Introduction


When we started walking the coast of England we had no intention that this would become a major lifetime project. Having to make a last-minute arrangement for our summer holiday in 1987, we said "Let's go to the nearest piece of coast and see how far we can walk along it." It turned out well and we started adding further stretches of coast, initially once every two years, but soon annually, or even twice a year.

We had always enjoyed the coast - there is something refreshingly "edgy" about having the sea always at our side, and one of us was into marine molluscs. We also enjoyed long-distance walking and had long been involved in general natural history recording. This project enabled us to combine all three interests.

You soon discover when embarking on a project like this that you need a few rules, which evolve from the first experiences. Our main rule was that we should walk as close to the coast as possible, which meant beach-walking whenever we could (unlike the official coast paths that largely remain above shore, recognising that at high tides the beach may be inaccessible). The route should also be capable of being a continuous walk, so that when we came to an unfordable river we walked inland along its banks to the first place at which we could cross, whether a bridge or a ferry.

We only carried light packs, so that at the end of each day's walk we had the problem of getting back to our car where we started. Initially we walked back, but soon realised we would be walking the coast twice this way! We used public transport whenever this was available - buses or trains, sometimes adjusting our start and finish points to make this easier. Failing this - and it was often not possible - we would phone for a taxi (an increasingly costly option over the years). Having our car with us gave us more freedom as to where we could stay at night - and after a day walking and only light food we were usually ready for being spoiled by a good meal and a comfortable bed! Even so, we stayed on the coast itself whenever there was a decent option.

Each walk was made for enjoyment, it was not a route-march to see how quickly we could get it finished. We therefore took it gently at times when passing through pleasant scenery or where there were many plants or creatures to record.

In terms of biological recording, we systematically noted every bird, butterfly, creature or sea-shell that we came across, sometimes spending time searching for the shells. We could not record every plant in the same way - there are too many common ones - so we were more selective, noting all coastal plants and any others that were not run-of-the-mill.

In our daily posts, edited from our original diaries, we include a star-rating from no star to **** according to our subjective estimate as to how special that day was from the point of view of natural history. This score (and our daily records) will, however, have been affected by the weather - it is difficult to appreciate the environment fully, for instance, in torrential rain, and there are many more butterflies and other insects to be seen in warm sunshine!

A summary of all our natural history records on the walk can be found using this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1LLGD55lKRHYXd1SGU1QndrcUU/edit?usp=sharing





Friday 10 January 2014

Cornwall: Cremyll to Polhawn 15/8/1996***


 



 
Volucella zonaria
 
 
 
Brookweed
We began at Cremyll, the landing-place of the passenger ferry from Plymouth.  Just north of the village the road runs by saltmarsh creeks near Antony (where the road actually fords a permanent stream and is flooded around high tide).  Here we recorded many common saltmarsh plants.  There were no waders among the gulls except for a solitary little egret.  We entered Edgecumbe Gardens, which descend to the coast and give good views of Plymouth.  We bought genuine Cornish pasties at the Orangery café here for lunch.  In the grounds we saw the rare hoverfly Volucella zonaria.  There is also a huge wall-like trimmed hedge of evergreen oak, 7-8m high and 100m long.  We could not escape the blare of the Radio One road-show from across the Tamar, until we passed Picklecombe Point and put a hill between us and The Hoe.    
      Barn Pool shore was stony with bladder wrack and green filamentous algae.  We walked through deer-park woodlands of the Duchy of Cornwall, dominated by exotics – sweet chestnut, evergreen oak and rhododendron – but at least two plants of American pokeweed Phytolacca acinosa provided some interest.  Picklecombe Point is private with no access.  We could see from above a harbour of boats, tennis court and half-built hotel creating an eyesore below old fortifications.  After this we were in acid grassland with much gorse, common centaury, and weld.  Then a wide mown grass slope, Minadew Brakes, ran down to the low cliff and a rocky shore where we ate our pasties.  They tasted good but lay heavily on the stomach when we resumed our walk! 
      The twin villages of Kingsands and Cawsands each had a pebbly beach and many sunbathers and boaters, Kingsands in particular being a major harbour for pleasure boats. The county boundary used to lie between the two until it was moved in the C19th.  From here was shady woodland to Penlee Point where we suddenly found ourselves engulfed in thick fog and could no longer see the sea, only revealed by the sound foghorns.  Open heathland had plenty of butterflies and the bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera with yellow underparts. There was bell heather and hemp agrimony here, and some of the gorse was festooned with pink dodder.  At Rame Head we rose slightly above the mist.  The ruined chapel had sea spleenwort, oxeye daisy, sea campion and fern-grass growing on its walls.  On the shore we searched in vain for shore dock, but there was brookweed beside a stream into one rocky cove.  The path led to Polhawn, where there was no access to the cove, and we climbed up to the road to catch a bus back to Cremyll – just passing as we arrived.  We stayed and dined at Kingsands, in the Halfway House Hotel (so-called because it was once on the county border), where we could eat fresh whole sea bass.
 
 
 
 
 
Kingsand at high tide (postcard)
 
Kingsand at low tide
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