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: Silecroft to Bootle Station 15/6/2005


 

Silecroft beach, morning, after storm
 
Silecroft beach, evening, in sunshine
 
Sea campion
We parked at the beach at Silecroft and walked directly north on sand below the shingle top.  The low red clay cliffs were acidic and the fields above were improved pasture for cattle and sheep, so there were few interesting plants.  Among the pebbles and rocks on the shore were some erratic granitic boulders.  At Gutterbury the sand disappeared, replaced by rough stones difficult to walk, so we transferred to the Cumbrian Coastal Way along the top of the cliffs, although this was inadequately signed and farmers had blocked many stretches, and we had a difficult time, especially around Annaside.  Just past here was an unsigned diverted path over a wooden bridge spanning the River Annas, convenient if it had not been cut off by a barbed wire fence, which it made it just as inaccessible as the old route!  A previous walker had improvised a rickety “stile” from driftwood, however, and we managed to scramble over.  When they publicise something like “Cumbrian Coastal Way” they should at least make sure the footpaths work!  We walked beside the river through a field of cattle and found a pleasant flowery bank with sea campion, English stonecrop and common birdsfoot trefoil on which to sit for lunch and watch stonechats.  The paths continued to be difficult but we managed to get to the farm that marked the nearest point to Bootle Station.  We continued to the car park at Stubb Place, marking the end of the road down from the station, convenient for tomorrow’s start.  The path through the grass above the beach was blocked in places, crumbled away in others, so we were forced to walk along the rough shingle with brick and concrete rubble and the usual storm detritus, which included necklace-shells Polinices catena and cowries.  It was a mile and a half up the road to the station, another request stop, for the 6-minute ride back to Silecroft, our view dominated all the way by the massive fells of Black Combe still crowned by mist and dark cloud.
 
Polinices catena
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