Today I realised there was something urgent that I needed to do. D2's boy friend was staying and we discovered that he hadn't caught crabs. You cannot come to East Suffolk to stay and miss this experience, no matter how old you are.
When the children were younger this was the best value day out you could have. Back then, poking your head round the butcher's door, [Ray Kent's in Framlingham] and saying 'crabbin' would elicit free bacon scraps. The only equipment required is a bit of wood, a couple of heavy nuts and a length of line, a big bucket and if you are really posh a net. A short drive later and you can be parked up near the beach where the creek runs out into the sea.
The bridges are full of families learning the craft of crabbing. Team work, sharing, water safety, patience, all essential skills; as the crabs are caught, deposited into the bucket kept a while and then poured back down on the shore to start the whole cycle over again. These days you pay to park at the beach car park £3.00 for the day, but take a picnic and if like me you enjoy a swim it is a great beach for a really good salt water workout.
You can keep your amusement arcades, piers and theme parks. Walberswick, a pack of cheap bacon and picnic of salad bits from the garden and a few fresh rolls and you have bliss. Sunday 9th August is the British Open Crabbing Championship, so there is still time to get some practice in; 'Tight Lines'.
We always found that a fish head was excellent as bait.
ReplyDeleteI loved crabbing and yes, we always threw the poor things back. I suppose they got a snack out of it.