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: Newcastle to The Blue Bell 28/8/2003


 

 
 
 
 
Crosswort
 
 
 
Puffballs
The walk was undulating with some very steep slopes.  Good views were obscured by persistent rain, however, and this also restricted wildlife observations.  The country was like yesterday, mostly sheep pasture, and the vegetation limited to very common species.  There was, however, climbing corydalis growing on the banks of the dyke itself when we climbed through Nut Wood.  Both the path and the dyke were almost straight, and there were again many good sections of high dyke and deep ditch, creating an impressive landmark across the hills.  Veteran trees, almost wholly ash and sycamore, accompanied it.  The path kept very close to or directly on the dyke for most of the way.  Halfway we descended a steep narrow valley to the church of St John the Baptist at Mainstone.  This was the only shelter from the rain we met that day and we were glad to eat our lunch in the porch.  The churchyard was a conservation area with crosswort, fox-and-cubs and common puffballs.  The name of Mainstone is a combination of both Welsh and English words for "stone" (Welsh maen).  The stone itself lies below the pulpit in the church and is a 24lb boulder used as a weight for measuring wheat exchanged here, a former trading-post on the English-Welsh border.  After crossing the county boundary between Shropshire and Powys, we started a long descent, soon passing the farm of Drewin, where we were staying that night.  We kept going, however, past the caravan park at Mellington Hall and down to Brompton Bridge on the B4385, across the River Caebitra, where we saw a heron, and on to the former pub, The Blue Bell, on the A489.  The blue bell itself still hung on the wall, but the building seemed to be used as a house and a rotary club.  Outside was a huge old oak, whose trunk had partly enclosed some metal pipes that appeared to be associated with the abandoned petrol pumps beside it.  We ate dinner in Montgomery at the Bricklayers Arms (Bricky’s), which we would pass next day.
 
 
 
Drewin Farm

 
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