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: Knighton to Newcastle 27/8/2003***


 

Old oak bole on Dyke
 
Red admiral
 
River water-crowfoot
We resumed the path at Knighton, purchasing lunch at the bakery in the main street before walking up to the park beside the Dyke Visitor Centre.  This is bordered on the west side by a section of the dyke with a stone commemorating the path.  We crossed the River Teme and the railway that follows the valley and began the long steep climb up Cwm-sanaham Hill, beside a wood.  Offa’s ditch could be seen beside the path under sessile oaks and ash trees.  There were exposures of Silurian sandstones containing abundant brachiopod fossils from the Ludlow Series, found also in small quarries above.  We had a rest on the bole of a huge ancient ash – as usual, lines of large trees marked the dyke.  A descent and another rise led to Llanfair Hill, where we saw three ravens in the sky, although generally birds were not greatly in evidence.  Here the dyke consisted of a high embankment and sometimes a deep ditch, and there were good views of surrounding countryside in all directions.  Although the sign-marked route tended to follow a track to the west of the dyke, it was still possible to follow the original route along the dyke itself, as we did near where the dyke rises to its highest elevation, 431ft.  Here a small area fenced off from the omnipresent sheep contained the only patch of heather and bilberry seen all day, intensive farming and over-stocking having destroyed all the original moorland vegetation.  As clouds receded butterflies were seen in increasing numbers, including many immigrants resulting from the hot summer, such as red admiral and painted lady.  A number of other walkers were also out and about.  We watched a flock of sheep being driven up a lane which we descended on our way to Newcastle in the Clun Valley, crossing the river on a new wooden bridge beside the old farmstead of Bryndrinog, with its impressive house.  The river yielded river water-crowfoot Ranunculus fluitans and the large cinnamon sedge caddis-fly Stenophylax stellatus.  A short walk brought us to the pub and shop, and the only other business in the little village, a bus and taxi service, very convenient for getting a lift back to Knighton.  We stayed at the village of Llanfair Waterdine in the Teme Valley west of Knighton, at the base of the hills we had walked all day.  The pub/restaurant Waterdine here provided a restful garden in which to have coffee and see the views across the valley, followed by excellent dinner.  At night we saw the red planet Mars low in the east on its nearest approach to Earth, while tawny owls hooted.
Bryndrinog Farm
The embankment and trees
 
Line of the Dyke snaking through the landscape
 
The ditch
 
 
Sheep-drive up lane

 

VIEWS OF OFFA'S DYKE AROUND LLANFAIR HILL

 
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)