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: Pandy to Capel-y-Ffin 15/6/2003


 

Approaching Hatterall Hill
 
Llanthony Abbey
 
Capel-y-Ffin
 
Both house martins and swifts had numerous nests in the eaves of the house beside the Lancaster Arms.  From the main road we crossed the river Afon Honddu and the railway (everything aligned of course with the valley) and began the long climb up to the long ridge of Hatterall Hill, the easternmost ridge of the Black Mountains in Brecon Beacons National Park.  Although tiring in the heat it was not as bad a climb as we had feared and we were soon up at the old Iron Age fort of Pen-twyn, whose embankments we crossed.  As soon as we emerged from the shady lanes into the open grassland we encountered the bracken heath, with plants like heath bedstraw and tormentil.  As we went higher up, past the "Old Castle" (ruins of a fortified farmhouse) the bracken decreased in favour of bilberry, and further up the heather began to come in as well, with the white heads of cotton-grass waving above the boggier areas.  There began a long but easy trek along the high ridge, with the main wildlife being crows, meadow pipits and skylarks, with the occasional raven and wheatear.  Numerous beetles including rose chafers were encountered on the bare track.  The views were marvellous, especially those of the very green, smoothly-curved Vale of Ewyas to the west.  Down there could be seen the ruins of Llanthony Abbey.  A few miles further on we descended into this very steep valley and along the bottom for a mile to Capel-y-Ffin, which consisted of one house, one church and one chapel!  Here we waited in peace and splendid scenery of hills all around for the taxi to take us back.
Bilberry in flower
 
Stream from Hatterall Hill towards Llanthony

 
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