The Pebbles on the Beach

As a child, I spent a lot of time at Normans Bay in Sussex. The beach there was a mix of pebbles, shingles and sand when the tide was out. I swam, sailed, made sandcastles and I could not even begin to count the number of pebbles that I have picked up off a beach and thrown into the sea or scoured the shoreline looking for the flattest so I could skim them. Mostly they were just a there, I remember it was painful to walk across the mostly brown pebbles in bare feet to get to the sea. Every now and again I would find a shell or an unusually coloured stone which would be used on the sandcastles for decoration.

Until I picked this up it never even crossed my mind that you could learn so much from a single stone. There is a chapter on how a show more pebble is formed and a basic lesson on geology. There is another in depth on the kinds of pebbles that you are likely to find on which beaches around England. Ellis explains the meaning of terms swash and backwash, longshore drift and how shingle beaches behave with the relentless waves. He moves onto semi-precious stones and the types that you are likely to find around the UK.

It is a book that I wish I had first had as a child, something that Robert Macfarlane was fortunate to find on his grandparent's shelf when he was growing up as he explains in the new foreword to the book. The language is a little dated, but then it is a reprint of a classic book that is over 65 years old now, however, it is still a delight to read. Given that you are dealing with small items of geology, the details of what to look for are not going to be changing for a long time. The fold out cover is beautifully illustrated by the artist Eleanor Crow and it is worth buying just for that alone. show less

A fabulous book and an understated gem of geology. I feel like I have learnt so much and yearn to begin my pebble collection. I can’t wait to get out there and fail to find any interesting pebbles. At least I’m far better informed now about what I’m not finding. I’ve booked a holiday by a pebble beach to maximise my chances of not recognising the best ones.

It's a classic text, in that it's long-established and well-known.

But who's the audience for such a book today? It's a solid text-based book, with only a few illustrations, and it's not the most eye-catching read by modern standards. It also assumes at least a little mineral knowledge. Yet it's not the same as a writer like Dreghorn, who goes into so much more depth in a field guide.

At one time, this was the children's standard text as an introduction to geology and a popular gift before a trip to Scarborough or Brighton. Would it still engage younger readers? I'm just not so sure. Maybe what's needed is a real updated version, with a lot more illustration for one. There's good content in here that's still a good read, but will new show more geologists still be drawn to it? show less

A wonderful little book about UK beach pebbles, introduced excellently by Robert Macfarlane. I much look forward to getting back over there and looking at the beaches again someday!