cold souls
encountered a drunken Roman and a ferocious Viking (both past invaders to the
local shore) before the Grumpy Shrimper finally made his promised return, and
turned out to be quite friendly instead: he showed the participants dabs, flounders,
shrimps and weaver fish – he even caught a halibut. Afterwards Dave the Bionic
Bait Digger showed everyone why they never managed to find any worms in the past
(see photos). Despite arctic temperatures, 20 or so children also turned up for
the afternoon of Seashore Sculpture making, all in all a brilliant day.
Samphire Hoe, Dover
This event was another
huge and sunny success with the 275 children and 150 adults who came for a day
of playing games, learning more about sea life in the marine lab, rock pooling,
pebble painting, fancy dress costume making and much much more. Fishermen and
divers brought ashore creatures for display in tanks and the children were allowed
to handle the fossils collected in the Warren area whilst having their history
explained. The day was finished by a Grand Fancy Dress Competition (inspired by
the creatures in the tanks), storytelling with a Pirate’s Picnic, and a Return
of the Sea Creatures Parade which (in spite of bitter wind) was still attended
by over 70 cold but happy and enthusiastic people. |  |
Lower
Leas Coastal Park, Folkestone ‘Kids
create Crustaceans’ it read in Folkestone’s local paper after a brilliant
day of spectacular seashore creatures sculpture making at this coastal park in
Kent. Around 110 people, mostly children, braved the extremely cold winds to build
jelly fish sculpture and octopus or jellyfish fancy dress costumes. Despite the
sun’s efforts and the children’s hard work, many of them showed signs
of frosting over and were taken home by their parents. Those who stayed enjoyed
a rock pooling session, those who didn’t missed out on even more informative
fun! LowTide
2001 E.Riding of Yorkshire
North
Landing, Flamborough Head
80 People determined to
find out why Flamborough Head is very special for wildlife and people came to
join the English Nature and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust teams for a series of walks
taking place throughout the day. Participants could choose from two Seashore Safari
walks, two cliff top seabird spotting walks and tours of the old chalk tower lighthouse.
Ongoing events in the car park included sea bird spotting and a demonstration
by a traditional fishing family on lobster pot making. Not only did these activities
act as a focal point for the event, they were also a clever plot on the organiser’s
part to attract innocent passers by…perhaps a good idea for other sites.l
LowTide
2001 in Durham
Blackhall Rocks
Lots of barnacles, mussels, crabs and the odd fish were spotted by the 5
big and 1 little person who came to this lovely site to explore the fauna, flora
and varied limestone geology of this area. Walking with a small group like this
may make it a lot easier to relay information, and the participants feel more
comfortable to ask questions and really get involved. All walkers at Blackhall
Rocks agreed they had a very interesting day and found it was good to walk with
other people and learn about what
lies just on their doorsteps. LowTide
2001 in Tyne & Wear
Souter Lighthouse, Byers
Hole
We all know it can be very hard sometimes to
get up in the morning, but people taking part of this year’s walk on Byers
Hole beach, agreed that some things are well worth getting up early for. Starting
at 8am, some 14 adults and 20 kids gathered at the lighthouse and, after a short
talk regarding health & safety, creature welfare and the spirit of LowTide,
set off in the direction of the rockpools. Last year this site found enough interesting
and diverse creatures to make the rest of us green with envy, this year they were
less fortunate. Due to poor visibility under water the divers were unable to collect
any specimen, but everyone made up for that by uncovering their own hidden treasures!
Dove Marine
Laboratory, Cullercoat’s Bay
A Shoreline Discovery
Walk looking at plant and animal life along Cullercoats Shore was planned at this
site. LowTide
2001 in Lancashire
Morecambe Beach
Tern trail and explore the Shore, 2 RSPB guided walks,
a sandcastle competition on Morecambe Beach. LowTide
2001 in Cumbria
Harrington Docks
An industrial coastline full of history and great birding
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