Another Place

Another Place is a massive installation on Crosby Beach - just a few miles NW of Liverpool - that consists of 100 cast-iron figures by Antony Gormley who is probably best known for his sculpture "Angel of the North". The ghostly life-size figures - moulded from the artists own body - are dotted along three kilometres of the Crosby shore: sparse in some areas and becoming more congregated as they reach the sea front, so onlookers can catch the detail of those near and the shadow of sculptures in the distance out to sea in one eyeful. It's certainly a spectacular sight - especially at low tide.

So what's this got to do with cooking on boats? In my twenties, I lived in a flat overlooking this beach and the Welsh mountains in the distance. Braving the northerly winds for walks on the beach, there wasn't much marine life in evidence at that time. Today, wandering amoung the iron men, I was delighted to see evidence of razor shells, also called razor clams. I first ate razor clams whilst sailing in Brittany and had never seen them on the menu in England until recently. Razor clams can be stir-fried, chargrilled or steamed like mussels: which ever way you cook them, they are delicious! If you're thinking of gathering some for yourself, wear a thick glove - like a gardening glove - as the shells really are razor sharp. Also, you need to be quick as they burrow down into the sand in an instant. Alternatively, you can dig for them. Best attempted at low tide on beaches washed by clean seas and where there is a thriving population - only take what you need.

I'm going to have a go at catching some in a few weeks when sailing in the West Country