like blue crabs, in that they don’t have a uniformly hard exoskeleton and can’t grow their own shells. Instead, hermit crabs have a hard exoskeleton on the front part of their bodies but a ...

She placed the shell beside the crab in a large blue tub and left it alone for a while. Upon returning, Amill was exhilarated to find that the hermit crab was safely tucked into the new shell.

Smaller crabs native to British shorelines take a little more careful looking for, but are well worth the effort. Sit quietly next to a rock-pool and watch out for seashells that aren’t gliding ...