whatsonnorthwales

Anglesey coastal path runs No.1

The Anglesey coastal path is beautiful set of walks that flanks some of the most scenic coastline in the UK. If you have not heard about it before, it circumnavigates the entire 138 mile coastline of Anglesey, conturing over cliffs, beaches and coast. It is mostly frequented by walkers and nature lovers, but its is amazing also for runners. I find it a beautiful place to run, to see Anglesey…

South ridge of Tryfan scramble, Snowdonia.

Tryfan in Snowdonia is an ionic mountain steeped in history, with the likes of George Mallory having trained here in the early days of mountaineering, before heading off to attempt to summit Everest. I love hiking up this beauty and there are some great scrambles and climbs all over it. Sian Sykes from Psyched paddleboarding, led this day up the hills, and choose the south ridge scramble as the…

15 amazing Islands around North Wales

There are so many beautiful Islands that surround North Wales, they dot the entire the coastline in the most stunning locations. Most where cut off from the mainland after the last warm period 7000 years ago (after the ice age), which increased sea level by around 100m globally cutting them off from the local land mass. Some are classed as the most spiritual and sacred islands in the Western…

RNLI Lifeboat Stations in North Wales

North Wales lifeboats stations have stood proud on the shores of north Wales since the mid 1800s. They form the last line of defence for mariners in distress in some of the more challenging marine environments in the UK. They have saved tens of thousands of lives at sea, over recent decades, from swimmers to boat craft caught out by the Celtic sea and its precarious ways.

Back less than a century…

Waterfalls of Snowdonia, North Wales

North Wales is famed for its mountains, landscape, rivers and beaches. What most people don’t realise that it also has a beautiful assortment of waterfalls branching off the rivers that run through the Snowdonia national park. There are some absolutely stunning waterfalls that cascade down hundreds of feet of steep rock into glistening pools of water. Some of these waterfalls in Snowdonia even…

15 Tips for catching Mackerel in (2020)

The volume of questions I get on the blog regarding Mackerel fishing on Anglesey seems to suggest there is a increasing number of people coming into the sport to learn. There also seems an increasing need for eduction both in a tactical way and in an environmental one. Mackerel fishing is actually the easiest fishing of all, you just need to get a few basics right to start with to get you on your…

2020 has been something of a ‘missing’ year for the vast majority of us. I was hoping for a long, lazy summer of campervan expeditions, wild camping, and fishing trips.

As I type, it’s late July, and the summer has passed the peak of endless hot days, returning to the predictable ‘hot-then-not’ approach that now passes for late British summer.

The fact that my van has been in the garage for nearly 5 months hasn’t helped, but the main reason I’m stuck is due to the COVID pandemic which, rightly or wrongly, has forced most of us to stay put for the larger part of this year.

Usually, I snorkel around the crystal-cool waters of Anglesey during July and August searching for lobster, spider, and brown crabs. I cook them on the beach, which is my favourite thing to do on earth. I’m impossibly passionate about it, actually, and spend many hours simply thinking about it, planning my next trip.

But circumstances have forced me to re-think my plans this summer, for the time being at least. I live by the Welsh coast, a few minutes’ walk from the sea, and decided this summer to break tradition and go rock pooling instead. And I’m very glad I did because it’s been an utter joy to the senses, both gastronomically and intellectually.

The great thing about rockpool foraging is you don’t need much kit. I take a rucksack with a small net, a pair of open sandals with strong buckle straps, and a pot to put my catch in. Needless to say, I smother myself in Factor 50 suncream and wear a hat. And that’s it.

Rockpooling is a very quick and fun way to get a few quality hours on the beach. My partner enjoys the seaside too but doesn’t quite share my passion for foraging, so it’s a nice way for me to unwind with my thoughts for company. I only started hunting amongst the pools in earnest since the lockdown measures, but I’ve taught myself a new skill which has proved extremely rewarding.

Yesterday, the sun was high in the sky, with a fresh south-westerly breeze blowing off the sea. I headed out about 3 pm, to catch low tide. I made my way past the groups of people on the hot sandy part of the beach, careful to observe social distancing. My target was towards the distant sea, along the rocky shoreline.

It only takes a few minutes to get to the rocks, but they’re a world away from the heaving masses on the beach. I have the entire stretch of coastline to myself. I step carefully on to the slippery bladderwrack, picking my way over the uneven, sharp rocks, aware that a slip could prove painful.

Within minutes I come to the first pool. Experience has taught me that this will be brimming with life, even if I can’t see it. I open my bag, remove the net and pot, and scoop the wide mouth of the net down, and then up through the hanging tendrils of seaweed fronds. My heart quickens, because I know what’s coming.

As I carefully lift the net, the first thing I’m alerted to is an angry, furtive thrashing sound. Immediately I recognise that of my intended quarry: the brown shrimp. Lifting the net clear, I can see ten or twelve of them, snapping and flicking their powerful bodies about the net, like glass darts. I place the net on the ground and pick through, looking for the fattest shrimp. I found about five good sized one on this first haul and put the rest back at the opposite end of the rockpool.

Another scoop yields a huge netful, with plenty of the ‘jumbos’ I’m looking for. I put them in the tub, fill it with seawater, placing a frond of sea lettuce seaweed over the top for cover. The shrimp seem to like this and calm down a little as a result. I fish my hand into the pot and select the largest specimen I can find, and look at it, glistening in the sun.

The common shrimp is a truly beautiful creature. It’s entirely transparent, save for the tiger-like stripes that run across the length and width of its body. The needle-sharp rostrum at the front, which they use as a means of self-defence, gives way to a pair of feelers as delicate as candy floss, and at least twice the length of the shrimp itself. These little crustaceans are common, breed quickly (especially in the summer), and can grow to about three or four inches.

And they taste delicious fried in garlic butter, or boiled in salt water. Which is the reason why I’m keen to catch more. I place the shrimp back into the pot, and make my way forward, heading around a jut of rock where I happen to know of three bigger pools to forage.

I strike crustaceous gold with every scoop of the net, choosing the plumpest, largest shrimp and returning the smaller ones, or the shrimp carrying eggs. In half an hour I’ve managed to fill the pot, so I put away my net, and carry on with my walk west, towards a spot that will catch the remainder of the day’s sun.

There’s something about the entire process of lighting a fire on a beach or the rocks, as the sun warms your face, and the sound of the sea fills your ears. It’s an auditory and visual overload of the senses, in a good way, and I always feel the most at ‘one’ with nature that I’m able to at times like this. In no time I have a small blaze going, so I build a small circle of stones around the flames and fetch out my frying pan.

Here’s a thing: if you want to impress a new partner, friends, or even passers-by, catch and cook your shrimp on the beach. They’re not only abundantly easy to catch, they’re even easier to cook, taking a few minutes in a hot pan. I add a little oil and crushed garlic to the hot pan, then simply add the shrimp and allow the heat to do its thing. I don’t worry about dispatching the shrimp beforehand as they’re small and will be in shrimpy-heaven before they know what hit them. Once they’ve turned from translucent, to opaque, to bright pink, they’re done and can be removed from the heat and left to cool on the rocks.

And that, my friend, is when you can congratulate yourself for a job well done, as you sit back and absorb the sun’s dying rays, bellying rumbling in anticipation for the sweet meal that awaits. Because if there’s a tastier critter to eat from a rock pool, I’ve yet to find it (lobsters notwithstanding). The common shrimp are simply delicious, sweet and tender, and balance so well against garlic butter. I squeeze off the heads and eat the shrimp with the shell on. I like the satisfying crunch that provides, but they’re very easy to peel too if you’d prefer to squeeze the white flesh from the shell, like toothpaste from a tube.

I caught about fifty large shrimp yesterday, and cooked them up in precisely that fashion, soaking up the sun, enjoying the refreshing sea breeze blowing up the beach. Two ravens watched me nearby, intuitively understanding where there is a human, there will be scraps to search for. I ate each shrimp one by one, enjoying every sweet, crunchy bite, until only a collection of startled-looking, pink heads remained on the rocks, the only evidence of the shrimp-feast I’ll leave on the beach.

As I pack and make my way back towards home, I see the ravens fly down to my spot and finish off the remains of my meal. In just a few moments they devour the evidence of my meal and fly away, croaking their satisfaction. I know how they feel.

  About the author

Simon Price is a wild man at heart, with an irrational passion for all things that swim, slither, and crawl in the sea. He likes eating them as much as he likes watching them. He’s an avid wildcamper, and is obsessed with his VW campervan, and can be found on the remote beaches of north, west, and south Wales all year round. If you see him cooking food on the beach, stop and say hello. He won’t give you any, but he will talk for hours about how he caught it.

Coastal Book recommendations 

I’ve complied a list of a load of coastal related books as a reference for you all for your trips to Anglesey and north Wales.

Tan Y Tro Nesaf  / Until the next time,

Nick & Simon

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Stag weekend guide to Anglesey

Anglesey is one of the best places to come and have weekend stag parties if you love the great outdoors and adventure. There are some excellent outdoor activity providers here that run a whole bunch of activity experiences to tailor to your needs. There are many things to do on stag weekends on Anglesey, so much so that we had a bit of a job compiling them in all honesty. We have split it up into…

Crab and Lobster on Anglesey

Anglesey is one of the most abundant marine life areas in Britain, its cool clean waters provide the natural habitat for some of the wonderful Lobster, Crab and Crustaceans that grace our waters. We have the most diverse marine life, you’ll find anywhere in the UK. In this blog I’m going to explore the topic of the crab, lobster and crustacenas that inhabit our watery world here on Anglesey.

I…

Seaweeds of north Wales (2020)

Seaweed is an abundant resource that’s about to make a rather impressive comeback into society. An important resource in north Wales for thousands of years, seaweed formed the basis of a healthy diet providing coastal farmers with a business and the welsh people with a sustainable, nutrient rich resource of food for their families.  Seaweed is an incredible sustainable resource we have in…

My Favourite Seaside Book

There are few books that leave such an impression on a young mind so powerful as to sculpt the entire direction of ones life. But occasionally one comes along with such power that somehow it magnetises you so strong, that you get drawn under its spell. Books formed a very special part of our upbringing, it came from my grandmother side who taught me that books where hugely important and that…

Jelly Fish of North Wales (2020)

Through the summer months jellyfish in north Wales are abundant in our waters. They drift through our sheltered bays, in the clear cool waters in search for food for a few months a year. They come in all shapes and sizes and some even pack a punch with their sting, but most are actually harmless. They travel in some cases thousands of miles, timing their arrival with algal blooms which they feed…

Wild Swimming In North Wales

Wild swimming is Wales is having a renaissance of sorts. The pastime is sweeping the nation along as the new go to method for health and wellbeing.. Rekindled by the likes of Wim Hoff, it’s a wonderful way to connect with nature and get uncomfortable in a refreshing style.  Wild swimming is more than just a pastime, its a way of life, a way to disconnect for all the haste and reconnect with what…

Marine Mammals of North Wales

The chances are you have spotted some marine mammals at the coast in north Wales, during your stay here in the summer months. Whether it’s porpoises or seals, the coastline here is abundant with marine species and can provide great viewing for visitors. They are one of the apex predators of the marine ecosystem and are one of the most beautiful creatures to observe. The rich waters of north…

Join me for a deep dive into the sharks that are commonly found off the coast of north Wales waters.

The waters off north Wales in the Celtic sea are some of the richest in the world with marine life. Sharks, compose a great deal of those species and travel for thousands of miles travel here each season to visit our coastline to feed and lay their young. The varieties of species of shark that visit north Wales waters is staggering, from Basking sharks, to Smooth hounds, to Mako sharks we have it…

Birds of Prey in North Wales

Birds of prey are a wonder to watch and learn about. They are the mysterious apex predators of the sky, mythical in their poise and nature. I see many buzzards whilst driving around Anglesey, perched high on the telegraph poles watching with a careful eye from above. Kestrels, Flacons and Periguns are common place around Anglesey and around the coastal path region also. Take time out to go and…

Coastal foraging on Anglesey

I’ve just come back home after a day wandering with some friends along the Anglesey shoreline. We talked a lot about foraging and coastal life, which inspired me today to write a micro blog for you on foraging the foreshore of Anglesey. My hope is that it will reconnect people a little back to nature, so that you can spot simple things to gather, prepare and eat whilst out and about. The anglesey…