A beach walk with a little more — explore your shore

Through the Big Beach Biodiversity Survey,  everyone visiting an Irish beach this winter is invited to record marine life washed ashore by the tides and the storms

Two types of mermaids purses found on Kilcoole Beach in Wicklow by Brían McGloinn — photographed for logging with citizen science survey ‘Purse Search Ireland’ 

One of the real gifts of the silly season is the chance to take a little time out from the daily routine. In the gap between Christmas and the New Year, we are granted a little window of reprieve, an opportunity, perhaps, to spend a day exploring the outdoors.

Because I don’t live by the sea, I especially adore excursions to the coast. I find that seascapes tend to induce a reflective frame of mind: watching the textures and colours of sky, sea, and sand changing as the moments morph, patterns appearing and disappearing with perspective; intriguing flotsam and jetsam appearing along the way.