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

Hadrian's Way: Heddon-on-the-Wall to Portgate


 

Deceased shrew
 
Wood cranesbill
 
Whittledene Reservoir
 
Today's walk followed the Military Road, now the B6318, dead straight (very Roman) and hence noisy with speeding traffic.  It was built in the C18th along the line of Hadrian’s Wall, using the stones to make its foundations, so we saw no stretch of the original wall except some detached stones in hedgerow embankments by the road or incorporated into farmhouses and barns.  The only signs of Roman construction were the simple “V” ditch on the north side of the Wall and the wide vallum (ditch) on the south side, fifty yards away, with mounds each side and an intermediate level platform below before plunging into the central ditch.  These were built all the way along the Wall but farming has largely eliminated them.  We parked initially near the Dingle Dell shop to buy sandwiches for lunch before setting out, walking by fields showing old ridge and furrow, including the curving strips resulting from turning ox-ploughs.  There was a square detour around Iron Sign Farm before resuming fields at the top of Eppies Hill, with a view of the Tyne Valley, including plumes of steam from Prudhoe Paper-pulp works near Corbridge and Eggers cardboard mill at Hexham.  At Harrow Hill was a farm made of wall-stone, a little church with round tower beside its porch, now disused, and a common shrew, now deceased.  A hedge bank with a small cluster of wood cranesbill and crosswort, provided the only botanical highlight of the day, although meadow cranesbill was quite frequent.  We passed through the middle of Whittledene Reservoirs, seeing great crested grebe, tufted duck, wigeon, lapwing and heron.  After this the north side ditch was sometimes very clear and deep.  We took a rest at Robin Hood Inn and got the first stamp on our Trail “passports” since we bought them at Wallsend.  Local Wylam bitter was light and pale, not too strong for further walking.  Beyond the pub the ditch was marked but filled by a larch plantation and a new long detour followed around Wallhouses Farm, punctuated by 20 kissing-gates, replacing the previous dangerous route along a narrow Military Road verge.  We resumed the Road after the side-roads to Matfen and Ingoe, and found a low wall in a sunny spot for sandwiches of “orange and Grand Marnier chicken liver pâté” and “Brie with cranberry sauce”, unusual luxury for a walking lunch.  After Carr Hill the trail moved to the south side of the road and through an impressive remnant of the vallum on Down Hill, although recent quarrying confuses the picture.   After this comes Onnum Fort, where impressions in the ground show where rooms had been laid out and the remains of a stone wall defining the southern side show along the edge of the vallum.  At Portgate crossroads we waited for the special Wall bus using the facilities of the Errington Arms and a nearby shop.  All day we had seen wall butterflies, as though the Wall Trail had been made especially for them.
Down Hill vallum
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