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: Scarborough to Filey 18/6/2007**


 

 
 
Looking back to Scarborough
 
 
 
Worm pipefish
 
 
 
Filey Brigg
We drove to Scarborough and our B&B for tonight in Crown Terrace.  We then walked down to the front (the cliff lift was not working) and along South Sands.  The beach is regularly cleaned and only had a few fragments of shells.  We came off the beach before the sand gave out in favour of rocks, to continue along the promenade, the usual bleak concrete affair.  At the top of the cliff was good grassland with vigorous bee and spotted orchids, ending in a golf course as far as White Nab.  From there it was a narrow path through scrub and woods, keeping underneath the continuous development south of Scarborough on top of the hill, but with few glimpses of the sea below.  There was thick mist, which must have extended out to sea, for we could hear ships’ sirens.  At Cayton Bay we descended a path to the beach and kept seaward of a caravan site.  Carcases of worm pipefish Nerophis lumbriciformis had been cast up by the storms.  From here the path crept gradually upwards and was very bumpy, presumably because of land-slips, which were evident in the cliff-face, which sometimes fell in waves to lower platforms and was sometimes sheer.  Spotted orchids continued in places along the cliffs, as well as some pyramidal orchids just coming out.  After Lebberston Cliff we were walking below caravan sites almost continuously for a mile.  The path continued beside long-grass meadows, with butterflies at last emerging (many small heath, some blues) and others probably just arrived across the North Sea (red admirals, painted ladies).  Skylarks were singing and meadow pipits were abundant.  At this time the sun finally burned off most of the mist, which we could still see rolling in patches over the fields and up the sands of Filey. The town lay clearly just across the fields, but we continued on to Filey Brigg, the far headland.  Along the way the tall precipitous cliffs held many nesting sea-birds, including lots of kittiwakes and good numbers of guillemot, puffin and fulmar.  The cliffs got lower towards the point.  From here we found a path zigzagging down the south side of the headland to the rocks below, saving us having to walk back along the top to Filey.  We walked along the rocks the length of the headland, helped by a concrete causeway much of the way, and on to the beach, where there was a fair number of shells, of both rock and sandy substrates.  We ascended to the town centre, past a garden park, and walked up to the bus station for a ride back to Scarborough.  At night we walked to Queen Street, to the Italian restaurant Lanterna, where the chef is an Italian Yorkshire man, growing his own fresh vegetables and herbs. 
Bee orchid
 
Small heath
 
Puffins
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