Tootling Along the Anglesey Coast

We were travelling to Ireland last month but took the opportunity to stay overnight on the Welsh island of Anglesey at a hotel on Bull Bay on the north coast. Our hotel window looked over the bay and as we were in the middle of a heatwave the waters glistened in the sunlight.

The coast weaves and crimkles in a mixture of bays, inlets and caves.  It is a popular destination for geology field trips because of the complexity and age of the rocks.

They can share their enthusiasm with those who prefer flora and fauna

and who walk along the coastal path.

The next day we took a leisurely drive along the coast road

Standing Stone and Wylfa Nuclear Power Station, near Cemaes Bay

and admired some of the standing stones we passed along the way. The area is rich in megalithic monuments.

Trefadog

We were nearing our destination of Holyhead whose hill can be seen in the distance when we stopped at this little shingle and sand bay.

and my little Lumix zoomed to its limit to catch the high speed ferry making its way into port.

The Dublin Swift catamaran  twin hulls lowered now makes a leisurely entrance. Although the name suggests speed it is actually named after the Irish poet, satirist and political pamphleteer Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Later in the day I'm standing on the deck of rather rather more sedate transport while trying to get a framed picture of a passing ship as the vessel sways and we are on our way from Anglesey across the Irish Sea to Dublin. 

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, now in its new home with Melody at the helm.  The 21st round starts here
 

 

Coastal Cinnabar

Walking the beach in summer this stripy creature wiggled into view, a cinnabar moth caterpillar.  I wondered what it was doing out here on the shingle bank between channels and shore and nowhere near its usual haunt, feeding on the bright yellow ragwort.  It takes in poison from the ragwort leaves as it feeds so maybe a bird had picked it up and then gone, yuk ,with the foul taste, and dropped it. You can only see a couple of its spines on my photo but they are venomous enough to create a itchy rash on human skin if one were to pick it up.     

Like the caterpillar the shoreline is on the move and the shingle bank keeps changing and growing

and is now popular for a walk along and night fishing.

Rattle your way down the pebble banking and sand is soon reached again.  Returning to the cinnabar moth seen all along the coastal area here

Creative Commons : Sharp Photography

it takes its name from the red mineral (which used to be ground and used by artists as the red pigment, vermilion).  Whichever naturalist named it in the mists of time must have known both minerals and moths because the mineral contains mercury so like the moth is poisonous.

Creative Commons: Sharp Photography

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet this week sojourning at C here 

 

Zipping

A kite surfer taking advantage of a breezy day on the Cumbrian coast zipping backwards and forwards

and zooming along past

the sea wall, the wind taking him inshore where

he turned at the end of the beach while those of us ambling along the coastal path or idling on the sands were entertained.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at X here

Logs

Here is a narrow boat, winter ready, with logs piled up on its roof and moored on the northern reaches of the Shropshire Union Canal (affectionately known as The Shroppie) near Bunbury Locks.  I imagine with the logs burning on a cold winter's night the boat will live up to its name and everything will be 'wine and roses'.  My photograph was taken in December when it was muddy with rain rather than firm ground solid with ice and snow but we all know "as the days lengthen the cold strengthens"  so a supply of logs was a must in 2015, not to mention  the added warmth of the contents of the coal scuttle on the banking. 

By contrast this photograph was taken in June when it looks as though someone with forward planning had split a nice pile of logs to dry out in the sunshine on the Cumbrian coast

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojouring at L here

Unseaworthy

In last week's ABC Wednesday I showed a pool on the Cumbrian coast teeming with tadpole life so this week I would like to take you from that pool at Haverigg out on to the sands and the flotsam and jetsam that finds itself there.  This is the Duddon Estuary which opens out into the Irish Sea.

There is a great tidal range and the tide can go out up to two miles uncovering a vast stretch of sand.  In 2011 one of the channels moved and uncovered a wreck that had been there for over a hundred years and now can be seen at very low tide.  I'd just walked out, curious to see what the solid block on the horizon was, but as it was not an extremely low tide so this is as far as I could get.  Lets zoom in

This was the 'Ariel' built in 1887 which sprang a leak and foundered here in 1904 on Duddon Bar, drifted and eventually settled on this spot half a mile away and is now unseaworthy but still hangs on to its ship shape, despite being covered by sea life over that century underwater .  Known locally as McNally's Wreck it shows how oral history can capture the essence but not always the truth as the captain at the time of its sinking was called McNish.  Steve of the Cumbrian Sea Sports Association has a fascination with the wreck and has pictures at a very low tide which shows more of the 'Ariel' and more history he has uncovered here    

Duddon Estuary and Black Combe

Well time to turn back and head towards land before the tide comes in.

Passing by this lone jellyfish left behind from the last tide whose gelatinous form is 98% water and of course famously the painful sting of jellyfish can be treated by urine, I think on balance I might prefer the other alternative of vinegar.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week drifting by U here

Tiny Tadpoles

Taking a stroll last week on the sandy path between sand dunes and sea the brackish pools lying amongst the small section of salt marsh near Haverigg on the Cumbrian coast looked so tranquil.

But something caught my eye. A seething black mass at the edge.

It was thousands of tadpoles.

 The more adventurous were swimming all over the pool

and I concentrated on trying to get a photograph of their tails wiggling.  Suddenly there was a quiver and an explosion of sand

 as a little Goby fish broke cover and swam across the pool.  I wondered what these tadpoles would turn into. 

This distinctive double string gave a clue

Lets take a closer look.

Some of these eggs will eventually turn into Natterjack toads. It is a protected species in the British Isles and only present in a handful of coastal sites.  Their preference for shallow, warm pools has the disadvantage that these can dry out but they overcome the problem by an extended period of mating from April to July and eggs are produced throughout this season,  normally 3000 to 4000 at a time.  This nocturnal toad's distinctive calls will be heard in the dunes in the night.

I think a warm winter and early spring this year may mean a productive year for all our amphibians whether by the coast or

inland. As part of the National Garden Scheme when private gardens are opened to the public to raise money for charity the owners of Clearbeck opened up their 4+ acre garden for two days this weekend and we made the trip inland into north Lancashire yesterday. I ramped up my tadpole spotting for the year at the edge of their lake

I managed to throw these little fellows into a mild panic as my shadow fell across water and they scattered.  I will not see what happens to these tadpoles, which I suspect are the offspring of the Common Frog, but will be be keeping an eye on my local pools. When I revisited the brackish pools this week there was even more life there, damselflies clinging on the reeds while little water boatmen skimmed the surface in the sunshine and the tadpoles had been joined by new ones, their small size distinguishing them from those who had spent longer in the pool.

 As Arnie says "I'll Be Back" and hopefully see their life journey as they metamorphose into toads .

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet this week sojourning at T here

   

 

A Jetty for the Millennium

One joyous effects of the year 2000 was communities across the country created something to commemorate this point in time with an object. In the seaside village of Seascale they reinstated the former wooden jetty

and created the Millennium Jetty, a simple object but one that is enjoyed to the full.  This day was

the end of August bank holiday, nearly time to go back to school and, as it turned out. the last week of true summer.  For all but the year round hardy types this may have been when the water sports equipment was put away after a fun filled summer, unless of course jetting off to warmer climes. 

Jetty Walk

An entry to ABC Wednesday - a journey through the alphabet sojourning this week at J