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

Offa's Dyke: Craignant to Llangollen 1/9/2003


 

Deathcap
 
Castell Dinas Bran
 
Bell heather
The descent from the road into Craignant was soon followed by a steep climb up the next hill, following another substantial section of Dyke.  An equally steep descent delivered us across a river into Bronygarth, where we left the official route to take the permissive path through the Chirk Castle estate, following more good dyke with ancient oaks and deathcap toadstools, but having to turn off it at the castle (now a stately home and much altered, but still showing fortified outer walls).  We had to return to the official path along lanes, squeezing past an asphalt-laying machine that reached from bank to bank, until we could cross fields again and join the last short section of dyke we would experience.  We then followed the Shropshire Union Canal again for several miles on the towpath.  This section was used by pleasure barges and pied wagtails, but had no evident aquatic vegetation.  This ended with Telford’s spectacular aqueduct of Pontcysyllte over the River Dee at a height of 260 feet, a vertiginous experience on a narrow walkway between the canal and a fence.  We then ascended again some 700 feet, but along a long gradual incline, much of it through dark larch woods until it came out upon the moors above, with the cliffs of Creigiau Eglwyseg (Church Crags) beetling above and a dramatic view of the ancient ruins of Castell Dinas Bran on a tall hill dominating the broad landscape.  The rocks here were limestone, but close sheep grazing prevented the survival of any interesting plants, leaving only bracken, gorse and thistles, with some bell heather sheltering among the shrubs.  It was road-walking all the way to Llangollen, albeit a narrow unfenced rural road with little traffic.
Chirk Castle
 
 
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
 

 
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