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: Par to Pentewan 11/8/1998**


 

Beach at Spit Point
 
Sailing ship in Charlestown Harbour
 
Sea-urchins
From Spit Point Beach car-park we followed the way-marked path to the coast through the other side of the china clay factory, coming out at a harbour and beach.  The latter was a wasteland of derelict concrete buildings, but there was still a rich mixture of shells.  The sand here is white, as at Par, from the china clay, which also dusted the plants.  The narrow spit at the far end attracted several birds – dunlin, ringed plover, oystercatchers and curlew.  We left along a cliff path beside a golf course to Crinnis Sands.  Taking the first path down at the eastern end led to the nudist section, with many people swimming and sunbathing.  The sand sloped sharply down to the sea and the shells were mainly Spisula.  There was sea spleenwort on the cliffs, but the dunes were colonised by Japanese rose which is attractive but tends to eliminate all else.  However there were carline thistles and rare mottled grasshoppers.  Halfway along the beach was an “entertainment complex”, the Cornwall Coliseum, where preparations were being made for a rock festival.
      A cliff walk passed Carlyon Hotel and backs of gardens to Charlestown, a fishing port with an unspoiled, rather austere look, a regular setting for period films.  The harbour was occupied by a working sailing ship.  We ate ice-creams while wandering a muddy and rocky shore with scallop and whelk shells.  Large sea-urchin tests were being sold by fishermen on the sea-wall.  After Duporth Holiday Village with its private beach, Porthpean had many children netting shrimps and tiny gobies in the weedy rock-pools. 
      The final walk was more strenuous with steep coombs to cross.  Occasional gaps in the hedge allowed us glimpses of a wide blue sea and sky stretching from the lighthouse at Fowey to Chapel Point beyond Mevagissey.  While a speckled bush-cricket enjoyed the unrelenting sun, we were glad of occasional patches of woodland where ferns such as hart's tongue, lady and hard shield were abundant.  A brief side-path led to Black Head and views.  We came down into the steep dark valley at Hallane where climbing corydalis grew beside the stream leading into a small rocky bay.  Two more exhausting coombs and several inaccessible coves intervened before we arrived at Pentewan.  Pentewan beach was again very busy.  We stayed in Mevagissey, at Southcliffe B&B.
Crinnis Sands
 
Sea spleenwort
 
Charlestown Harbour (from leaflet)
 
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