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, 24 January 2014

Lancashire: Preston to Warton Bank 14/6/2004***


 

Northern downy rose
 
Lea Marsh
 
Northern marsh orchids, Lea Marsh
 
 
Parking at the “park and ride” was free because you pay on the bus and we were walking!  It was only a short distance to the way across the old railway by the river to the Riverside Path, which took us back under the bridge where we finished yesterday and on westwards along the north bank of the Ribble, so escaping an unpleasant road walk through the docks.  We continued to the “Bullnose” at the end of the marina, but then had to cut back a short way to cross an inlet via the swing bridge.  The riverside walk was planted with various shrubs and relatively pleasant – it gave an opportunity to see a large variety of roses close together, including sweetbriar, small-flowered sweetbriar and northern downy rose.  We also saw whitethroats and common hawker dragonflies.  Alders had galls of the mite Eriophyes laevis.  The path continued to the “Engine Shed” at the end of the former railway, but we found we could continue even further beside the river by means of a permissive path that led all the way to Sevick Brook, beyond which was a smelly landfill site.  On the way we passed factories and the motorbike-scrambling course heard yesterday from across the river.  In the corner near the brook (Lea Marsh) was a marvellous collection of orchids – northern and early marsh, common and heath spotted, along with a little creeping willow.  The site is wasteland used as a course for 4x4s and may unfortunately be ripe for the next landfill site.  We found no legitimate way to get to the road from here and it was a long way back, so we walked back a little way to a stile and a path across cow pasture to a farm, where we had to pass through a couple of gates and the whole farmyard to get to the road – all without seeing a soul!  Only a few paces down the road (the A583) we decided to take an early lunch at a “gastro-pub” owned by Tony Carson, son of the Lancashire comedian Frank Carson.  We enjoyed a simple lunch of garlic bread, seared salmon and salad, with a beer.  It was fortunate we took a break then, for we did not pass any other eating-place the rest of the day!  After that we branched off on the A584 which passed landward of the landfill site and sewage works for some 3km, until we could take the so-called “Lancashire Coastal Way” at the beginning of Freckleton, past the boatyard and along a tidal stream.  This was very overgrown with nettles and obstructed by garden rubbish thrown over fences, or by boating rubbish, and eventually became totally impassable.  We found a path up through scrub to a higher path that was more open and took us to the Ribble at the Naze, with a good view across the saltmarsh.  We followed the river west again at the top of the saltmarsh, rough with the passage of cows in wetter weather and piles of litter, although we recorded slender soft brome and nodding bur-marigold.  This also circumvented the Warton Aerodrome with notices such as “Beware Flying Debris”.  We turned inland across fields to skirt Warton Bank village and regain the main road at Brook Bridge, where there was a stop for the bus back to the centre of Preston.

 
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