Sugar kelp is the crinkly belt like kelp that can often be found in deep rockpools on the lower shore or washed up on the beach after rough seas.

The sanderling scampers about the waves looking for marine crustaceans, fish and even jellyfish to eat. It visits the UK in winter from its Arctic breeding grounds, but can also be seen as it…

Their empty, delicate pink or yellow shells can often be found washed up on beaches, but the animals themselves live buried in the sand all around the coasts of the UK.

The Scots pine is the native pine of Scotland and once stood in huge forests. It suffered large declines, however, as it was felled for timber and fuel. Today, it is making a comeback - good news…

The common whelk is the largest sea snail found in UK seas, though you're more likely to find the dry balls of empty whelk egg capsules washed up in strandlines.

As its name suggests, Himalayan balsam is from the Himalayas and was introduced here in 1839. It now an invasive weed of riverbanks and ditches, where it prevents native species from growing.