Most Dangerous Creatures on UK Beaches
As it goes, the Great British seaside is pretty safe, well at least in terms of dangerous sea creatures. Being someone who spends an awful lot of time at the beach and in the sea I have seen most of these at some point and only ever tangled with one or two.
To be honest, the chances of encountering any deadly sea creatures in Blighty is pretty much nil. If you are unlucky you may encounter one of the critters in our selection which range from the pesky to the quite nasty, but very rarely dangerous.
We have arranged this list in order of most likely to most ridiculous, but potentially deadly!
Weever fish
Heading up our list is the humble lesser weever fish. These grumpy looking fish spend much of their life buried in the sand. But despite their rather comical appearance they rarely spread much in the way of joy.
Whilst the weever fish's motive for lurking under the sand in the shallows is more about ambushing prey and avoiding predators, this is not what what it is best known to beachgoers for.
Almost impossible to see in the sand, unlucky paddlers soon know about the weever's presence when they stand on one. I can tell you from personal experience that the initial sting from the 2cm long spine on the back of these fish is a fairly gentle introduction.
As the venom gets to work you feel increasing waves of throbbing pain spreading from the sole of the foot. The tried and tested treatment is to submerge the foot in water as hot as you can stand, which helps break down the venom.
The good news is the sting isn't particularly dangerous and the worst of the pain mostly passes within an hour or so.
Jellyfish
Photo: Jannaraabe
There are a host of jellyfish which are considered native to British waters. Most of these are completely harmless - a fact to which I can testify, as I was swimming through a veritable soup of jellies just the other day and came to no harm.
Probably the most common jellyfish around UK shores is the moon jellyfish. Recognisable by the four circles inside the jelly, these creatures grow up to around 20 cm across. The good news is they are pretty much harmless.
Capable of inflicting a mild sting is the biggest of the UK jellies, the barrel jellyfish. Measuring up to 1 metre across and weighing up to 25kg, a tangle with one of these is likely to leave you feeling itchy at worst.
More noticeable stings are delivered from the tentacles of the compass jellyfish and aptly named mauve stinger. Their stings have been likened to a bad nettle sting.
Taking things up a level is the lion's mane jellyfish. Named after the thick mass of tentacles, a sting from one of these can be potentially dangerous. Along with intense pain, symptoms include nausea, cramps and headaches.
The only truly dangerous jellyfish found in British waters, isn't actually a jellyfish and is not a native either. The Portuguese man o'war has tentacles that can stretch over 30 metres. If you get tangled in these you are going to be in a world of pain. Although very unlikely to kill you their sting is serious and can cause all manner of complications.
They do turn up quite frequently and I've seen a fair few over the years.
The advice for all jellyfish stings is to rinse the area with sea water to remove any attached tentacles and relieve the pain. And for the record, peeing on the sting does not help!
Seagulls
The seaside wouldn't be the seaside without seagulls. Some people love them, others hate them, but what can't be denied is they are fairly impressive birds.
King of the seagulls is the great black-backed gull (shown in the photo). With a wingspan the best part of 6 feet and weighing up to a hefty 2 kg these birds are formidable predators. Fortunately the black-backs tend to reserve their aggression for smaller prey and seem less inclined to tangle with humans.
On the other hand, the slightly smaller herring gulls are becoming well-known as the scourge of the seaside town. Affectionately known as "sky rats", these birds appear to have a summertime diet of chips, sandwiches and pasties snatched from the hands of those unwittingly attempting to eat outside, within 20 miles of the coast.
Whilst this image of the cheeky seabirds is almost endearing their behaviour is often more than just pesky. If the herring gull thinks you are a threat to its nest then you are in big trouble. And this can mean being anywhere within a hundred meters of it.
If piercing shrieks aren't enough to make you pack up then the aerial attack will commence. The gull will gain altitude and dive, often approaching its target from behind. Hitting a top speed of around 40 mph (60 km/h) the gull drags its claws or beak across the victim's head, often resulting in a deep cut.
There have been a number of horror stories about gull attacks over recent years. Cases included a Fife woman who suffered a heart attack after being dive-bombed, a small dog pecked to death and numerous cases of people being left bloodied after such encounters.
Sea Urchins
Sea urchins are the hedgehogs of the sea, well except for the lack of legs, cute little snouts etc... The point is they are covered in protective spines, but do not go out of their way to cause anybody harm.
In fact in all my years gadding around British beaches and rock pools in bare feet I have never had the misfortune of stepping on one of these little critters. I have stood on them abroad and can testify that it is certainly an experience to avoid.
While some sea urchins are venomous, those that are native to UK shores are not. Therefore the only injury you will sustain is a puncture wound, most likely to the foot. Unfortunately it isn't usually just a case of being pricked by the spine; often as not they will break off under the skin effectively leaving an oversized splinter behind.
The greatest danger of urchin-related injuries is from infection so be sure to get any spines out and thoroughly clean the area.
As sea urchins are generally found in rocky crevices it should be quite easy to avoid standing on one. If however you are paddling in rockpools it might be worth considering donning a pair of beach shoes.
Seals
Seals are generally considered the epitome of cuteness. With their big eyes, smiling faces and curious, playful nature it is easy to see why.
On the other hand, adult grey seals are often over 2.5 metres long and 250 kg in weight. Combine this with a set of teeth that wouldn't look out of place on rottweiler and you have quite a formidable beastie.
As far as I know, seal attacks are very rare in the UK, but they do happen. Whilst I have come across the odd nibblesome seal that has taken a shine to my flippers there have been a few reported occasions where a rogue seal has taken a bite out of someone. None of these appear to have been particularly serious and from my experience seals are rarely aggressive but it can be quite intimidating when a large male pops up next to you in the sea.
On another note; did you know the latin name for the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), translates as "hook nosed sea pig"!
Stingrays
Stingrays were thrown into the spotlight back in 2006 when Australian "Croc hunter", Steve Irwin was tragically killed in an encounter with one. This was very much a freak accident and fatalities from stingrays are almost unheard of. That is not to say these usually docile fish cannot inflict quite serious injuries.
The common stingray is found all around the coastline of the UK, particularly during the summer months. They can measure up to 1.5 metres across and are equipped with a serrated spine (sting) which can measure over 30 cm in length. The stingray also possesses a fairly potent venom.
Although you might expect the venom to be the worst thing about being stung, this is generally not the case. Whilst the toxins can cause a good deal of pain it is the serrated blade-like spine that does the damage. Essentially, they go in fairly smoothly but cause significant tearing on the way out.
Stingrays have become increasingly common in UK waters over recent years. Fortunately for beachgoers they tend to prefer muddy bays and estuaries, and are more likely to be found in the shallows during the night. Most at risk from injury are anglers, known to catch the fish both intentionally or not so.
Sharks
One thing we can rest assured won't be happening in British coastal waters is being eaten by a shark. Right?
A quick search through the shark attack literature does actually come up with a handful of attacks in UK waters. However, on closer inspection most of these turn out to be either sharks in aquariums or sharks that have been landed on fishing boats. Not exactly the stuff of nightmares.
There are a number of species of sharks found off the UK coast, and a number of these are a good size. Some have even been implicated in attacks elsewhere in the world. These include the probeagle, mako and blue shark.
Perhaps the closest thing to Jaws that has occurred in British waters was an snorkeller being bitten on the leg by a blue shark during an organised shark dive off the coast of Cornwall. On the subject of Jaws there have always been rumours of great white sharks off Britain, yet strangely, no one seems to have managed to get any photographic evidence...
What we definitely have in the UK are far bigger than any great white - the basking shark. These so-called gentle giants can reach over 30 feet in length but feed on plankton. From personal experience I can tell you this is not much comfort when you see a huge dorsal fin slowly break the surface close to where you're surfing!
Orcas
Technically a dolphin, the orca is perhaps better known by its other name - the killer whale. Quite probably the most powerful predator on the planet these masses of sinew and teeth are known to snack on sharks. Now, there has never actually been an unprovoked killer whale attack on a human, just imagine if one of these beasts went rogue!
At up to 35 ft (10m) in length, weighing 10 tons and capable of swimming nearly 40 mph (60 km/h) the orca has little trouble tackling any size of prey. From seals to blue whales, nothing is off the menu.
Orcas are frequently spotted in the waters off the UK. With this in mind you can imagine my alarm when someone I was surfing with thought they spotted one. With images off orcas surging out of the sea to grab seals off the sand I didn't look back until I was halfway up the beach!