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: Lower Stoke to Strood 20/5/2010


 

Embankment just after Kingsnorth Power Station
 
High Street, Upper Upnor
 
Wasp beetle
We continued along the embankment to Stoke, where the last footpath took us up to the village (here the level crossing gates were open) to continue our walk along roads to pass Kingsnorth Power Station.  Where we did leave the lanes it was only to walk through fields of spring onions and young peas being picked by migrant workers, or to pass alongside the double security fences of the power station.  In the fields we found a weevil Liparus coronatus and the pollen beetle Meligethes flavimanus.  Eventually footpaths led through fields back towards the Medway embankment.  We could not follow the right of way marked on our new OS map, as former streams had been widened into impassable dykes and we had to waste considerable time to find that we could bypass the water only by keeping right by the power station fence.  Although the paths had been changed, there was no signing of the new route and no notices about closure of old routes.  Along the embankment, through a small herd of cows with a quiescent bull, we reached the Saxon Shore Way once more.  Just before reaching Hoo Marina (boatyards) we sat on the embankment to eat some lunch with a view over the Medway to small islands with disused forts.  The path through the boatyards was grotty and dull, although we did come across an ice-cream van to get an iced-lolly, as it was an overcast but stickily warm day.  After this we had to descend to the upper part of the saltmarsh on rather slippery stones (fortunately not close to high tide this time), passing under plantations of elm and Turkey oak, which ended after nearly 2 kilometres at Lower Upnor.  We continued on more uninteresting roadway, climbing up above Upnor Castle, unfortunately difficult to view from nearby, and then descending via the old High Street to the shore at Upper Upnor.  Soon we had to leave this to rise again above industrial premises below Tower Hill, eventually coming alongside the new road that leads to the Medway Tunnel.  This could have provided our first crossing point but there was no pedestrian way.  The rest of the riverside from here is occupied by industrial premises, so we could only proceed close by and partly through them, with the usually dingy littered paths to come to Canal Road in Strood, passing the turn for Strood railway station.  Here was a pleasant riverside park, but littered everywhere with broken glass.  Walking under the railway bridge we came to the road where the 191 bus stops to take us back to Lower Stoke.  This stretch of the walk was very boring with all vegetation being ruderal, dominated by a few plants like hoary cress and alexanders.  There were fewer creatures to be seen than yesterday, but we did see pochard and wall butterflies again.  We also saw for the first time this holiday ten-spot ladybird and wasp beetle.  The Saxon Shore Way is very disappointing – it seems to follow the most miserable viewless paths.
 
Hoo Marina
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