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

Somerset: Highbridge to Brean Down 18/7/2002**


 

Sedge warbler
 
Curved hard-grass
 
Lymnaea auricularia
We walked down the River Brue on the north side until we eventually turned onto the sands and mud of the Bristol Channel.  The tide was low as we followed the river, where the flora was colourful and plentiful, though mainly rough weeds like ragwort and mallow.  There were sedge warblers in the reeds with their scraping song poured out with gusto.  The sands of Burnham had an area cordoned off as dangerous mud, so we walked on the firmer sands below the sea wall.  On the beach were scattered Macoma baltica and the occasional whelk.  There were families playing football and cricket.  In many parts cars were allowed to drive on to the beach.  One family was speculating about apparent springs of water oozing out of the higher sands just round the point where the Brue entered the sea. 
      The most interesting part of the day came when we reached Berrow dunes, beyond a holiday camp with a terrible litter of beer-cans on the beach.  A boardwalk crossed a wet slack with wild celery.  The path continued across the golf course.  A golfer was apparently put off by our presence and sliced the ball into a nearby clump of nettles.  Through the golf course the flowers included bugloss, large-flowered evening primrose, pyramidal orchid and musk storksbill.  There were also some common broomrapes, apparently on the hawk’s-beards.  The flowers were even more interesting when we eventually passed the golf course and found a way into the dune system.  A lot was scrub of sea buckthorn and impenetrable, but along the path parallel to the sea we saw yellow-wort, common and slender centaury, common and curved hard grass, many sedges (such as long-bracted) and rushes.  We ate lunch in the dunes, supplemented with cinnamon doughnuts and ice creams from vans on the beach, finding the dune bug Megalonotus praetextatus.  We plodded along the beach past Berrow village, hidden behind an increasingly narrow bank of dunes, passing old ladies paddling, girls riding ponies and men with kites.  On the strand line we found some pond snail shells (Lymnaea auricularia) that must have been washed out of a nearby river.  We arrived at the foot of Brean Down, walked a mile back down the road past several caravan parks to Brean Village Hall, and caught a bus back.
Burnham Beach
 
Burnham Beach 1909
 
Berrow dunes
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