whilst the tops dry out in the sun and provide a sharp and crispy deterrent for the slugs and snails that plague us here in Wales.

That is fantastic advice!! Such an easy way to deter slugs without chemicals or the expensive nematodes... had never thought of that... and as @talltUK says we'll be putting this into practice as soon as we have a nice patch of land to grow some stuff... Plenty of seaweed in these beaches!

Any particular type you would advice against or you have noticed doesn't do that well for the plants? Or any plants that really don't like it? We have similar climate to Wales so I would suspect we would be growing similar stuff to you.