Skip to content

Best beaches for rock-pooling

Rockpooling at Souter Lighthouse and The Leas, Tyne & Wear
Rockpooling at Souter Lighthouse and The Leas | © National Trust Images/Paul Harris

Rock pools are magical worlds full of sea creatures and a whole range of interesting sights, smells and textures. Plenty of the beaches we care for have watery nooks and crevices to explore, and these are our top places to find pools teeming with wildlife.

Porthdinllaen, Gwynedd
Porthdinllaen is a peaceful little fishing village perched on a spit of land that stretches into the Irish Sea. The clear, sheltered waters and seagrass beds attract a wealth of wildlife that you can search for in the rock pools, including anemones, crabs, jellyfish and an array of fish.Visit Porthdinllaen
Saltburn, North Yorkshire
With its eight miles of golden sands, rock pools, huge cliffs and a promenade full of cafes, Saltburn is a great choice for spending a sunny day by the seaside. At low tide a series of rock pools are accessible and intrepid adventurers will be able to find a wide variety of sea creatures including crabs, periwinkles, starfish and sea anemones.Visit Saltburn
A red starfish sits half-submerged in a shallow rockpool, surrounded by dark-coloured, smooth rocks.
A starfish in a rockpool | © National Trust Images/Rob Coleman
Sheringham Park, Norfolk
Sheringham seafront is only a few kilometres’ walk from the main visitor centre and at low tide you’ll find plenty of tidal pools for the children to explore. There’s a whole range of marine life to find, so they can spend their time digging for worms, netting some shrimps and trying to catch crabs.Visit Sheringham Park
St Helens Duver, Isle of Wight
Situated at one end of the beach at St Helens Duver, Node's Point is one of the best places on the island for rock-pooling. The area is covered with limestone outcrops, whose crevices provide shelter for whelks, limpets, barnacles and periwinkles. Sea anemones live in the pools along with small fish such as blennies and gobies, plus the occasional seahorse.Visit St Helens Duver
Wembury, Devon
Wembury Bay has some of the best rock pools in the country, with masses of sea creatures and plantlife to discover. Located close to the beach, Wembury Marine Centre is the ideal place to learn about the area through interactive displays, and they even run Rock Pool Rambles for children during the school holidays. The beach is also a great starting point for walks to the nearby woodlands and the Yealm Estuary, or around the headland at Wembury Point.Visit Wembury
Two girls exploring the woodland trails at Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire

‘50 things to do before you're 11¾’

Have fun exploring nature and the great outdoors with our list of ‘50 things to do before you're 11¾’.

You might also be interested in

A man sits with two children, a girl and a boy likely under the age of ten, at the bottom of tall sand dunes on a sandy beach. It's a warm sunny late afternoon or early evening and the sea can just about be seen in the distance.
Article
Article

Top picnic spots on the coast 

If you’re looking for the perfect spot for a picnic on the coast, this selection includes secret coves like Hayburn Wyke and Soar Mill Cove and well-known sandy beaches like Brancaster and Portstewart Strand.

A child's hands cup a collection of belemnites, bullet-shaped sandy-coloured fossils
Article
Article

Best places to find fossils 

Fossils can be found anywhere, but the beach is a great place to start. Discover some of the best coastal spots we look after where you may find a fossil or two.

A visitor lifts a child over her shoulders at the shoreline of the sunny, pebbly beach at Bucks Mill

Coast and beaches 

Discover the 780 miles of beautiful coastline in our care. Plan your next coastal adventure, whether you want to explore soft, sandy beaches or rugged, windswept cliffs.