Gone up a size

I always love coming back to Lancashire and an opportunity to get some sea air walking on the enormous stretch of sandy beach at Fleetwood when the tide is out, which is was this morning. The dogs were thrilled and cantered across the sandy expanse, frequently dipping in and out of the salty pools and rivulets. Apart from the many stranded jelly fish we saw there were also numerous dead looking crabs which, on closer inspection, were actually empty shells. My brother-in-law, creekboy, explained that these shells were from young Shore Crabs which had shrugged off their outer skin while it was still relatively soft, in order to grow a new and larger one. Even when mature, the Shore Crabs are still quite small at just about two to three inches wide. They are apparently one of the world's 100 top alien invasive species!