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, 31 January 2014

Lincolnshire: Boston to Fosdyke Bridge 1/7/2008


 

 
Saltmarsh with cows
 
Hop trefoil
 
Meadow brown

We parked at the long-stay car park in Boston beside the bus station, but because the bus back from our destination, Fosdyke Bridge, would have been too early in the afternoon, we instead took a bus there and walked back to Boston.  From the bridge we walked on the west side of the River Welland along the embankment, the path increasingly far from the river as the saltmarsh widened.  This path was officially designated the Macmillan Way.  A dip in the saltmarsh near the beginning revealed the usual plants, plus solitary specimens each of common and lesser centaury, but the top of the embankment was improved grassland and was dominated at least for the first half of the walk by hop trefoil.  When the saltmarsh widened it became a breeding-ground for waders. We saw nesting oystercatcher, lapwing and redshank.  Although the day was hot and sunny throughout, tiring for walking, it was good for butterflies, dominated by meadow browns, with quite a few ringlets, the odd holly and common blue, and a few small tortoiseshells.  We had lunch overlooking cattle grazing the saltmarsh, sitting on a convenient little bench, fortunately not spooking the nesting birds.  The trail led on until it converged with the south bank of the Haven that we had followed into Boston yesterday.  Until we got here the path was wide and well-maintained, but as soon as we neared the landfill site we found it encroached on the track, which became narrow and overgrown, making progress slow and unpleasant, although all the gulls and even a pair of shelduck seemed to appreciate the smelly surroundings.  The path was poorly maintained in front of the following industrial sites to the centre of Boston, where we found it closed just before we reached the bridge to get into the town centre.  We found a way around via back streets, but we would never have found the way at all if we had started from Boston, as it was completely unsigned.  Over the bridge we followed the same road all the way to West Street, and the bus station, winding through rather poor dishevelled streets that seem to characterise the town. 
 
Fosdyke Bridge
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