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: Salcombe to Soar Mill Cove 6/8/1994**


 

Salcombe Harbour from Sharpitor
 
 
Saw-wort with red admiral
 
Last night we arrived at Salcombe and found our B&B (Sunningdale) to be immaculate, in Art Deco styling.  The way down into town was steep.  We walked beside the estuary from the ferry terminal to North Sands.  Private residences occupied the rocky shore, but their walls were colourful with Mexican fleabane, fern grass, ivy-leaved toadflax, red valerian, wall pennywort and many ferns, including sea spleenwort and rusty-back.  Bear’s-breech was a common garden escape.  At Spinnaker’s Restaurant back in town we ate fresh local seafood – crab and sea bass.
      This morning the tide was high at North Sands but we still found some shells.  On the way to South Sands we saw rock samphire, frosted orache, kidney vetch, cliff spurrey, ivy broomrape, butcher’s broom, alexanders and gladdon, and these recurred throughout the day.  At Sharpitor Gardens we sheltered in the Museum for a while from the rain, but could not wait too long.  Lunch on the cliff-top at Bolt Head was a wet and windy affair of mandarins and bananas, but we were distracted watching a drama unfold as a yacht capsized at sea in the stormy waves and a lifeboat came to rescue the two occupants.  They attached a rope to the yacht, whose sails and masts were broken, to pull it into harbour. 
      Darnel fescue grew on the WWII fortifications at Bolt Head.  Cliff-tops varied from bell heather and gorse clumps to bracken-dominated open grassland, sometimes with abundant slender and musk thistles.  There was frequent haresfoot clover, thrift, sea campion, saw-wort, goldenrod, bloody cranesbill, carline thistle, common centaury, betony, and dodder on the gorse.  On the paths (at great risk of being trodden) were many bloody-nosed beetles.  Young wheatears and linnets were plentiful, as were painted ladies.  We continued in intermittent sunshine and showers to Bolberry Down, which was mainly radio masts and car-park, with a very distant view of Eddystone Lighthouse on the horizon, about 20 miles away.  Descending to Soar Mill Cove we passed Port Light Hotel where we would be staying the following night.  Here we watched a pair of kestrels hunting grasshoppers.  On the shore was sea sandwort and the ground beetle Harpalus attenuatus.  We walked an inland trail back to Salcombe, where we again enjoyed local seafood at Clare’s - herrings, John Dory and bouillabaisse.  From there we counted 250 steps up the hill to our B&B and then upstairs to our bedroom!
Bear’s-breech
 
Dodder on gorse
 
Bloody-nosed beetle
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