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: Redcar to Saltburn-by-the-Sea 11/7/2006


 

 
 
Dune chafer
 
 
 
Middlesbrough steelweeks from Coatham dunes
 
 
 
Saltburn
We parked above the beach at Coatham, the western extension of Redcar, in order to explore the beach and dunes here that we had had to by-pass yesterday.  The dunes were reduced to fore-dune only by another golf course and were rather spoiled, although grayling and other butterflies were flying in the more sheltered hollows protected from the cool north wind, dune chafers Euchlora dubia were active in the sun, and we found some plants of garden parsley.  This wind had shifted from the day before, ensuring that the polluted air regularly belched out by the chimneys of the Middlesbrough steelworks, smelling like sweet coal-tar, was still coming directly our way!  We saw a sign at Redcar beach about regular monitoring of emissions for radioactivity and met a team of three young scientists in the dunes and on the beach carrying complicated equipment.  The smell followed us all morning. We got as far as some damper dune-slacks before being forced back by increasing fumes and we turned round and walked south along the beach, which had a moderate number of shells dominated by mussels.  Along the front at Redcar ran a road with major shops like M&S and Woolworths as well as amusement arcades.  At the flat rocky seashore of central Redcar fossiliferous pebbles started to occur, with frequent specimens of Gryphaea or devil’s toe-nail.  Where the groynes started we took to the concrete esplanade, returning to the beach at the end of the town, walking below low sandy cliffs dotted with sand-martin holes until we reached the tall building of a private school prominent above the shore from the beginning of Marske-by-the-Sea.  We climbed up through the streets of this village, which proved to be totally residential until the very centre where there was a large square surrounded by shops but no pub.  We had a rather poor snack at a café.  We returned to the shore at a cemetery where Captain Cook’s father is buried beside a steeple that is all that is left of the church.  We followed a narrow path that kept to the top of the low cliffs, mostly through improved pasture.  There were many examples of sea-coast erosion, the path often hugging an unfriendly barbed wire fence while the cliff dropped steeply away beside us, and at one point a new gully had opened up, forcing the fence to be replaced further inland.  We got across another gully only by swinging between fence-posts, there being no path left at all.  We arrived at the beginning of Sunburn-by-the-Salt along Hazel Grove and followed a steep valley down to beach level and the usual seafront, although one more lively than others visited recently.  Busy booths surrounded the end of the pier.  We walked down the pier accompanied by a uniformed Sikh cricket team carrying their bats and other gear.  We returned for an ice-cream and bought tickets for the funicular railway up the precipitous cliff to reach the centre of town, which had more shops and restaurants.  We took a train back to Redcar.
 
 
Sand couch
 
 
 
Crab
 
 
 
Gryphaea spp
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