A Handguide to the Sea Coast

With text by John Barrett and detailed paintings by Denys Ovenden, A Handguide to the Sea Coast is a book about the marvellous plants and animals found by the seaside. Its pages take you through common habitats — from sandy shoes to saltmarshes to open sea. For people who enjoy a walk along the beach, this guide is invaluable for answering the questions you might not have even known you were asking. What causes those little piles of sand that look like worms? Can I eat a sea-potato? Can I wear a necklace shell?

At the end of the book are instructions for a few home experiments for those with beach access, although one which recommends knocking off a limpet shell just to check if it can find its way home again feels a little cruel.

Last but not least it provides a list of some further reading recommendations — ‘The Oxford Book of Flowerless Plants (Good for seaweeds)’ is now on our list, along with Life Between Tidemarks on Rocky Shores by T.A. and Anne Stevenson, and J.A. Steer’s The Sea Coast from the Collins New Naturalist Library.