At the start of the Easter holidays we visited family in Bournemouth and took the kids to Mudeford Quay for a spot of crab fishing. This used to be one of my favourite activities as a kid so I was just as excited as them!
All you need is a bucket, fishing line with a bait net on the end, magnets to weigh it down and some bait (bacon, fish etc will do!). There is a little gift shop on the quay that sells all you need at a super reasonable prices (and lots of other lovely gifts too). My mum had a net as well so as Parker is younger he used that as well but you don’t need to have one!
You fill the bucket with sea water and net with bait and drop it in! Then wait a little while and slowly pull it up to see if you’ve caught one. There are lots of people along the quay doing the same and it’s super friendly and lots of kids will come to look in your bucket.
When you’ve caught the crabs you pop them in your bucket and when you’re finished you empty it out and they skuttle off back to the sea!
The kids at this point named a crab after each of them and made it a race!
There is also a lovely little park at the quay, and a nice cafe/pub for a coffee or a spot of lunch (toilets are located here too).
Mudeford Quay is right at the entrance to Christchurch Harbour, south of the centre of Mudeford.
There are lots of beautiful walks in the area and a boat that does trips over to Hengistbury Head (which is beautiful) so you really can make a day of it!
