What's the oddest thing you have found while beachcombing?

[Seafog]

Hello fellow beach combers!
I have been combing for 8 years now, and have found a lot of weird things over the years, from a deceased sea turtle (huge! And so smelly) to binoculars, money, half a sail boat and an engine block.

Anyone else trawl the shores for goodies? Find anything cool?

We have just seen a cock ring on our country walk today ( lowers tone)

I’m not a beach comber because I don’t live by the sea, but I dearly wish I did so could walk along the shore regularly and look for the weird and wonderful things washed up. I’d also love to be a Thames mudlark, but geography isn’t on my side there either.

My favourites have been a dead porpoise and a dead octopus. My daughter has a lovely toy elephant which she found beachcombing - he's called beach elephant! I also have a very useful crate from a Netherland's fishing boat.

The oddest I found was some false teeth in Talland Bay. But these are finds from recently... I wish I lived near the sea but then home would be full of randoms!

I am particularly pleased with my sea glass marble..it's so tactile

Interesting thread... my question to all you beach combers is - do you mean you go along the beach specifically looking to see what you'll find, or do you mean that you'll go for a walk along a beach and if you happen to find something then that is beach combing? Subtle difference but I'd be interested to know.

Also, out of say, 100 walks, how often do you find something of note?

I haven’t found much other than sea glass. But many decades ago, my Grandma found a message in a bottle. It was written by another young woman. Grandma wrote back, but I think the writer was hoping to hear from a handsome young man, so nothing came of it.

A lump of amethyst crystal (piece of a geode type of thing). It didn't look at all sea-weathered so no idea how it got there. I picked it up without DD noticing, then later when we were playing pirates in the sand dunes surreptitiously buried it and marked it with an X ....

Better than my best find when I was about 2 ... a drowned rat.

I had a boyfriend who beachcombed with a metal detector - he had a large bunch of keys to show for it.

I am a semi professional beach combers, I go looking for sea glass, driftwood and anything else I find that is exciting. I photograph it on the beach, and anything not too big or too gross comes home.
I make art from what I find, or sell them as is (buoys, glass floats, coins, etc) as well as selling the sea glass.
I also teach about hunting, lead tours , basically sell my self anyway that can make beach combing pay! Otherwise I'd have no gas, and I use a lot hitting the beaches!
I have found half a seal (shudder) but also beautiful things too.
Hiking the shores are a therapy/exercise/destressing thing I do, but my eyes are always open for treasure.
These are some recent finds, including a tiny glass button.
@alltoomuchrightnow marbles are the best

A dead horse

I found a human mandible. Looked like it had been lying there for years (it was on a sand bar) as was very sun bleached. Took it to the police and they combed the area for more bones (didn't find any) and also sent it away for DNA testing. Never heard anything back though.

I find things every time I go to the beach, which is often.

I found a full spearfishing gun, spear still in place!

I've found loads of plastic beach toys.

Goggles, swim suits! Underwear!

My daughter found a $5! Australian money is waterproof! We got ice creams with it!

I saw dolphins jumping out of the water today!

I would love to walk on a beach more often then I can. I always look out for things. When I was younger I once found a human tooth, complete with root and it scared me so I threw it back on the pebbles and ran away!

Crikey BluePeterVag there may have been something sinister in the water

I found a meteomodem once ! Very interesting, sadly I mainly collect rubbish as there is so much . Love Sea glass , odd driftwood and would love to find a marble !

I’ve never found anything but I’ve lost piles of things at the beach 😬

I adore your seaglass OP!

I live near lots of beaches in NZ. Thanks fully we don't get much man-made of interest washed up (plenty puffer fish, jelly fish etc) but once after a big storm I collected a carrier bag full of rubbish that had washed up.

Almost all of it was food packets from the Phillipines with dates on from 3 years previous. Incredible yet depressing that these things made it into the sea and washed up 8000km away. Other than that the rubbish was almost exclusively the detachable plastic bits from drinks containers: milk and water bottle tops, the plastic rings once you've undone the top, the plastic/foil pull off lids underneath the plastic top and absolutely loads of those tiny straws you get on juice boxes.

I haven't bought a bottle of water or a plastic milk bottle since. I hate seeing kids with a juice box that has a plastic straw Awful.

An marginally exciting find was a very rusty can of 'Strike Cola' on Camber Sands beach. Stubbed my toe on it in the sand in the shallows. Hasn't been made since 1970 and was mainly sold in Scottish chippies.

A relative found a brooch which they gave to me, I took it took a jeweller who confirmed it was a foreign hall mark, presumably it'd come from a boat and been washed up since it wasn't a tourist area.

Those interested in this topic, if you're on Twitter follow @LegoLostAtSea it's a fascinating account which shares lots of mystery items washed up!

Finding "a dead horse" while "beachcombing" made me laugh, @shortfeet (horrible as it must have been). Just imagining you strolling along, eyes glued to the sands, and then . .

Multiple bags of white powder that had been washed up on a remote beach in The Bahamas.
The hotel staff shrugged.

These are all wicked interesting!
Although my heart would break at finding a horse

During lockdown in March, an intact glass bottle from a local lemonade/ soda works, with the date embossed on it of 1941.
Obsidian from the same beach.
Walk there almost daily and love how the waves and the wind rearrange the sand and stones, so it's always a wee bit different.

A boomerang. Clearly not a very good one!!