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: Maenporth to Helford Ferry 18/8/1998


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lesser centaury
We left our car, by agreement, in the car park of the restaurant Nansidwell at Mawnan Smith, where we would be returning to eat at night.  We could then walk down to Maenporth and along more low cliff-tops where the flora was more interesting than several days past, with yellow bartsia, sawwort, yellow rattle and lesser centaury, whose little pink stars studded the turf.  All too soon, however, the path became enclosed between hedges, descending occasionally to little beaches of shingle, rock and a little sand.  Parson’s Beach below the church at Mawnan had gastropods like the purple top shell and a little sea couch.  From Rosemullion Head we obtained good views back to Falmouth, with a queue of ships waiting to enter the harbour, but as we rounded Toll Point we could see up the estuary of the Helford River, full of much smaller craft. 
      The path then passes two gardens, Glendurgan and Trebah.  The latter has a private beach fenced from the path.  Our destination was Passage Cove, a beach with a ferry across the estuary.  It was very small and crowded with holidaymakers, perhaps because it was much sandier than most.  We walked down the road to Bar Beach where we had lunch, returning to Passage Cove for drinks and ice-creams at the Ferryboat Inn before climbing the steep road to a bridleway leading to the entrance of Trebah Gardens.  The gardens were mainly devoted to large shrubs like rhododendron and hydrangeas, the latter currently in full flower, looking impressive where they were reflected in the lowest pool.  A path led through massive Gunneras, giving an unusual glimpse of the huge flowers and a full sense of their size.  We saw a green woodpecker here.  We then walked back by road to Nansidwell.  We tried Cornish yarg and other local goat’s cheese to round off the meal.
Trebah Gardens: lake & hydrangeas
 
 
 
 
 
Purple top shell Gibbula umbilicalis
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Green woodpecker
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