Yep, he had a whale of a time! Easily lead back home with food thank goodness. Think I have found the gap under the fence that allowed him to escape. It is amazing just how small a space they can wriggle through when they want to.
Shygirl - we live on the banks of the Tay. The beach is just 3 metres from the front of our house. It is estuarine though so by no means a sandy beach. Just mud and stones. That is a good thing though otherwise we would have every man and his dog set up their deck chairs outside our front door, especially as we are on a very popular right of way. It is also fantastic for wildlife! A stormy spring tide can be a bit scary........