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: Portgate to Brocolitia Fort 3/9/2005**


 

Wood-sorrel
 
Bathhouse, Chesters Fort
 
Mithras Temple, Brocolitia
 
Guinea fowls
From Portgate we followed the vallum into a dark fir plantation where the ground was carpeted with wood-sorrel and many toadstools, most notably orange-peel fungus.  Some open moorland with heath bedstraw and tormentil followed, although most had been lost to “improved” pasture dominated by thistles, now seeding to the delight of goldfinches.  The trail crosses the Military Road to follow the north ditch again, which is eventually crossed to walk between the few houses on St Oswald’s Hill and the Road.  St Oswald’s Church, now closed, in Heavenfield, has an enclosed churchyard with sycamore trees and excellent views northwards.  Remote from habitations, churchgoers must have had to arrive by horse, and there were still the stone steps for dismounting just inside the gate.  At the roadside south of the church stands a simple heavy timber cross erected in 1930 to commemorate a Saxon battle.  Subsequent pasture included some large trees, including an oak with a huge burr.  The trail crossed the Road by a stretch of surviving wall showing a change of width from 3m (up to now) to 2m.  The foundations, laid before the wall was built, remain at 3m.  This change came as a result of economies introduced after work on the wall had started (reasoning with a familiar ring to it).  We walked through a dark wood with dog’s mercury before we had to divert around the grounds of Brunton House through which the wall used to go.  Just before the village of Wall we doubled back to inspect a section of wall on the Brunton estate, accessible from the A6079.  For the first time this included the lower part of a turret for guarding the wall, with short 3m-wide sections each side, showing the turrets had been built before the wall.  An entry stone where the door had stood still showed grooves made by the heavy hinges.  We returned to the main road to descend to the North Tyne River at Chollerford by the large George Hotel.  The bridge gives good views along the river.  The trail continues uphill to Chesters Fort, where we took a break to eat our sandwiches and explore the ruins of barracks, gateways and bathhouse, the remains being unusually substantial, showing some doorways and details of the drainage systems.  By the river we could see the embankments where the wall had been taken across by a bridge, a section of wall coming down on the opposite bank.  After a trudge to Walwick we diverted through fields, surprising a group of feral guinea-fowls, to Tower Tye crossroads.  In the field beyond we crossed a steep section of ditch and passed Milecastle no.29 and a turret (29a).  Suddenly there is a shallower angled section of ditch with many boulders of sandstone left lying around (oddly, this is called Limestone Corner), where building of the Wall had been left unfinished.  We were at the highest spot for the day and it was easy going to Brocolitia Fort with remains of a temple to Mithras, the rest being unexcavated and left as a square embankment.  Here again we caught the useful Wall bus back to Portgate.
 
St Oswald's Church
 
 
Wall narrows from 3m to 2m
 
 
Brunton Turret
 
 
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