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, 21 January 2014

Hampshire: Calshot to Hythe 26/6/2001


 

Hairy buttercups
 
View from jetty at Ashlett. Yellow patches in far field are hairy buttercups.
 
Common cord-grass
An outbreak of foot-and-mouth closed many footpaths this summer, including the coast path in North Devon, so we were not able to continue there.  So we returned to our original starting-point at Calshot and walked east, as there were no path closures along this section.  From Calshot car-park we crossed the grassland behind the beach to the saltmarsh that edges the Solent, which we followed north.  There was much reed here at the landward edge of the saltmarsh, accommodating many reed warblers.  The saltmarsh was mostly common cord-grass, with sea purslane at the drier top.  There were the usual estuarine shells – edible cockle, peppery furrow shell and small mud snails.  After the mudflats there was a clear sea inlet to Fawley oil-fired power station, crossed by a swing bridge.  We kept to the edge of saltmarsh, the power station close on our left, passing numerous shrubs of evergreen oak.  The path went between hedges to emerge in a pleasant meadow grazed by a horse and foal, where there was a lot of bright yellow hairy buttercup and shrubs of naturalised cut-leaved bramble.  We sat on the jetty at Ashlett to eat our lunch before being forced away from the coast around the huge oil refinery, which occupied the next couple of miles of foreshore.  By the Jolly Sailor pub at Ashlett there were several shrubs of small-flowered sweetbriar.  On the road up from the river there were several old oaks, some with butcher’s broom clustered at their base.  We skirted the edge of Fawley village to the main road to the refinery, walking right beside this busy road to pass its western edge.  Just outside Fawley was a recreation centre, where we were able to walk through the park.  A pool had mare’s-tail and coots.  Through Holbury, however, we had to follow the road, until a footpath led right back to the Solent, the refinery now behind us.  This was the beginning of the official Solent Way, which we followed all the way into Hythe, although it does not keep to the coast.  Just south of Hythe was the Hythe Spartina Marshes nature reserve where Spartina anglica  was first discovered.  This was immediately followed by Hythe itself, where a naval boatyard and RAF station prevented coastal access yet again.  In the small centre of the village were a few welcome shops for ice-creams, postcards and a beer at the Admiral Nelson.  A long pier, about two-thirds of a kilometre, gives access to ferryboats offshore, with a small electric train to take passengers along.  Here we caught a bus back to Calshot.
Fawley power station
 
Val with small-flowered sweetbriar at Ashlett
 
Peppery furrow shell
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