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





Thursday, 23 January 2014

Sussex: Bognor to the River Arun 6/7/2001


 

Felpham sea defences
 
Hoverfly  Scaeva pyrastri
 
Arun View from bridge
Staying at Arun View, Littlehampton, we were able to get a train to Bognor Station and walk to Butlins to resume the paved way above the shingle.  We saw only the odd plant of orache, the shingle being almost totally bare because of storms in the last few years that have disturbed it, throwing it up over railings, steps and seats.  A small patch of more stable shingle landward of the walkway boasted sea kale and viper’s bugloss.  Bognor gradually transmutes into Felpham, where large blocks of stone have been introduced in an attempt to stabilise the beach.  There was a pleasant “Fisherman’s Garden” on the front outside the Lobster Pot café, with a tall spike of broomrape.  A good walkway continued until Middleton where there was a consolidated path at the top of the shingle.  In the middle of the town, however, the sea came right up to the sea wall and we had to resort to a street behind the houses. When we returned to the coast it was to rough shingle, although the groynes ended here and we could walk on the sand of the lower shore.  At Poole Place, where there were small woods inland, we saw a green woodpecker and the immigrant hoverfly Scaeva pyrastri, which has pale crescents on its black body.  The sandy patches disappeared and we continued on top of the shingle to the edge of Atherington, where we had lunch. After another kilometre we came upon dunes above the pebbles with a golf course behind.  Here hare’s-tail grass was abundant (dominant along with the marram) and seedheads of sand catchfly were frequent at the border of the sand and the shingle.  The dunes continued to the mouth of the River Arun, where we turned up the west bank, following a road that passed a narrow saltmarsh, wastelands and boatyards.  There was a ferry point, but the ferry was not working.  A little further on was a footbridge to the other bank, retractable on rails to allow taller boats to pass.  This led directly to the Arun View Hotel in Littlehampton.  The view from the hotel is interesting and industrial rather than pretty, but it is right on the coast path.
Fisherman’s Garden, Felpham
 
Swans on the Arun at Littlehampton
 
River Arun, sunset

PLANTS OF THE SHINGLE

Harestail grass
 
Sea kale
Sea bindweed
 
Yellow horned-poppy
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