I went beach combing with Chris Packham!

Our weekend away started on Friday when my mum and dad came and picked me up from school with the car already packed. We drove down to Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, near Brighton, to stay in a Cottages 4 You cottage, which was amazing.

The cottage overlooked a field with horses and lots of rabbits. The cottage was great. We all had our own room. After we had finished exploring the cottage and feeding the horses some apples, it was time for bed, as in the morning we were going beach combing with Chris Packham.

When we arrived at Brighton beach we were greeted by the ladies from Cottages 4 You and Chris. We started off combing the beach with Chris, looking for interesting objects. I found some cuttlefish lying on the beach, which Chris explained came from a fish called cuttlefish. He told us a story about a cuttlefish he had caught and put in his bath at home, which used to change colours when he splashed the water.

While we were beach combing I did find some funny-looking seaweed with bubbly bumps all over it. Chris told me that the seaweed was bumpy because it had pockets of air so the seaweed could float towards the sun to get its energy and warmth. We spent a great morning with Chris and found some really interesting things. After we had finished beach combing, we spent the day on Brighton beach making rock piles and running in and out of the sea.

The next day was our last day in the cottage. We spent the morning having breakfast outside with the rabbits and the horses. We then all went on a family bike ride around Hurstpierpoint, which was a beautiful way to spend the last day of our weekend away.

I had a fact-finding, relaxing, and very interesting weekend away. It was just perfect.

Words by Chloe and Millie Robson