(W)Racking my brains

Nolton Haven is a more-or-less U-shaped inlet on the west coast, facing roughly south-south-west. Looking out past the cliffs which form the mouth of the haven, you can see the jagged humps of Stack Rocks, near Brandy Bay and Mill Haven, between Little Haven and St Brides. Beyond them, the curve of land ending in what appear to be hills and valleys is the north coast of the Marloes peninsula. You'd need a telescope to see the details of the spectacular old red sandstone cliffs, but binoculars will help you see that the lumpy 'hills'  are islands. Left to right, the peninsula ends with the steep cliffs of Wooltack Point, then there is Midland Isle and Skomer. Skokholm lies behind the end of the peninsular and Midland Isle, indistinguishable from the other land in the haze. Ships waiting for their place at the oil terminals near Milford Haven often anchor off the coast, looming out of the mist.

I probably only go there once or twice a year, as it always takes longer than I think it will; I get lost in the narrow, winding lanes and drive slowly, as there is a lot of traffic, both cars and farm vehicles, and potentially horses from the large riding stables in Nolton village.

(You should be able to click on the photos below to see a larger version.)

This was taken 4 August 2015, when it was chilly enough to wear a coat!

Last Sunday, a friend and I decided to take some sandwiches and blow away some cobwebs with a little walk on the beach. The sun was playing hide-and-seek, and it was even blowier than expected, adding extra sand to the sandwiches. The tide was out, enticing us to walk down the beach. There's a stream which flows under the road and  onto the beach spreading out over the sand so that it stays wet. On either side, there are rocks covered with barnacles and seaweed, and rockpools.

Take a tip from me and stay in the sandy centre of the haven if you go for a swim. Several years ago, I swam to a little sandy patch near the cliffs and the waves pushed me against some of the rocks. It was only when I got out that I felt the sting and realised when I saw blood dripping onto my feet that one of my shins had several deep scratches from the barnacles.

The rockpools don't generally have much in them. There are the usual beadlet anemones, a few crabs, but I've rarely seen any shrimp or small fish. There is a lot of weed. Every year, I remind myself that I should learn something about seaweed so that I can name what I'm looking at.

I don't know what the astonishingly purple weed is, but it really was that colour!

The most common weed covering the rocks is the brown one with greener blobs on the end and occasional bubbles in it. I thought it was Bladder Wrack Fucus vesiculosus, but was I right?

Back home, I had a cup of tea while I leafed through a couple of my nature guide books. I have quite a collection, but the two I took from the shelf were The Readers Digest Field Guide to the Water Life of Britain, and the Hamlyn Guide Seashores and Shallow Seas of Britain and Europe (Campbell and Nicholls).* I'm not sure either of these are still in print, but you can pick good second-hand copies up very cheaply from Amazon. (* These are affiliate links)

It turned out my memory was correct, and while I had my guide-book in hand, I looked at the details for the other types of wrack commonly found around the UK coastline - Toothed or Serrated Wrack Fucus serratus, Spiral Wrack Fucus spiralis, Knotted or Egg Wrack Ascophyllum nodosum, Channelled Wrack Pelvetia canaliculata, and decided that would be enough for the time being. The green prickly puffs on the end are fruiting bodies.

I love the patterns and textures of the weed-draped rocks. Now I want to see what other weeds I can identify ... or is that just an excuse for another trip to the beach?