a newcomer’s trail of exploration on the beaches and shores of her patch of the French Channel coastline

1. or, a newcomer’s trail of exploration on
the beaches and shores of her patch of
the French Channel coastline

2. Big thanks to companions
on the shore, and to Paul
Chambers, John Llewellyn
Jones, Richard Lord, Bas
Payne, Ben Rowson, Steve
Wilkinson for use of their
photos 

3. A website where a person writes regularly
about recent events or a particular topic,
sometimes with new information added
every few minutes as events happen, and
with the opportunity for readers to send in
their own comments and opinions.
(coined in 1997 as a ‘weblog’, from which
the phrase ‘we blog’ was derived.)

4. My ‘patch’ extends from Cherbourg east along the north Cotentin coast and south to St Vaast La
Hougue which is at the north end of Utah Beach. There are rocky shores and sandy bays.

5. “As I coast up the shallow slopes of dreamworld the unmistakable sound of tractors passing the
house seeps into my consciousness. The oystermen are on their way to work. I find it pleasing
that I can enjoy the friendly sound of a tractor, hinting at provender and productivity. It’s not
horticulture but aquaculture of oysters and mussels, in the waters off St Vaast La Hougue.”

6. St Vaast La Hougue is the cradle of the Normandy oyster. It is the town’s most important
industry with 250 hectares of shore given over to oyster farming, yielding 6,500 tons per year

7. As the tide ebbs an expansive area of shore is exposed. In the early days oysters were simply
fished from natural beds and then gradually a degree of management of stocks came about by
storing oysters over the intermittently accessible foreshore. It was noticed that young oysters
were settling on adult shells and thus evolved a more structured approach to oyster-farming.

8. The tide goes out, the tractors access the shore. They bring sacks of oysters from the depot
back to the shore, and others will be taken back to the depot. Sacks are moved up and down the
shore; those ready for market are brought inshore and secured to readily accessible trestles.
Oysters needing more time to grow are taken to trestles low on the shore where they will
experience longer periods of submersion to feed, filtering plankton from seawater.

9. There is a continual traffic with as many as 30 or 40 tractors moving the oyster sacks around the
shore. Sacks of oysters taken away at the end of the low tide will be sorted, graded and oysters
that are cemented together will be knocked apart. As oysters grow they must be rebagged.

10. Ready for market

11. And once the tide turns that is the day’s work done. Tractors may linger until the last minute,
working the vestiges of exposed shore until the rising tide forces them back onto dry land.

12. When you get good spat-falls the hard substrates around the oyster park are colonised by
oysters which cement themselves to the rocks. Whilst pilfering from sacks is strictly forbidden
the public may gather ‘escapees’ by knocking them off the rocks with chisels and hammers.

13. Empty sacks like this are not an uncommon sight on the beaches, especially after storms.
Although sacks are securely attached to trestles inevitably, in very rough weather, some sacks
have become detached and are strewn across the beaches. They may get ripped and the oysters,
washed out and scattered along the beach. Or they may be plundered although this is illegal.

14. A French poet once wrote “I love oysters, it’s like kissing the sea on the lips”. A friend remarked
rather more dispassionately that when she tried an oyster she felt as if she was drowning.

15. Perhaps Jonathan Swift got it right when he said “He was a bold man that first ate an oyster”.

16. Mussel aquaculture is
important too. Mussels are
steamed in a marinière
liquor in individual pots,
which are then brought to
the table.

17. If you like mussels, there is nothing finer for lunch, with a bowl of chips too…………………..

18. …………………… and the cooking liquor is just too fine to waste!

19. On the other side of town there is the north end of the 5-km long Utah Beach

20. Here the foreshore becomes a dumping ground for the shelly waste of the locals, giving rise to
an attractive shell pavement of scallop, mussel and oyster shell

21. The outlines of the submerged oyster trestles as they lie west of La Hougue promontory are
visible. This area of muddy sandflats empties out completely at low tide, allowing the oyster
‘farmers’ access to manage the stocks.

22. Picture of north end utah beach
With the Vauban tower on the Hougue in the distance, this huge area of cockle flats can be
accessed on any low tide. It is a perfect territory for cockle-fishing.

23. Cockles are very shallow burrowers and often you can find them at the surface of the sand

24. Cockling is an activity to engage the whole family and demonstrates that foraging is fun too

25. Within a short space of time and over a compact area of the shore you can rake up a good haul

26. For Charlie size is important –
happiness is a long-handled
rake.

27. Cockles are not happy out of
their environment and
deteriorate rapidly. They are
little ‘purses of sand’ so need
to be cleaned. Left for a few
hours or overnight in salt
water (35g salt/litre) they will
purge themselves of sand.
Cook only cockles which snap
shut when squeezed, and eat
only cockles which gape open
after cooking.

28.  If you are new to the game ideally get hold of a
copy of a suitable handbook: Edible Seashore by
JohnWright is excellent. Read chapters on
Foraging Safely and The Rule Book.
 Before you access the shore feel confident about
the weather and the state of the tide.
 If the substrate underfoot is unstable in any way
don’t venture out.
 You need to be aware of any legal constraints
with regard to the shore you are accessing.
 Be aware of any species of animal or alga that you
may not collect for legal/conservation reasons.

29.  Talk to local fishermen/local authorities about
water quality.
 Collect only from obvious clean areas.
 Use the sensible old adage of avoiding months
that lack an ‘r’.
 Give the bivalves time to clean themselves for a
few hours in well-aerated salted water.
 Unless you are sure they are from Category ‘A’
waters, always thoroughly cook any shellfish you
gather.
 Check for signs of life before you cook them.

30. For conchologists some of the most interesting mollusc species live in an unlikely habitat.

31. You must look under boulders and slabs of rock at the spring tide high water mark. This zone is

32. The rare looping snail lives in interstitial sediment under rocks where it is dark and damp. It is a
Red Data Book species which means it receives protection under Conservation legislation.

33. The sandflats to the south of the oyster park are the focus of foraging activity during spring
tides, and especially when the Equinox tides coincide with Easter weekend. This tradition is
embedded in French coastal culture and is called Pêche à pied.

34. On a shore with a low gradient the tide goes out a very long way, revealing
an expanse of flats which will accommodate a large number of ‘pêcheurs’.

35. The principal quarry on these sandflats is the razor clam. You need to develop a bit of skill to
collect them. Razor clams lie perpendicular in the sands. You can detect a potential burrow by
watching for spouts of water as you walk over the sediment. Identify the spout hole and then
dig rapidly because the mollusc can also dig deep and rapidly with its strong, long foot.

36. Also from these flats you get an assemblage of edible bivalves

37. “All you need to dig for clams is the ability to look and learn. We lugged a large garden sieve, a
fork, spade and rake to the shore. The sieve was too fine for the gravels so we had to dig a hole
then search it. To begin with you dig rather randomly and occasionally strike lucky.”

38. “After a while we noticed siphon holes developing in the sands and gravels as the water drained
away and the sediments dried out a bit. What we noticed on the shore is that not all the siphon
holes were the same size or shape and that we could recognise, perhaps, six different
types. With experience we learnt to recognise the siphon holes for the different species of clam
we were finding and then I became confident and would announce before I put spade to sand
how many and what species I would collect!”

39. Once you start digging, your hole starts to puddle with water…

40. ….and you can be very pleased when you find a clam……………….

41. …………. and here’s a decent haul, composed of species traditionally associated with eating and
others less familiar. All these can be chucked into a paella or pasta dish. Some species were
more abundant than others: Dosinia clams (which are somewhat less tasty than some other
types) were very plentiful but another species, Gari depressa, was very sparse. .”

42. Before we leave the topic of clamming here are some afficionados searching for a particular
prey item….

43. Venus verrucosa known locally as ‘le Praire’ which translates to ‘the Priest’

44. The islet of Tatihou lies just offshore, and rather like St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall is accessible
on low tides by a causeway. You can see the submerged trace of the causeway running between
the oyster trestles. With an area 29 ha. it receives no more than 500 visitors a day at peak
times. It harbours a bird sanctuary, offers grazing for sheep whose meat is sold by local
butchers. There are some restored historical buildings including one of the famous Vauban
‘pepperpot’ towers, and a maritime museum whose exhibitions change every 18 months or so.

45. There is an amphibious boat which plies between the island and the mainland. When the tide is
out it is a wheeled vehicle…………..

46. …………………..when the tide is in it’s a boat.

47. This is one of the 12 fortified buildings designed by the celebrated engineer, Vauban. This and
the other watchtower on the end of La Hougue were built after the French naval defeat in 1692.

48. Looking west to St Vaast La Hougue

49. Looking northeast to Reville and Jonville

50. Looking down onto the lower shore rock platform at low tide

51. Osilinus lineatus Gibbula magus
Calliostoma zizyphinum Tricolia pullus

52. Gibbula umbilicalis: dorsal and ventral views
Gibbula pennanti: dorsal and ventral views

53. Littorina compressa

54. Lets take a closer look at the structure on the western side of Tatihou. It is a former lazaret
dating from 1720 as a quarantine station during the Plague. After closure it was intermittently
used as a marine laboratory for scientists, then for educational purposes for young people.
There was a short period of abandonment (1984-1990) during which it attracted massive bird
colonies. It was reopened as nature reserve and heritage centre and has sub-tropical gardens.

55. The sub-tropical botanical garden in the walled grounds of the field
station and museum is managed to a level which prevents wilderness
taking over. In those gardens some of the most spectacular botanical
displays are the large clumps of Echium fastuosum.

56. I have successfully established the
single stemmed species, E. pininana in
our Normandy garden. It is a biennial
and seeds freely. This year the gravels
were awash with seedlings and a box
of compost is nurturing at least 2
dozen plants awaiting new homes. I
am trying this Echium in Winterborne
Kingston. If this winter is as gentle as
last year’s was severe I may have
some success………… and numerous
plants needing new homes!

57. Lets go due north from Tatihou to Pointe de Saire, a headland of disjunct rock outcrops and a
point of deposition.

58. A view looking west with the Vauban tower on La Hougue at the horizon

59. This is a headland of rock platform and outcrop, pools and intertidal channels.

60. Perfect spot for the Shell Seekers

61. Some shells are washed in and accumulate as strandlines at various horizons down the beach to
the water-line, or they collect as beach pockets and in scour moats. They form shelly banks,
dominated by slipper limpets, Crepidula fornicata, but with many other species mixed in.

62. It is worth scanning the surface for conspicuous species, Calliostoma, Trivia, Epitonium. Eye-
catching freshly cleaned bivalves such as the Sunset Shell (Gari depressa) catch the attention.

63. Let’s leave the shelter of the east coast and go north where it can be rather exposed and barren.

64. ………………… although you might find the occasional Nautilus!

65. If you are lucky you might find an ormer shell as well: the highly desirable Haliotis tuberculata.

66. Ormers are farmed in
France; a commercial fishery
opened up along the Breton
coast in 1994. It is regulated
by permits and quotas.
Finding an ormer on our
local east Cotentin shore is
rather exciting. They occur
on all the Channel Islands,
and are collected under
certain restrictions which
are designed to protect the
local populations from over-
exploitation. They are
considered a delicacy with a
taste quite like any other
marine mollusc. I knew that
they also occur along the
west Cotentin.

67. Walking one day along the waterline on Utah Beach, after stormy weather, we found a fully
grown ormer with a moribund animal intact. This was my first evidence that ormers may be
living on the eastern coasts of the Cotentin. One of our neighbours told us that he had heard
that ormers are taken from the shore below Cap Levi.

68. When the tide goes out a sprawling rock platform with areas of standing water is revealed.

69. If you are going to search for ormers you will find yourself searching amongst the kelp jungle. It
is treacherous because the alga is slippery, the stipes wrap round your ankles, tethering you as

70. You can work around the marginal kelp and boulder areas with relative ease. Knee-high in water
and wearing chest waders you are less likely to take a tumble. Unfortunately this is not good
ormer territory.

71. What I learnt on this day is that ormers seem to avoid contact with sandy gravelly substrates.
Where you do find ormers is under rocks which are sitting on a lattice of other bedded rocks or
tucked into crevices. You may even find them relatively high on the shore if the crevice appears
to be sheltered, damp and private enough.

72. Chlamys varia Acanthochitona crinitus
Ormers live under interbedded rocks and in crevices

73. And so to this sandy shore near Maupertus, east of Cherbourg. A beach which in a sense
appears to have all its goods in the shop window. Clean swept sands, rocky margins. Not very
much was washed up on this shore when I took this photo. Maybe you’d find a few bivalves
sieving at low tide.

74. I revisited the site one November to look at the strandlines for clues. This is when I found one of
those secret places that the coast can throw up and surprise you with every now and then.

75. Something about the rocks looks interesting here.

76. A sea cave, at the right height on the shore to be interesting. It is just large enough for a person
to squeeze inside to have a look at the walls. I can see that they are coated in red, green and
coralline algal films and crusts. The walls are nicely fissured. I had no idea that this cave was
here and it is a place to return to with a powerful torch, and the eyes of some companions.

77. What I hope we’d find
living there is
Paludinella littorina.
This tiny snail is globose
and has glossy shell
with a relatively broad
protoconch. Adults are
rarely more than 2mm
high and 1.7mm
diameter. The shell has
been considered rare,
and was until recently
protected under the
Wildlife & Countryside
Act. However survey
work in the past 2
decades has shown that
its rarity is more a factor
of the difficulty in
finding it in situ. This
puts me in mind of my
favourite quotation:

78. We shall not cease from
exploration. And the end of all
our exploring will be to arrive
where we started and know the
place for the first time.
T.S. ELIOT Little Gidding, 1942