Winter Beachcombing

Anglesey can be windy off and on all year round, but its in the winter months when the worst storms can hit.  The plus side of stormy weather is that you can go out for a bracing beach walk afterwards to do a bit of beachcoming and see what the tide has washed up.

Sadly, sea creatures sometimes get washed up on the beach - sometimes they have already died at sea and other times they are found in time to be rescued.  In November 2016, an Olive Ridley turtle was washed up on the beach outside the Anglesey Sea Zoo.  It is amazing that she had travelled thousands of miles from more tropical climes and ended up practically at the front door one of the few places in the UK who were best equipped to help her.  The Sea Zoo did a fantastic job in rehabilitating her, until she was well enough to be flown out to the Canary Islands in preparation for release back into the wild.  Sadly, her health deteriorated for, as yet, some unknown reason, before the chance came for her to be released back into the ocean and she died in January this year.

I prefer beach finds that don't have a life and death situation.  Items that I can put in my collection for future creative projects. I found some quite interesting things recently - some pieces of slate, a nice piece of polished sea glass, a striped shell and a pretty piece of old pottery.

No beachcoming trip (especially in cold weather) is complete without a visit to the beach cafe - either before or after your walk (or why not both!!).

I was at the Surf Cafe in Rhosneigr - one of my favourite beaches on the island and visited more frequently than others by us as Mr Cocopopia likes to kitesurf and this is the beach for kitesurfing on the island.

We've been busy with renovations, but hopefully we can get back there again soon ...