Hunting for treasure

I'm coming to the end of my family holiday on the North Cornish coast in the UK. During our trip I discovered a new obsession, hunting for sea-glass!

Sea-glass, as the name implies, is glass that has been worn down by the sea and returned to the shore. It comes in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours but they all have something in common...the satisfaction you feel when you spot a piece.

Generally, smaller pieces are more common than larger pieces. The shape is largely dependent upon the age of the sea-glass, it's size and the grade of the beach sediment around which it is being worn. I like the smoother, rounder pieces and am less concerned about size. Size isn't everything with sea-glass! The most abundant colour is green, then clear, with all the other colours seemingly equally rare. I didn't find a single piece of blue, brown, purple or red sea-glass.

Sea-glass is satisfyingly rare in the context of the amount of other material, certainly in all the places I searched for it. I didn't find a single piece larger than a finger-nail. It's eye-straining, back-breaking work, but unbelievably enjoyable. During my time here, I've spent at least five hours combing the beaches and I can highly recommend it. The whole experience is peaceful and soothing. The coastal setting no doubt contributes, along with being focused on a single, repetitive task.

I caught myself looking for sea-glass in places where you would never find it, like the car park and the path back to the cottage. Obsessed!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the short story about sea-glass.

Happy Steeming.