| Overview
Sand collecting is based around the simple idea of
visiting a variety of different locations such as beaches,
rivers, lochs, quarries and so on, and collecting one or
more small different samples of sand from each. These samples are then
prepared and displayed at home, usually inside small clear
plastic or glass containers or bottles.
People collect sand for many reasons. For some it's
simply a great excuse to get outdoors and visit new places,
while for others it's the many different colours and
textures of the sand that attracts them but for many, myself
included, it's really the joy of finding new and interesting
samples of sand - and adding them to the collecting.
Collecting sand is also one of the easiest and least
expensive hobbies you can get. All you need are a few
self-seal polythene bags to collect the sand in, an old
spoon to scoop the sand up with and some clear containers to
house your growing collection.
Many people assume that all sands are the same but this
is far from being the case. Even at a single small beach
different grades and colours of sand can be found within a
few metres of each other. At some sand and gravel pits
finding as many as ten or more different samples would not
be difficult.
Sand collectors, sometimes also known as arenophiles or
psammofiles, differ in what they actually collect. Some
collect only local sands, perhaps from their own county or
country. Others collect sands from all over the world,
either by travelling to different countries themselves or by
exchanging sand samples with collectors from other
countries. There really is no limit to how many samples you
can collect.
Of course, there's more to collect than just sand, and
some enthusiasts, myself included, also collect samples of
similar items such as clay, all usually found at the same
time and place as the sand. |
