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, 31 January 2014

Essex: Clacton to Point Clear 30/6/2009****

 
Clacton Pier
 
Peritrechus nubilus
 
Dicheirotrichus gustavii
The front at Clacton was slightly better than yesterday, with few beach-huts and a wider beach no longer obscured by sea-mist.  We gradually came into less salubrious surroundings at Jaywick and the Seawick holiday camps beyond, but we were able to continue along the concrete walkway and pass them by. It was amazing how many native plants that would once have been common on dunes and saltmarshes along this coast before the C20th building surge, managed to survive in various niches.  In fact sea holly was abundant at the head of the beach just out of Clacton, and sea barley grew on the concrete sea-defences. There was one small patch of strawberry clover. Beyond the camps there was a golf-course and saltmarsh.  We came to a sandy spit reserved for naturists.  No waders were evident, but one pool on the marsh sheltered a pair of shelduck and black-headed gulls. The edge of the marsh was fringed with shrubby seablite and golden samphire (still in bud).  At the end of this marsh was the tiny group of houses and shacks, Lee-over-Sands, and the start of an Essex Wildlife Trust nature reserve to which there is no access. Here we saw the cranefly Tipula subcunctans and the bug Peritrechus nubilus.  An embankment starting here skirted the reserve but the grass was tall and plants of black mustard and sea beet sprawled in our way.  Meadow browns, small and Essex skippers, and blue-tailed damselflies were disturbed at each step.  There was a short length of concrete embankment to sit for our lunch. There was a lot of salsify, most in seed, but we also saw their purple flowers.  After a kilometre the public right of way ends, but a permissive way long the embankment continued, past lots of crow garlic.  At the end of the embankment a path continued by a field of beans into the village of Point Clear, although “private estates” made it difficult to get to the main road.  The end of the main road gave access to the beach along the south side of Point Clear, where there were several new plants for the day, like yellow horned-poppy, frosted and grass-leaved orache, slender thistle.  Beside the sea wall we saw our first golden samphire in flower.  Shore debris contained the ground beetle Dicheirotrichus gustavii , the Notable B weevil Pselactus spadix and the winkle Littorina saxatilis ssp tenebrosa.  At St. Osyth Stone Point we found the ferries and a large area of bare sand used by cars. The ferries were not operating on a full schedule until a little later in the year, and had to be ordered by phone before 1pm, so we could not take a trip, but this was effectively the end of our walk for the day.  With plenty of time left we decided to walk the bank of the river (St. Osyth Creek) up to St. Osyth to catch a bus back to Clacton.  As last night, we drove to Mistley Quay, up the River Stour, for a good fresh fish meal at Mistley Thorn.
Point Clear, looking across to Brighlingsea
 
Littorina saxatilis ssp tenebrosa
 
St Osyth Creek
 

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