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





Tuesday, 4 February 2014

Kent: Gravesend to Cliffe 17/5/2010***


 

Geranium brutium
 
Heads or tails?
 
 
Alexanders
We caught the train to Gravesend and walked down to the ferry terminal to begin our walk along the south bank of the Thames.  The path is called the Saxon Shore Way and is occasionally signed.  It passes through the industrial foreshore of Gravesend and by the wharves of Denton, strewn with rubbish as expected, with some interesting alien plants, including false cleavers, although dominated by buddleia.  Here we found bladder senna and a garden geranium Geranium brutium.  At the end of the built-up area we followed a grassy embankment dominated by spotted medick and hoary cress. The flora is impoverished by horse and donkey grazing.  Inland is a military firing range, but a marsh between the fence and the embankment where there were brackish pools had both brackish water crowfoot and buttonweed.  On the banks above was a profusion of brown sedge.  We saw the odd heron, cormorant and little egret, passed the WWII Shornmead Fort, and then reached Shorne Marshes Nature Reserve, currently shorn of waders except the odd vociferous oystercatcher.  At the corner of this bay, where a spit of land runs to Cliffe Fort between the marsh and a large lake created by sand extraction, we went down to a little rubbish-strewn beach of gravel where we could sit on a white driftwood log to have our lunch.  A pair of mute swans passed by, one close behind the other, with booming wing-beats.  As we followed the spit of land we passed masses of bur chervil in flower and sunny interludes brought out green-veined whites with very distinct markings.  By the old disused fort there were current sand and gravel diggings and dinghies sailing on the lake.  Rounding the fort we walked into a storm of rain and went inland along Cliffe Creek, at the end of which was the RSPB reserve Cliffe Pools and a path to Cliffe village, by a quarry with early forget-me-not, and along another narrow spit of land and scrub between large lakes.  On the northern side was a large colony of shelduck.  The scrub was alive with songbirds, especially chaffinch, but also whitethroat and a nightingale with a powerful chugging song.  The land here was impoverished and bare, with hound’s-tongue, teasel and Alexanders.  Leaving the water behind eventually we found ourselves at the NW corner of Cliffe with a church, just south of which was the Six Bells pub (for beer and lemonade) and the bus terminus.  We had nearly an hour to wait here, but fortunately it was now sunny again and we could absorb the rays sitting on a pub bench. The bus took us to Canal Road, Strood, with a short walk to the railway station to catch the return train.
View across Thames to Tilbury
Buttonweed

Saxon Shore Way
 
Denton Wharf
 
 
Green-veined white

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