Rockpool Rambling
You don’t need to be a SCUBA diver to experience the underwater world of the marine reserve!
The shores along the marine reserve have plenty of places teeming with marine life ready to be explored. The Marine Rangers organise and lead rockpool rambles for you to explore and learn about what lives in them. Check out our events calendar for information on all of our activities.
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Most of the shoreline within the Reserve is accessible for all. We recommend Coldingham Bay being the most accessible, as well as Eyemouth Beach. The best rockpools, in our opinion, are found in Killidraughts Bay. Follow our rockpooling guide for safe practice when on the rocky shore, and browse though our marine life gallery to see what you might find!
How do I join a rockpool ramble?
All of the events we are running this year are on our events calendar. We welcome everyone, but under 16's should be accompanied by an adult. Please wear suitable shoes such wellies, boots or wet shoes. Each organised session lasts around 1 ½ hours and is arranged around the tides so we don’t get caught out by an incoming tide! All rockpooling equipment is provided.
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Twice a day at the ebb of the tide the sea recedes to reveal a more dormant world, a coastline studded with pools and covered in a blanket of seaweed. The mobile animals have taken shelter or moved off, other animals have closed up tight against the drying air and the seaweed has flopped against the rocks. The tide takes more than 6 hours to go from high water to low, so creatures living high on the shore have longer to wait for the tide to return, and less time to go about their business. As you move from the land to the sea (the upper to lower shore) life becomes a little easier for the creatures found on the rocks and in the pools. These pools can be large or small, deep or shallow, each presents in miniature a reflection of what the entire coastline is like when the tide is high.
When covered by the rising tide the rest of the shoreline also comes to life. Seaweeds buoyed up by the water, wave in the swell. Limpets and winkles crawl about, grazing in earnest before the falling tide forces them to close up once more. Barnacles and anemones open up to exploit the food-bearing water while fish and crabs hunt around for tasty titbits.
Exploring the seashore on a rockpool ramble is the perfect activity for those wishing to learn more about the plants and creatures that populate our coastlines.