{{coord, 50.318, -4.078, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000 Wembury Beach - geograph

Wembury Marine Centre is situated in the small village of

Wembury Wembury is a village on the south coast of Devon, England, very close to Plymouth Sound. Wembury is located south of Plymouth. Wembury is also the name of the peninsula in which the village is situated. The village lies in the administrative di ...

, near Plymouth. Run by

Devon Wildlife Trust The Devon Wildlife Trust is a member of The Wildlife Trusts partnership covering the county of Devon, England. It is a registered charity, established in 1962 as the Devon Naturalists Trust, and its aim is to safeguard the future of the county's ...

, it holds rockpool rambles throughout the summer months, educating some 20,000 people each year about the importance of marine life and the need to protect it. The area is designated a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

and a Voluntary Marine Conservation Area. Wembury Marine Centre lies at the heart of the Wembury Voluntary Marine Conservation Area and stretches for four miles from

Bovisand Bovisand is a natural coastline on the east side of Plymouth Sound in Devon, England. Despite the steep cliff paths and rocky surrounding, Bovisand features two beaches, a holiday park, privately owned bungalows and a diving centre at Fort Bovis ...

in the west to Gara Point in the east.

Species to look out for

Low tide gives the best chance of seeing the

rockpool A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide. Many tide pool habitats are home to especially adaptable animals that ...

creatures. Some of the likely suspects include the common shore crab

Carcinus maenas ''Carcinus maenas'' is a common littoral crab. It is known by different names around the world. In the British Isles, it is generally referred to as the shore crab, or green shore crab. In North America and South Africa, it bears the name europ ...

, the common prawn Palaemon serratus, the common blenny or shanny Lipophrys pholis, the cushion starfish Asterina gibbosa and the hermit crab

Pagurus bernhardus ''Pagurus bernhardus'' is the common marine hermit crab of Europe's Atlantic coasts. It is sometimes referred to as the common hermit crab or soldier crab. Its carapace reaches long, and is found in both rocky and sandy areas, from the Arctic ...

External links

Wembury Marine Centre
Tourist attractions in Devon Environment of Devon Nature centres in England Buildings and structures in Devon Education in Devon