Rockpooling at Saltdean BEach

Summer might be over, but the beach definitely isn’t.

I headed down to Saltdean Beach at low tide to see what’s still out there once the towels, ice creams and summer crowds have disappeared. And there is LOADS. Rockpools full of shrimp, little gobies shooting about, a fairly angry velvet swimming crab, shells, seaweed and all sorts hiding just below the tide line.

In this video I explore a little stretch of Saltdean Beach, talk about the best time to go rockpooling, some simple things to think about with tides and cold water, and how to explore without trashing the place while you’re doing it. I also collect a small amount of seaweed to take home and experiment with, cutting rather than pulling it from the rocks so it can continue to grow.

Because the more we actually stop, look and understand what lives along our coast, the more likely we are to give a shit about protecting it. And you don’t need an enormous day out.

This whole adventure took about an hour at Saltdean Beach, just outside of Brighton. Old clothes on. Check the tide. Get down to the beach. Turn over a few rocks. Find something weird. Put it back where you found it.

Wild. Free. Fun. If you enjoy outdoor adventures, rockpooling, forest school, beach exploring and getting kids outside doing actual stuff, subscribe to Kids Adventurist for more.