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

Sussex: Pevensey Bay to Eastbourne 5/6/2010**


 

Red valerian
 
Rough dogstail grass
 
Crosswort
From the Grand Hotel we walked to the shopping precinct to catch a 99 bus to Pevensey Bay and walked up to the beach (as usual round here the highest point on the coast is the top of the shingle beach, so you don’t go down to the shore).  We walked on loose shingle some of the time and at other times on firmer tracks, which would suddenly appear and disappear. There were the usual shingle plants with sea kale, yellow horned poppy and red valerian dominating.  The occasional common blue and cinnabar moth fluttered among the plants. After two Martello Towers we approached Sovereign Harbour where there was recent upmarket development of harbour-side flats, each with a balcony.  The shingle grassland here had a lot of rough clover, crosswort and rough dog’s-tail grass, which we had only seen previously in Jersey.  At the harbour itself, we had a close view of a little egret fishing by the muddy edge, flaunting its long crest.  From here it was well paved around the harbour and across the lock gates, with a little well-trodden shingle up to the final Martello Tower. We continued round Langley Point on the cycle track and walkway, past the leisure centre and Asda supermarket into Eastbourne and along the front.  The posts of the regular groynes on the beach all had wooden caps, a feature that seems peculiar to Eastbourne, as we remember them from our previous visit.  At the pier we celebrated the end of our 2,500 mile walk around England and had a snack of prawns, crayfish tails and anchovies wrapped round olives. Then we walked on along the front to our hotel, where we ordered a glass of champagne each to complete the celebration.  I quietly settled down to the Listener crossword for the afternoon, while Val visited the shops.  She observed that a number were closed down – while Eastbourne seems to be flourishing compared to other seaside towns we have passed, and is still well kept up, it is obviously feeling the pinch nevertheless. Even so, it remains one of the best of the resorts we have visited and thus a suitable place to end, particularly at the Grand, where we had another magnificent dinner from the Mirabelle Tasting Menu.
Sovereign Harbour
 
Eastbourne beach and groynes
 
Approaching Eastbourne Pier
 
Celebratory seafood snack

 

Celebrating our completion of the English coast walk, Eastbourne Pier

 

 

 

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