MARITIME MARVELS

Along Britain’s shores lies a wealth of hidden treasures – cliff-carved chapels, bizarre wildlife, vast whirlpools, strange shipwrecks and kelp labyrinths. We pick 20 unsung wonders of the coast.

With almost 20,000 miles of coastline, Britain’s shores host an enormous range of extraordinary sights, from famous landmarks to lesser-known treasures. Here we celebrate 20 unsung spectacles – including geological wonders, breathtaking views and remarkable wildlife – to be found on the ocean’s edge

1. ST GOVAN’S CHAPEL

When Castlemartin firing range is in use, you cannot reach it at all – and even when the coast path is open, you could miss the 13th-century chapel, wedged in a fissure of cliff. Built where St Govan allegedly sought refuge from pirates, this Pembrokeshire chapel sits atop steep steps that bring you first to its roof and then to the door. Inside, light and colour is muted and filtered by stone. Sea-light pours through the unglazed windows, softly illuminating the salt-scoured recesses, cobbled floor and altar, which are damp from wave spray and rain. Julie Brominicks

2. BY-THE-WIND SAILOR

This intriguing creature can be found washed up on the south and west coast, sometimes in great numbers. Related to the jellyfish, it floats on the surface, but has no means of propulsion so will literally go were the wind blows, thanks to the transparent sail on its back. This is attached to a raft, beneath which a colony of polyps hang, absorbing plankton and fish larvae via stinging tentacles (harmless to humans). More nourishment is provided by a microalgae in its tissue, which converts sunshine into nutrients. Joe Pontin

4. SNAKELOCKS ANEMONE

Strange how we often look but don’t see. After decades of dabbling in rockpools, I first noticed the pale green, lilac-tipped tentacles of this startling anemone on the Cornish coast last summer. It turns out to be a rather common species, preferring the sunniest rockpools on Britain’s southern and western shores. At up to 70mm across and with (watch out!) stinging tentacles that spread up to 180mm, it’s much larger than the familiar crimson blobs of the beadlet anemone. How did I miss it? JP

5. DIVING GANNETS

Two gannets squabble underwater over a catch. Noisy and ungainly on land, the gannet transforms itself into a missile once airborne to catch cod, mackerel and herring on astonishing dives. In foraging sorties of up to 100 dives, the impressive seabird will use its binocular vision to spot prey below. Once in position, it plunges straight down, tucking its 2.5m wingspan into its body so closely that by the time it hits the water, it is a white arrow. Grasping its surprised prey in its bill, it swallows its catch underwater to avoid piracy from gulls and skuas before taking it back to feed nestlings on nearby cliffs. Fergus Collins

3. MAWDDACH ESTUARY

From the train you see it, a veil of water shivering over shifting sand bars, silver light gilding its edge. Upriver, mountains and oak-cloaked hills define the Mawddach river. But here, the water slides between headlands and creeks or spills over sandflats and marsh. For a lingering view, walk over the railway bridge or take a ferry from Penrhyn Point to Barmouth – it has been running since the 16th century, when the passengers were fishermen and monks. JB

6. MERTHYR MAWR DUNES

Did you know that Europe’s second highest sand dune is near Bridgend, in Mid Glamorgan? It's so big that it was used as a location for the classic David Lean film Lawrence of Arabia. The sprawling dunes of Merthwr Mawr and nearby Kenfig are the remnants of an even bigger dune system that used to run from the Ogmore estuary to the Gower peninsula. Merthr Mawr covers 840 acres, and its highest dune, known as the Big Dipper, reaches 61m. The two reserves have a huge wealth of wildlife, including the beautiful and rare fen orchid, which flowers in midsummer. Megan Shersby

7. NOUP LIGHTHOUSE

The white tower of Noup Head lighthouse crowns Westray, known as the Queen O’ The Isles in Orkney. The beacon, completed in 1898 by David A Stevenson, rises above remote sea cliffs where Orkney’s largest seabird colony resides through April to August. The rowdy clamour of kittiwakes, guillemots, skuas and gannets on the RSPB reserve is accompanied by crashing sea swell and the wild experience is thrilling. Brigid Benson

8. FOSSIL SHARKS’ TEETH

If you look carefully through the shingle on your beach, you might find the tooth of a shark that perished millions of years ago. Fossilised sharks’ teeth crop up ocasionally on beaches, and in much larger numbers at sites such as Herne Bay in Kent. Here, teeth from 24 shark species have been found in the soft clay, some dating back 54 million years. Try searching when the sea is at its lowest – during spring tides or a day or two after a full moon. For other likely locations, go to ukfossils.co.uk/tag/shark-teeth JP

9. CORRYVRECKAN WHIRLPOOL

The fearsome Gulf of Corryvreckan churns relentlessly in narrow straits between the islands of Jura and Scarba. The world’s third largest whirlpool holds the power to create steep standing waves and turbulence audible many miles away. Surging tidal currents can run at over 10 knots and destroy vessels entering the maelstrom. In 1947 George Orwell, temporarily residing on Jura, became ensnared. The vortex swallowed the motor of his boat and the author was fortunate to escape. BB

10. KELP

Above the surface, the bay seemed empty of life, beyond a bobbing yacht and a splashing swimmer. But as I pulled on my mask and dipped beneath Lulworth Cove’s placid waters, that all changed. Deep walls of caramel-brown kelp forests rose around me, lustrous and billowing. I rose for air, then ducked again, veering left and right from one kelp tunnel to the next. Blennies, flat fish and dogfish all populate the waters here – I saw none, but returned to the shore delighted with my discovery of one of Britain’s greatest hidden marvels: kelp. Daniel Graham

11. COMB JELLYFISH

“Keep going, right to the back,” our guide told us as we paddled our kayaks backwards into a sea cave. “You’re most likely to see them there.” With each stroke, the cave got darker, yet streaks of sunlight continued to penetrate the rolling water. I peered over the side and there they were, two of them, sunbeams scattering through their transparent bodies in a subtle yet astonishing display of rainbow light. You can find comb jellies – named after the groups of cilia, or combs, that cover their bodies – on the west and north coast of Scotland, as I did on the Summer Isles; or off the coast of Wales. DG

12. SPEKE’S MILL MOUTH WATERFALL

Cascading 68 metres over sheer rock in a series of falls – the highest tumbling 15 metres from the cliff top to a pool below – the waterfall at Speke’s Mill Mouth is a startling sight on North Devon’s rugged Atlantic coast. Its beauty lies not only in its picturesque setting in a hanging valley on the Hartland Peninsula, but also in its remoteness, accessible only by foot, about 20 minutes’ walk from Hartland Quay. Apart from the occasional walker or climber, and some hardy surfers visiting the renowned reef break at Speke’s Mill Beach, it is a quiet and peaceful spot, even at the height of summer. Tor McIntosh

One mile to the east of Brownsham car park on Devon’s jagged north coast lies this towering, pyramidal formation, rising like a battle-scarred shark fin from the shallows of the Atlantic Ocean. Clamber across wave-sculpted boulders and explore its slanted archways and fissures up close, or absorb the rock from the comfort of the South West Coast Path high on the clifftop.