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, 31 January 2014

Yorkshire: Fort Paull to Humber Bridge 206/2008***


 

BP Petro-chemical works
 
Award-winning loo
 
Wharves by the Humber
 
Humber Bridge
From the car park at Paull we walked along the embankment, through the little village, and then on the embankment of the Hedon Haven creek as far as the minor road bordering the BP chemical works.  This road led to the busy A1033 at Salt End and we had to walk beside this noisy road for a couple of miles before we found a road going back to the riverside, beyond many docks and the international ferry.  Along the riverbank ran the “Trans Pennine Trail”, but the eastern part does not seem to tie up with any access-point, which is what necessitated the long road trek.  From here on, however, we could more or less follow for the Trail the rest of the day.  After passing dirty dusty docks, the trail passed by the front of the gentrified waterside residential development of Victoria Dock Village, which was more pleasant to walk through with its modern sculptures, new paving and planted shrubs.  There were also a number of plants finding a chance to establish themselves in various crannies, like rat’s-tail fescue, the two fern-grasses, cranesbills and poppies, the latter including an Escholtzia that did not key out in Stace, and pot marigold.  Beside a pub both petunia and lobelia had managed to sow themselves and flower, presumably from hanging baskets nearby.  After passing the well-known Hull aquarium, we got a snack at a Polish café and made use of the Victorian public convenience nearby that had won awards and contained swathes of pelargonium inside! By now the earlier shower had passed and it was pleasantly sunny, although we did suffer a chemical smell drifting across the river from the oil refineries on the other side.  We lost the inadequately signed trail just after this and found ourselves by the roads again before finding a narrow passage between security fences that took us back to it via a narrow drawbridge over a long pool, after which it followed St. Andrews Quay between rotting wharves and industrial sites behind more security fences and graffiti.  This walk was not aesthetic but quite pleasant, but led to the A63, a dual carriageway with a deafening noise of traffic that we had to endure again for a mile or more, even past a new industrial estate built over the former trail.  Only after Hessle Haven could we return to the edge of the saltmarsh, where the path was unkempt, however, with bushes, thistles and nettles encroaching.  Here we saw a Chinese water deer that soon disappeared among the reeds.  We eventually emerged on the road where people drove to sit and admire the view of the Humber Bridge towering above the muddy brown river.  There had been few birds of note all day, and only a few black-headed, herring and lesser black-backed gulls.  We phoned for a taxi back to Fort Paull from here, a journey that turned out to be 13 miles.  At our hotel in Winteringham, further up the Humber, we found a tiny biscuit beetle Stegobium paniceum.
Pot marigold


 
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