May I have a word in your shell-like?

Combing the seashore for shells is one of life's greatest pleasures, says Natasha Goodfellow, as she winkles out her favourites and meets an artist for whom molluscs offer endless inspiration

- Natasha Goodfellow

SOME of my happiest holiday memories are to do with shells. Gathering up empty cockles and limpets with my nephews to stick on sandcastles on Holkham beach in Norfolk, looking for the smoothest oyster shells on the beach at Whitstable in Kent after a jolly seafood lunch and spending glorious afternoons on the Cor- nish coast seeking out whorled, thick topshells, glinting with mother-of-pearl where they had been worn down by the waves. It’s estimated there are about 600 species of marine mollusc around the UK and, although some places—Barricane Beach in Devon; Shell Island in Gwynedd; the Solway Firth in Scot- land—are famed for their molluscs, it is rare to find a strand in the UK that doesn’t offer something of interest for an eagle-eyed beach- comber. Here are a few of my favourites to look out for.

Painted topshell

Calliostoma zizyphinum; up to 1.2in (3cm)

OLD-FASHIONED spinning tops gave this brightly coloured conical shell its name and it’s easy to see why. Widely distributed, it is relatively delicate and cannot tolerate long periods above the tideline, so it dwells on the lower shore, feeding on algae that live on the rocks there. Its shell is kept clean by a twice-daily wipe with its mantle (a layer of tissue between the shell and the body)—which also acts as a handy foraging exercise, delivering the accumulated detritus as an additional snack. 

Common wentletrap

Epitonium clathrus; up to 1.6in (4cm)