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: Llanbedr to Bodfari 3/9/2003**


 

Continuing over the Clwydian Range was very hilly, mostly quite steep.  Much of it was in the Moel Famau Country Park, popular walking country.  From near the Clwyd Gate Motel we left the main road to climb gradually past the first hill, Moel Eithinen, but here we missed the proper path and crossed the wrong side of the huge hill-fort Foel Fenlli, having to climb a couple of gates to gain access to a forestry road down through a larch plantation to a car park to regain the proper route.  This was, in the end, fortunate, because it meant we passed a trackside bank with stag’s-horn club moss growing among the bilberries and heather.  We also saw a wren and dung-beetles.  It was quite a steep climb to gain the ridge northwards, eventually reaching Moel Fanau, after a final steep climb, at 654 metres.  Here stands the base of an uncompleted tower, the Jubilee Tower, where there are panoramic displays of the incredible 360° views to be had, including Cader Idris and Snowdonia to the west, the sea and Rhyl to the north, Liverpool, the Dee Estuary and the Wirral to the east and the ridges of hills we had traversed southwards.  All these views were lit by sunshine all day, while a large black cloud remained over the Clwydian Hills depriving us of full light.  We descended steeply some 100 metres or so to the general height of the range, crossed Moel Dywyll, and descended very steeply once more past volunteers building new stone steps to the car park below Moel Arthur fort.  We had lunch before climbing the east flank of Arthur to 450 metres and then swinging westwards, down into another valley car park and up again to the peak of the ridge at Penycloddiau fort, with its clear embankments and ditches and further views all around.  From here it was largely a matter of a long descent beside the remaining hills on a farm track, blocked at one point by a tractor that had slid off a steep bank and gone into the side ditch.  A passing walker had loaned the driver a mobile phone to make a call from help, and just after we had checked he was OK and scrambled around the vehicle another tractor arrived to rescue him.  We eventually crossed a number of lower fields and the river Wheeler to gain the A541 and the little village of Bodfari.  We stayed at the nearby “smallest town in the country” of Caerwys (no more than a village), in an old farmhouse a mile or so to the west at Plas Penucha, and we ate very well at the Pwll Gwyn pub on the main road at Afon-wen.
View from Foel Fenlli
 
Stagshorn clubmoss
 
 
Clwydian  Hills

 
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