Rock pools at low tide

Twice a day the sea goes out a long way below the house and leaves the reef behind it, full of pools. The best hour is the one either side of low water; the tide table is pinned up by the front desk, and we’ll tell you at breakfast.

Where to look

Go down the steps to the cove and walk out to the right, towards the black rocks. The deep pools at the far end, which the sea only leaves at spring tides, are the best of all.

What you’ll find

Beadlet anemones like red jelly sweets, closed up when the water’s gone and open like flowers under it. Shore crabs under every loose stone. Blennies, little fish that stare back at you. Prawns, if you’re patient and very still. Now and then a starfish or a sea hare.

Be kind to them

Look, then put things back where you found them, the same way up. Turn stones over gently and put them back, because something lives under every one. A bucket of sea water is fine for a few minutes, never for the afternoon.

Keep an eye on the sea

The tide comes back faster than you’d think, and the far rocks are cut off first. Start back as soon as the water turns.