After a long day at the beach in the sun, the sky turned pink and we went to the pier for crabbing. I know that crabs like bacon best and as I lowered the net down, I felt a twang of excitement. When I pulled it back up, there were three crabs clinging to it! I plucked them off and put them in the bucket.

The crabs came in different sizes, and most were emerald green and rusty red. They scrambled around in the bucket fighting for leftover bacon. The most we caught in one go was five – in the end we must have caught about 30. I looked in my I-Spy book afterwards and identified them as shore crabs, which come in lots of colours – green, red and brown. They scuttle sideways quickly, and eat things like molluscs, small fish and worms. When shore crabs lose a leg after a fight, they can regrow it after a few shell-moults, ready to use again.

When we finished, we took the bucket to the old wooden jetty where the lifeboats came down to the sea. I tipped the bucket on its side and they scuttled out. A couple got stuck between the planks of wood and had to wiggle out, but the big one got stuck and we had to rescue him.

Once all the crabs were gone, Dad ordered us fish and chips to eat on the beach and we watched the sun set. The end of a perfect day.
Aled, eight