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

Norfolk: Stiffkey to Cley-next-the-Sea 6/9/2008***


 

 
Common seals at Blakeney Point (from postcard)
 
 
Blakeney Harbour
 
 
Cley-next-the-Sea
We started at the car park where we had turned inland yesterday.  Swallows were feeding a young one perched on the coast-path signpost.  We continued along the edge of the saltmarsh (Stiffkey Greens) to a small inlet and harbour and beyond there to Morston and another harbour where the National Trust was running boat-trips to see the seals resting on the tip of Blakeney Point, which we could see through the binoculars from the path as we approached, but not so well as to be able to tell which species.  The paths were very wet and rutted by trucks, cycles and walkers, making going treacherous at times.  We took a break at Morston for an ice-cream, standing on a balcony of the NT hut giving a good view over the Blakeney Channel, for the weather was sunny and reasonably warm.  We continued along the North Norfolk Coast Path at the head of the Morston Marshes to Blakeney Harbour, which was busy again with holidaymakers, whom we joined in eating shrimps and crayfish from a seafood caravan.  Dark clouds came over and the first drops of rain made a hurried end to the meal, but they did not come to anything as we followed the embankment eastwards to Blakeney Eye.  Along this path a yellowhammer allowed us to approach closely as it caught and devoured a green caterpillar.  We were joined by two other walking couples to enjoy this bird that seemed in no way perturbed.  Perhaps it was used to weekend visitors – certainly there were plenty out today walking the coast.  We walked on south beside the River Glaven to the main road into Cley, where there was a walkway over a bridge.  We continued through the old village along the narrow winding road until we reached the Beach Road where there was a bus-stop and we could return to Stiffkey.  As this was a gentle day and we had finished early we drove a short way inland from Sitffkey to Binham to visit the old Priory ruins, on the walls of which we were able to find, among many other interesting plants, the rare wall bedstraw.
 
 
 
Morston Harbour
 
 
 
 
Boats at Blakeney


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