Nothing beats the feeling of sand between your toes, the soothing sound of the tide and a bagful of hot fresh donuts during a day out on the beach.
Although you're likely to find some seashells, seaweed and sea life on your casual stroll along the shoreline, you definitely would not expect to find a pendant that's nearly 100-years-old, a sword or thousands of tiny clear blobs of jelly!
Here is a list of some of the strangest things that have washed up on Blackpool beach:
1. A 97-year-old pendant from the first Blackpool Carnival
Thousands of souvenir pendants were produced nearly 100 years ago for the first Blackpool Carnival. None were believed to still exist until Michael Brady, a metal detectorist from Preston, struck heritage gold as he was scouring the beach close to Central Pier after Storm Brian in 2017. The woman pictured on the pendant is Florence Stevenson, the face of the carnival and daughter of resort councillor Edward Stevenson, who became mayor in 1939. Photo: Blackpool Museum Project
2. A 'giant' jellyfish
Jeremy Ankers stumbled across this giant jellyfish during a leisurely Sunday stroll on the beach at South Shore in 2017. Jeremy thought it may have been a lion's mane jellyfish, but marine experts said the animal was more likely to be the barrel jellyfish which is a common sight in the Irish Sea once the weather warms up. Photo: Jeremy Ankers
3. A large, rusty metal sword
Metal detectorist Nigel Virgin, 74, of Tudor Road, was out on the sands between South and Central Pier when he picked up a signal for what turned out to be a large, rusty metal sword in March of this year (2020). Photo: Nigel Virgin
4. Palm oil
Large yellow blobs of palm oil washed up on the Lancashire coastline in 2017. The "rancid smelling" fatty substance, weighing about one tonne, was found on beaches at Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Knott End and St Annes, Wyre Council said. According to Vets Now, palm oil is not poisonous to dogs, but it does have a laxative effect and, if eaten, can cause sickness, diarrhoea, dehydration and, in extreme cases, pancreatitis. Vets Now said palm oil can also be dangerous to dogs because it can contain other toxic products mixed in it, such as diesel oil from ships. Photo: Wyre Council
5. Thousands of packets of chocolate biscuits
Thousands of packets of chocolate biscuits washed up on the Lancashire shore from a stricken ferry in 2008. The McVitie's biscuits were being carried on lorries aboard the Riverdance, which ran aground off North Shore.
6. Tiny clear blobs of jelly
Thousands of tiny blobs of jelly washed up on the beach in June of this year (2020). It was initially believed that the creatures were salps, a primitive type of marine invertebrate. However, Debbie Williams, Lancashire's Living Seas Project Officer, said they were more likely to be Sea Gooseberries - a type of comb jelly. Photo: Michael Holmes