Somerset: Hinkley Point to Combwich 15/7/2002*

 

Corky-fruited water-dropwort

Returning to Hinkley Point we had time to look around the grasslands surrounding the power station.  They were rich and colourful, packed with pyramidal orchids, yellow wort, slender tare, pale flax, common centaury and so on, even in the disturbed areas.  We walked seaward of the station along a concrete walkway directly above a sea close to high tide. The water looked very brown with the Severn Estuary mud that we had experienced yesterday on the shore – very sticky and slippery, and certainly not to be messed with!  We were to see much more of it as we moved west towards the head of the Parrett estuary, where, as the tide withdrew, a vast flat of muddy sand was left as far as one could see, even appearing to reach as far as the islands of Steep and Flat Holm, clearly visible in the middle of the Estuary.  Even the concrete had been colonised by some plants, such as cliff spurrey and rock sea-lavender.  For the moment, however, with the tide in, group of oystercatchers and curlews was isolated on the last rocks above the sea, soon having to fly away even from these as the tide covered them completely.  The plants were much less interesting after we left the grounds of the power station and entered agricultural land often dominated by meadow barley.  At the next point we came to a cluster of farms, after which we entered Catsford Common, where there was rudimentary salt marsh or pebble beach outside a sea wall of pebbles, sometimes with sand, that was good for yellow horned-poppy, knotted bur-parsley and other plants.  The occasional egret flew over.  On the landward side of us was a long wide ditch with mute swans, white water-lily, brackish water-crowfoot, sea club-rush and many dragonflies, including the emperor.  This stretch of coast merged into the similar Wall Common, where there were also reed-beds with elusive brown birds that only showed themselves for a split second.  Here we saw many ringed plovers and a pair of golden plovers. We walked along the road through the village of Steart before heading for the western shore of Stert Point spit, to the end where there were bird hides.  One was quite grand with a wooden staircase leading to a raised room, where a polished wooden egg dominated the floor between the observation benches, an example of an art project currently proceeding – a wire sculpture on top was another example.  From the hides we saw shelduck, moorhen and black-tailed godwit on the tidal pools.  We then retreated south along the River Parrett Trail, which took us back to Steart, but then diverged across rather dull flat pastoral land to reach, finally, the river Parrett itself, with that grey, slick gooey mud.  We followed the riverside embankment as far as Combwich, passing a number of clovers, including sea and rough clovers, and much corky-fruited water dropwort.  Combwich (pronounced ‘commidge’) lay beside a side-stream, full of that same mud with stranded yachts.  We entered the Old Ship for good beer after a very hot dry day and enquired about taxis, but the landlady offered to take us back to Hinkley Point herself – incredible hospitality!  We stayed at Hood Arms Hotel in Kilve.