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: Tarleton to Preston 13/6/2004


 

 
 
Rivers Aslan and Ribble
 
 
 
Poppies under the embankment
We had to follow roads to get over the river Aslan and reach the footpath on the east side, more than a mile, mostly with traffic speeding by.  It was to remain a rather noisy day with a range of intrusions – a gun club at target practice, motorcycle scrambling, and the easily spooked oystercatchers with nearby nests circling around us with their piercing shrieks.  The whole route to get back to the main channel of the Ribble and follow it into the centre of Preston was through agricultural land, mostly on top of embankments, though mostly easier to walk than yesterday, despite infrequent signing.  The final straight stretch, due east, followed close to the bank of the river channel, and there was little or no saltmarsh.  Shelduck, oystercatchers and lapwings were common, with many mute swans on the river too, along with the occasional cormorant flying westwards.  As we approached Preston the variety of plants improved a little, with crosswort, crow garlic, and the odd bee orchid.  At the western end of the long embankment we had passed some very old and large hazel trees, and the only corner of a field where any poppies grew, but there abundant.  Just before we got to the road bridge over the Ribble that marked today’s destination we entered a park-like area with painted ladies, but access to the road could only be gained by following it back half a mile through woodland which had plants like ramsons, wood millet and wood sedge.  Then we crossed the road bridge and walked to the station to find a taxi back to Tarleton.
 
 
Crosswort
 
 
 
 
Painted lady

 
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