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 10 January 2014

Devon: Prawle Point to Salcombe Ferry***


 

Adder
 
Sea rocket
 
Salcombe Estuary
The cliffs from Prawle Point (grazed by large-headed curly-woolled sheep), as far as the Salt Estuary, are owned by the National Trust, scenic and full of natural history interest.  Among bracken and gorse were least birdsfoot-trefoil, long-stalked and bloody cranesbills, autumn squill, thrift, sheepsbit, butcher’s broom, sea campion, burnet rose, rock samphire, carline thistle, heather, cross-leaved heath, wild thyme, wild madder, common dodder and saw-wort.  We also had numerous sightings of young adders sunning themselves in the path, small pearl-bordered fritillaries, great green bush-crickets and the coastal leaf-beetle Chrysolina banksi.  A grey bush-cricket was egg-laying in a crack in a wooden stile.  Kestrels were common and hovered close to us.  At several places old medieval strip-field boundaries were still visible.  Wet runnels to small coves had brookweed and watercress as well as hemp agrimony and great willowherb.  The rocks were mainly mica-schist and raised beaches were again evident.  Just west of Prawle Point was the leaning rusty wreck of a Russian ship close to the rocky shore.
      The first beach was sandy with sea-rocket, masses of minute shell-fragments and specimens ofTrophonopsis muricatus, a mollusc restricted to the south-west.  The second beach at the halfway-point was entirely pebbly.  The third, below Gara Rock and its hotel (a former coastguard station), was a mixture of sand and shingle and the most popular.  Rounding the corner of the estuary Salcombe became visible on the other side and there were several sandy beaches here full of holidaymakers boating, sun-bathing and playing.  From East Portlemouth the passenger ferry wends continually back and forth across the river and there was a convenient spot to watch activity on the river from picnic tables outside a hut selling food and drink, plus a view up the ria formed by the River Salt towards Kingsbridge.
                                 Trophonopsis muricatus 
Grey bush-cricket egg-laying
 
Chrysolina banksi
 
Wreck of Russian ship
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