At these times, it is also dangerous. Several people that been dragged out to sea and drowned. For rockpoolers familiar with the aesthetic rocky shores of the west coast of England and Wales, the view from the top of cliffs may not look promising. It is only when you venture down below the shingle line, is the richness and diversity of life revealed. Erosion and the effect of the frosts has resulted in rocks being strewn over the flattish chalk rock beach.
Fresh water freezes and expands, causing the chalk to crack open and break apart.
The Piddock , Pholas dactylus , is a bivalve mollusc that drills right into the chalk rock, where it spends its life. Chalk boulders and smaller rocks on the beach are warrened with piddock burrows, the living animal having departed, providing hiding places for small fish, crabs , and sea anemones . Tides and Access Low spring tides, when the tide goes out the furthest occur at approximately the same time of the day in every year in different parts of the country. We chose the evening low tide to arrive late in the afternoon, to follow the receding tide. From the well pubbed and attractive village of Rottingdean, a concrete slope led us down to the promenade.