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, 17 January 2014

Cornwall: Kennack Sands to Church Cove 22/8/1998****


 

Caerleon Cove
 
Cadgwith Harbour
 
Landewednack Church Cove
We first searched the dunes at Kennack more thoroughly and recorded autumn lady’s tresses, clary, rough clover, common storksbill, carline thistle and lesser meadow-rue.  There were also two rare beetles, the Notable A dune dung beetle Onthophagus nuchicornis and the Notable B leaf beetle Chrysolina haemoptera restricted to southern coasts.  So it was late morning by the time we set off below the caravans and golf-course along the cliffs, fairly level, but with few chances to reach the shore.  Towards Cadgwith the geology changed back to hornblende schist and plants were less interesting, with a predominance of introduced species clambering over the cliffs, although in one arable field we noticed lesser snapdragon. 
      The first cove was Caerleon with a wonderful mix of large pebbles.  It was the next cove at Cadgwith where we stopped at the lookout for lunch above a working fishing harbour littered with boats and paraphernalia, watching a wheatear working the sea-walls.  It has a pebble shore, the boats placed on thick tree branches as rollers to move them up and down.  The rocks are striated and curled yellows and greys of hornblende schist.  We walked up the road from the village and wound around the Devil’s Frying Pan, a collapsed cave with sea showing through a gap under a natural arch at the entrance.  A pond below the path was red with water-purslane, but also contained ivy-leaved crowfoot and many frogs.  The path eventually passed back into serpentine and we reached a disused quarry.  Again we found autumn lady’s-tresses, along with yellow rattle and fringed rupturewort. 
      We continued down to Landewednack Church Cove which, towards high tide, had no beach, merely a steep slipway for boats.  There we ate a Cornish cream tea.  Before getting a taxi back we called at the church which has serpentine pillars framing the entrance.  Lizard Hotel, our accommodation for the next several nights, has great views towards Kynance Cove and almost to Land’s End.  A local bistro Witchball served decent seafood and we walked back to the hotel in the dark starry night, watching beams from the Lizard lighthouse sweep across the sky.
Water purslane
Autumn lady’s tresses
 
Dung-beetle Onthophagus nuchicornis
 
Hornblende-schist at Cadgwith Cove


PLANTS OF THE LIZARD

These plants were seen on more than one day but only on the Lizard.

Hairy greenweed
 
Long-headed clover
Cornish heath
 
Fringed Rupturewort
 
Western clover (with rough clover)
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