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: Sedbury Cliffs to Bigswear Bridge 11/6/2003****


 

Philadelphia daisy
 
Stinkhorn
The Offa’s Dyke trail begins near the end of the Severn Bridge and so links up well with our finishing point in Somerset.  The start at the commemorative stone above Sedbury Cliffs was disappointingly unremarkable.  The view over the Severn estuary vertically below was totally obscured by the growth of scrub.  Just below this knoll we saw our first good section of the dyke with a deep ditch facing the Welsh territory and high embankment on the English side.  The dyke had been entirely destroyed further west as we passed through the built-up areas across the Wye from Chepstow.  The route got more interesting as we passed between wooded gorge cliffs and the housing, the former with many interesting trees like small-leaved lime and escapes like false-acacia (Robinia) and Philadelphia daisy Erigeron philadelphicus.  Further on we left the designated Offa’s Dyke Way to walk down through the cliff woods in Lancaut Nature Reserve, where there were plants like lily of the valley, wood fescue, oak fern and wild service tree indicative of ancient woods on limestone, and a stinkhorn fungus.  We followed the lower path, missing the famous viewpoint of Wintour’s Leap, passing it at the bottom of the cliff.  We walked right next to the salt marsh sides of the estuary where shelduck flocked.  We rose up the slope just below Lancaut Abbey, but stopped near the ruined church of St. James to have lunch facing beautiful views of the Wye River and its wooded cliffs.  
      At the top we took the lane to rejoin the official path which follows the B-road at this point. It is a very busy road with no sidewalk, rather dangerous to pursue as a pedestrian.  We followed it for a mile until the path turned off west to the cliff-top above the Wye.  Just before this we found a house that put out fresh water for thirsty Offa’s Dykers.  As we walked through the woods again the path became increasingly muddy, with slippery rocks and tree-roots, and progress was slow.  Beside a wider, and better surfaced, forestry track we discovered a good patch of the rare Tintern (or upright) spurge and small teasel.  The path was extremely muddy for several miles, past the view-point of Devil’s Pulpit overlooking Tintern Abbey and the winding Wye.  A kilometre further we descended to the bottom of the cliff on a path towards Tintern and walked north along the river, first through woods and later via meadows, to Brockweir.  We then continued the riverside walk, which is one of the two routes of the official path here, as there is limited evidence of the Dyke along this stretch.  Wherever the river meandered west there were large meadows of buttercups with a very pleasant wide green path, but when the river meandered east it came up to the base of the cliffs and we had muddier walking in the woods.  This brought us to Bigswear Bridge where the main road from Chepstow that had been following the west bank of the Wye crossed to the other side.  As we arrived here, through a grand avenue of old trees leading to Bigswear House, a bus came swinging down the road to take us back to Chepstow. There we took a taxi for the few miles to Sedbury again.
Small teasel
 
 
Tintern spurge

 

Wintour's Leap
 
St James's Church
Tintern Abbey from Devil's Pulpit
 
Oak fern

 
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