One benefit of this moving malarkey, which is limiting my time to get out for long walks, is that my shorter walks have taken me down to the local beach a few times and reminded me how much I enjoy fossicking along the tide line and how little I know about the flora and fauna of the seashore.

This week’s finds included these shellfish which, I think, are Common periwinkles (Littorina littorea). They are found all around the rocky coasts of Britain, though, locally, these periwinkles are growing on the concrete and steel supports of the pier.

The Marine Life Information Network website says these are

the largest British periwinkle, with the shell reaching a maximum height of 52 mm. The shell is sharply conical with a pointed apex and surface sculpturing. The spiral ridges which are marked in young animals tend to become obscured in older individuals, giving the shell a smooth appearance.