Beachcombing for Treasure

Today I found myself on the beach in Worthing, and halfway through gathering up interesting bits and pieces that had washed up on the shore, realised I was completing a goal from The List!

005. Go beach-combing

I didn't go too far from the pier, but collected up an assortment of interesting seaweed, shells and even a chunk of driftwood!
 

There were also a few things that I didn't pick up...

I found this rock near the water; it has eroded to look like a slightly horrified face! It reminded me in a way of Edvard Munch's The Scream...I left this one on the beach, because it was large and heavy.

A little bit further along, I found this hagstone (a stone with a hole worn through it). It looks like a scared Pacman, doesn't it! Again, I left this on the beach--I used to have a bad habit of returning from beach trips with pocketfuls of stones, which I then put aside and forgot about. No more!

Most of the shells on the beach were the same, but I did find these slightly different ones. They're all a little damaged, but I should think it's impossible to find a perfect shell on a stony beach. I also picked up some mussel shells--these glistened in the sunlight as though they were made of hematite, though again many were broken.

This is my most interesting find! I really like the shape and texture. It looks like it would be hard and weighty, but it's actually really light and somewhat brittle despite its softness.

These pods were everywhere along the beach, for the most part tangled up in other seaweed. There's something magical about them, as though they might have held the hatchlings of mermaids!

So here is my haul in its entirety! Asides from the driftwood, it's all stuff that grew in the sea. Though they hold little to no monetary value, they are interesting and inspiring. I can paint them, draw them, write stories around them, make something with them--and that is where their true value lies. My only limit is my imagination!

I wasn't on the beach for a huge amount of time today, but I'm still checking this one off The List. Hopefully I'll get the chance to return to Worthing another day, and see what other interesting objects the beach has to offer.