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





Tuesday, 28 January 2014

Cumbria: Seascale to St Bee's 17/6/2005


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
From Seascale station it was an easy walk along a dune-edge path between beach and golf course until Sellafield nuclear power station loomed ahead.  We had to pass under the railway and over a bridge at the River Calder.  Isle of Man cabbage was common here and further along.  We kept landward of the railway to Sellafield Station, the power station fenced securely off on the other side.  Oystercatchers screamed at us here, nesting in the stones behind the fence.  Bridge repairs had closed the usual coast path and we had to seek the help of the signalman to get across the line and reach a bridge over the River Ehen, which here parallels the coast for a couple of kilometres before entering the sea at the same point as the Calder.  We walked along the seaward side of the river, where there were mute swans with several grey cygnets, great crested grebe with nine striped chicks, wigeon and mallard.  The track was well marked and eventually emerged at the top of the shore and merged into a vehicle track past scrapyards and ramshackle houses at Braystones, some occupied, many deserted, and others ruined or burned out.  So we continued past scrap vehicles and other rubbish, which only ended just before Nethertown, when we were forced to walk again on the shingle.  The railway station was nearby and we used its waiting-shelter to have lunch.  The fauna on our battered umbrella after this sojourn indicated that this was a ‘three-snail day’ on the Raininess Scale.  For the record they were all brown-lipped banded snails.  The way ahead over shingle and rocks became increasingly slippery with algae and more and more jumbled, making for slow progress round the next point.  Although designated as the official coastal way there is no path and it would be impossible close to high tide.  A dead gannet among the rocks only emphasised the perils of this coast.  Shingle followed to the headland just before St Bee’s.  Here the railway, running right next to the shore, was shored up by a concrete embankment to save it from erosion and there were huge breakwater boulders below blocking our way again, but we eventually got round to the bay below St Bee’s.  We took a track over the cliffs beside a golf course that came down to the car park at the seafront.  St Bee’s is very flowery and quite pleasant, receiving recent awards for its gardens.  We saw an escaped purple cranesbill Geranium x magnificum.  It was only a kilometre up the road to the station and we had time to visit the post office and get drinks at the pub before the train came.  There was no conductor, so we had to knock on the driver’s door and make sure he would stop at Seascale, a request stop.
Isle of Man cabbage
 
Brown-lipped snails mating
 
St Bees Head (from postcard of a sunny day!)
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