Tag Archives: sign

Trail talk: The Wealdway

The Wealdway is an 80+ mile/134+ km path across the south east of England, from Eastbourne on the South Coast, to the River Thames at Gravesend. Traversing the Weald, walking northwards from East Sussex into Kent, the route crosses both the South Downs and North Downs.

Mr and Mrs Three Points of the Compass set off on a cold winters morning from Eastbourne Pier for our first day on the Wealdway

Each year, Three Points of the Compass works through one of the long distance paths in ‘my’ south-eastern corner of England where I live. These are usually completed as a series of occasional day hikes. For the Wealdway, Mrs Three Points of the Compass joined me. We actually commenced this in 2017, intending to complete it by 2018. But with one thing and another, various commitments, not least my completing a five month 2000 mile hike last year, it was not until early 2019 that we managed to find time to knock off our final day on this trail.

Looking south from atop the South Downs, the English Channel can just be seen on a misty cold morning

This is not a difficult walk. Climbs may be moderate, but it it is a very enjoyable traipse though a changing countryside. The wide open chalk escarpments of the South Downs and North Downs stand above low lying farmlands. Pasture mingles with woodlands, tiny streams and almost forgotten villages are encountered every day.

Mrs Three Points of the Compass makes a short descent through a small mixed woodland to cross one of the many streams encountered on the Wealdway. The proliferation of both water and wood meant that it was this region that supported the first iron workings in the country

In the middle section of the path, the way climbs, crosses and drops from the High Weald at Ashdown Forest. This bulging geological anomaly is beautiful walking, the term ‘forest’ is slightly misleading, it being more sandy heathlands and gorse, with stands of pines.

The High Weald at Ashdown Forest makes for an easy and pleasant days walking

Some 99% of the Wealdway has excellent signposting

Sussex and Kent County Councils differ in their preferred signs but they are equally as effective

There is not much written about the Wealdway. I am not sure why as it certainly rates amongst other longer trails in Kent and Sussex though just a couple of other bloggers have written about it. There are GPX files but as it is marked on O.S. maps and I prefer hard copy maps, I carried the relevant O.S. Explorer map for each days hiking. The whole route is covered by O.S. Explorer 123, 135, 147, 136, 148 and 163. I preferred the larger scale 1:25 000 Explorer maps to the 1:50 000 Landranger maps as it is helpful at times to see which side of a hedge, ditch or stream that the path was following.

I carried a compass but probably used it on no more than two or three occasions. I carried the most recently written guide with me on occasion, but more for lunchtime or train reading en route than anything else. A guide to the Wealdway by John H N Mason was published in 1984 and there are a handful of changes to the route shown in his guide. Despite this, the researched notes make for interesting reading and if you can find a second hand copy, it is useful if you intend to enjoy this route. The most recent printed guide is Along and Around the Wealdway. This guide was researched and authored by Helen Livingstone and was published jointly by the East Sussex County Council and Kent County Council in 1999. It is attractively produced with lovely photographs and paintings. However its design is hopeless, the size and shape are not conducive to stuffing into a pack and it has a ‘pull-out’ centre Walk Guide.

There are only two guides of any note that cover the Wealdway, both are now pretty old and out of date in aprts. However they both provide a wealth of background information on the sites to be seen, the geography and history of the diverse route are well covered

There are only two guides of any note that cover the Wealdway, both are now pretty old and out of date in parts. However they both provide a wealth of background information on the sites to be seen, the geography and history of the diverse route are well covered

I never camped on this trail, or stayed overnight. When hiking, we travelled each day to and from railway stations that were never more than a mile or so off route. That said, while various guides give the total distance of the Wealdway as between 80 and 83 miles, these station link miles do add up and we covered 97 miles in total over the six day hikes it took to complete the trail..

Eastbourne (pier) to Berwick railway station	14.5 miles
Berwick railway station to Uckfield railway station	20.5 miles
Uckfield railway station to Ashurst railway station	16.0 miles
Ashurst railway station to Tonbridge railway station	12.5 miles
Tonbridge Railway station to Borough Green railway station	16.0 miles
Borough Green railway station to Gravesend Pier (end) then station	17.5 miles

Total distance covered on Wealdway including station links	97 miles

Only a couple of diversions were encountered. Here, a blocked tunnel below a main road meant that 1.5 miles were added to the days total when hiking between Ashurst and Tonbridge. Though I don’t reckon the tunnel was collapsing, the reason given

Three Points of the Compass does like to explore a church or two en route, or at least take advantage of a seat in the churchyard for a lunchtime halt. Beside pottering around fonts and pews, admiring stained glass and tombs, a peek inside the interior would frequently encounter the makings of a cup of tea with biscuits provided, laid on by parishioners in exchange for a modest donation. Very welcome on hot and colds days alike.

Part of the harvest festival display at St. Pancras Church, Arlington

Part of the harvest festival display in St. Pancras Church, Arlington

The Wealdway crosses differing rock strata, each of which has leant itself to different building materials and architecture. Thatch, wood, brick and hung tiles proliferate. Black & white timber framed houses and barns abound. Farms vary from the tatty and unloved to the grand and expensive. Wealden wooden braced halls alternate with flint walled churches. It really is a joy and if walking alone, I would probably have taken more time to halt and sketch en route.

The 13th century gatehouse and curtain walls are almost all that remain of Tonbridge Castle. Built by the Normans, it stands on the site of a Saxon fort

Horses graveyard near East Hoathly. The nearest headstone carries the musings of a proud owner- ’13 races, 13 wins’

Honesty stall selling local produce

I walked through miles of orchards where the trees were literally dripping with apples, leaving these it was only to pass hectares of soft fruit. There are often surprises encountered on a long trail, I would never have expected to see a horses cemetery. The trail passes a statue to a kidnapped native American, the sites of crashed bomber aircraft, the haunts of smugglers, dead country railway lines, priories, the only surviving iron pier in the world, and the bridge where Pooh Sticks was invented…

“And that was the beginning of the game called Poohsticks, which Pooh invented, and which he and his friends used to play on the edge of the Forest. But they played with sticks instead of fir-cones, because they were easier to mark.”

The House at Pooh Corner, A.A. Milne

Coldrum Stones Long Barrow was excavated in 1910. It contained the remains of 22 people, men, women and children

Coldrum Stones neolithic Long Barrow was excavated in 1910. It contained the remains of 22 people- men, women and children

An avenue through a young coppice woodland

We will never really appreciate just how much the countryside has changed around the Wealdway. While the hills remain largely the same, other than the ravages of quarries and road cuttings, the wooded slopes have largely gone, torn down to fuel the iron furnaces or build the warships, cleared to make fertile land for farming, or make travel easier across a former dangerous place for a hunter gatherer or traveller to be.

More modern coppice woodlands- chestnut especially, or beech, oak or coniferous, depending on soil type, remain if much reduced in acreage. However the remains of the prehistoric races that lived here are in evidence. The remains of Bronze and Iron Age forts are passed, the ‘Tumuli’ shown on the O.S. maps are often worth a bit of an explore, especially sites like Coldrum Stones just below the North Downs. This long barrow differs from others found in England, being more akin to those tombs found in Denmark, which belong to the earliest Northern European neolithic culture.

The statue of native American Pocahontas and her memorial are seen on the final day on trail at St. George’s Church, Gravesend

Mrs Three Points of the Compass and I thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Wealdway. Travel to and from each days section was easy by public transport and each day bought something new. Even when the clay soils were wet, the going was never particularly tough and our six days were spread across all the seasons so we got to experience it in all weathers, we even did one section twice, if unintentionally!

I thoroughly recommend it to anyone that wants a gentle and fairly short introduction to the diversity of Kent and Sussex. I loved walking in out of the fields and woods to briefly pass through a tiny almost forgotten village, briefly ponder whether to pop in to one of the pubs or not, reluctantly decide against it (miles to cover) and walk on back into the Weald.

As to my next day walk trail in the South East, more on that in the future.

Taking time out for the crack of leather on willow- A cricket match at Bidborough

Baseball at Tonbridge

Sign of the month… Legible London

1 Reply

Legible London

On 27 November 2007, the first prototype of a new design of street signage went ‘live’ in the West End of London. Just about every London Borough now has a number of the distinguishable, tall, upright and informative signs. These form part of the Legible London sign network. Integrated into the transport network, there are over 1700 of the signs providing information for pedestrians, on streets, local buildings, places of interest and bus routes, and enables those exiting London Underground stations to quickly orientate themselves. Circles on the maps indicate a walking time between places, ranging from 5 to 15 minutes. Note the small directional ‘north’ arrow set in to the base of the sign.

Sign of the month- Inishowen Head

Leave a reply

Sign at Inishowen Head, Co. Donegal, Republic of Ireland.

Saint Columba (Irish- Colm Cille) is one of the three chief saints of Ireland and patron saint of the city of Derry. Ordained a priest around 546, he taught and preached throughout Ireland, founding a number of monasteries.

In 563 he went into exile as a penance and sailed from Donegal to found the famous monastery on the Scottish island of Iona. His final landfall in Ireland was near here in Port Cille, where he climbed the hill to get a last look at his beloved Derry before setting sail.

An annual pilgrimage is made to this spot every year on 15th August.

A Library…

Leave a reply

Three Points of the Compass seldom carries any book, beyond a journal, when hiking. Instead I keep a small library at home; to be dipped into on a whim, or referred to when trying to nail down that ‘something’ seen, or in a vain attempt to educate my failing memory in the hope that I can identify with what I see on my travels. Any walk is vastly improved and enjoyed all the more when I can put a name to some of that around me, or at least understand the relationship, the ecology of the environment through which I am hiking.

Collins have periodically renewed and refreshed their most popular natural history books. I have certainly never purchased every one, but every few years am tempted to the shelves of the nearest Waterstones to buy the latest version of a favourite

I have always purchased books. I believe a fairly well stocked, carefully chosen, library of books on the natural sciences and the people who have helped define it, should be the aim of any inquisitive mind and especially anyone that hikes on a regular basis. Those shown at the top of this page are from ‘secondary’ shelves in my house. They are a small sample of those volumes that have been relegated off of my first division shelves that sit nearest my desk.

As a young lad I bought a number of the thin volumes in the Jarrold Nature Series. I never had a lot of money and would frequently buy one or two with the extra ‘holiday spending’ I would be given on family holidays. Far better spent on these little booklets than ice creams and fairground rides I felt. The Birds of the Mountains and Moorlands shown above (volume 4 in the Jarrold Bird Series) would have been bought when we visited some such area, I forget where, when I believed these would help me in my identification of the local wildlife.

I have little regard from where my books are obtained. I have purchased new, remaindered, second-hand (and third, fourth et al) volumes aplenty. I have scoured second hand shops, libraries selling off volumes, perused dealers typewritten catalogues and, increasingly, I turn to eBay and Amazon. There are virtual spaces on my shelves too, some books I have lent, never to be returned and only infrequently replaced.

The Caterpillars of the British Butterflies volume shown above was a companion to The Butterflies of the British Isles in the Wayside and Woodland Series published by Warne. It is a second hand copy, withdrawn from the Westminster Public Libraries and sold off by them in one of their periodic clear outs and would have already been very old when I got it. This reflects a particular period of my childhood when most weekends I went out from dawn til dusk (or until hunger struck) to scour the undergrowth of woods near my home, or go fishing in the little stream or local canal, watching dragonflies, Kingfishers, Water Boatmen or catching White Clawed Crayfish in a time before the American Signal Cray invaded our waters. Caterpillars, and a clump of whatever herb I found them on, were kept at home to see what wonder might emerge from the chrysalis.

A page from the AA/Readers Digest book- The Birds of Britain

A page from the AA/Readers Digest book- Book of British Birds

Collins were the publisher of many of the Field Guides I have purchased over the years. Some volumes reflect another era. I am almost ashamed to admit that, in common with most of my pals, we would go out ‘bird-nesting’- collecting birds eggs. I had stopped by my mid-teens and it never advanced further than the few eggs from songbirds. I am so thankful that oölogy lost its interest for me. I became far more interested in learning what came out of an egg rather than the ‘prize’ itself.

Instead, I learnt to stalk animals through the undergrowth and stream edges and went through a period of carting along packets of Plaster of Paris, purchased from the local chemists. I would make paper rings and, with the heavy contents of my rucksack, make impressions of tracks of deer, fox, badger and the great prize, water vole.

I have shown a couple of older Collins volumes in the featured image above, my shelves also groan under the weight of many a later edition, but as to getting rid of older volumes, the horror.

The Readers Digest Book of British Birds was read on many an evening when I was a boy. There were probably few bookshelves down our street that didn’t carry a copy of this particular volume with its superb painting of a glaring Tawny Owl on the front cover. I read how a roosting owl could be located by following up noisy parties of smaller birds such as Jays, Blackbirds and Chaffinches who would mob the predator. On probably hundreds of occasions I have dived into the neighbouring thick woodland, having heard the ruckus from within, in the hope of finding a roosting tawny owl, never once with any success. I still do on occasion…

The small volumes that formed the Observer’s series have been much loved by generations, my own included, and available for pocket money too. Despite the huge number of titles available I never had more than a dozen or so of these little books

Other books on natural history on my shelves are a little more eclectic. I went through a phase of no more than a year or two where I determined to learn everything I could about slugs, snails and the shells on the beach, well, who wouldn’t!

Over the next few weeks I shall blog daily on just some of the books, or sets of volumes, that sit proudly on my shelves. Some are seldom pulled out, others can be left in situ for a year or two and then sit on my desk for a month or so to be reacquainted with. Others, are works of pure reference to be consulted when bafflement descends. One or two may be deemed a classic, whatever that is and I am sure that many reading this may shake their head in dismay over my woeful choice. These will not, in any way, be book reviews, simply a brief glance at some of my favourite volumes that frequently have and often continue to make my walking experience all the greater. There are many that have not made the cut, I will not be showing my lovely old, battered (and slightly smelly) set of The Handbook of British Birds by Witherby, Jourdain, Ticehurst and Tucker for instance. And just a slight tease, my definition of ‘Giants‘ will, no doubt, raise hackles in some readers.

Books shown in featured image:

The Caterpillars of the British Butterflies (including the Eggs, Chrysalids and Food-plants), R.South. Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. 1944

The Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers, David McClintock and R.S.R.Fitter. Collins, 1956

A Field Guide to the Mammals of Britain and Europe, F.H.Van Den Brink. Collins, 1967

Collins Pocket Guide to Nests and Eggs, R.S.R.Fitter and R.A.Richardson. Collins, Reprinted revised edition, 1969 (First published 1954)

Book of British Birds, Readers Digest/AA, Second Edition 1974 (first published 1969)

Identification of the British Mollusca, Gordon E. Beedham. Hulton Group Keys. Pitman Press, 1972

Birds of the Mountains and Moorlands, text by Reg Jones. Jarrold, 1974

Sign of the Month- Woodland Trust

Leave a reply

Sign photographed in just one of the 1000 plus sites, covering over 26,000 hectares, cared for by the Woodland Trust. Nearly 350 of its sites contain ancient woodland of which 70 per cent is semi-natural ancient woodland – land which has been under tree cover since at least 1600. It also manages over 110 Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Founded in Devon, England in 1972 by Kenneth Watkins, a retired farmer. The Woodland Trust aims to see a United Kingdom rich in trees and woodland in which people can walk, cycle, picnic and play. The Charity protects and campaigns on behalf of woods. They plant trees and restore ancient woodland for the benefit of wildlife and people.

38% of Europe is wooded. Just 13% of the UK by comparison. The Woodland Trust have planted 32 million trees since 1972. Their marvellous work continues.

Sign of the Month- Farthing Downs

Leave a reply

Farthing Downs are both scheduled ancient monument and the largest area of semi-natural downland left in Greater London. Within easy reach for Londoners, such pockets of land require stringent legislation to continue their protection.

The Site of Special Scientific Interest is situated in Coulsdon in the London Borough of Croydon and is managed by the City of London. This was the first section of the London LOOP to be opened, the trail runs straight through the centre of the chalk grassland.

Set into the signpost is a small disc for the Downlands Circular Walk; a popular short walk of three or six miles based around Farthing Downs and neighbouring Happy Valley

Trail talk: The Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path- Part Two

Leave a reply

The Norfolk Coast Path

Sandy isolation as I walk towards The Firs at Holme Dunes National Nature Reserve

Paths were invariably well maintained, it was often possible to find myself having strayed offf the official path on to one of the many other alternatives, but they all went in the same direction

Paths were invariably well maintained, I often found that I had strayed off the official path on to one of the many other alternatives, but they all went in the same direction

Starting on 1st April 2017, I walked the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path. On day four, I finished off the Peddars Way and began the Norfolk Coast Path, the flavour of the walk changed immediately and dramatically. On my walk northward from the Suffolk/Norfolk border, I had encountered very few people on the trail, as soon as I hit the coast, this changed. Not that anyone was doing, or appeared to be doing, the national trail. It was just that I was now in the midst of holidaymakers, fishermen (and fisherwomen, or is it just fisherpeople?) and the residents and workers in the small and larger towns that were lined up, like pearls on a necklace, along the coast.

There a number of map and guide options for the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path, I took the relevant 1:50 000 O.S. maps as I already had them. I also purchased the Cicerone guide and the official trail guide. Both are excellent but I only took the Bruce Robinson guide with me

There a number of map and guide options for the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path. Knowing I would be going ‘off trail’ on occasion, I took the relevant 1:50 000 O.S. maps (sans covers) as I already had them. I also purchased the Cicerone guide and the official trail guide. Both are excellent but I only took the Bruce Robinson guide with me

My next few days comprised 20 miles from my last campsite on the Peddars Way, the lovely Bircham Windmill, to Deepdale, then 14,5 miles to Highsand Creek, followed by 16 miles to my only stay at a hostel on the walk, the YHA hostel at Sherringham, leaving me a simple six miles to finish my trail at Cromer pier and then to the railway station. In all, I did 98.5 miles. This was certainly taken over the ton by my little wanderings and evening sorties from my tent. But, with map miles, it sits at 98.5 miles.

Because I knew that the nature watching was going to be so good on this trail, especially the Norfolk Coast Path, I wanted to include some optics in my kit list. Eschewing my heavy binoculars, I took a 109g 8×20 monocular. I was pleased I did as it was often used

Someone had been playing silly buggers at Brancaster and had sawn off the finger posts. My own fault, I sauntered straight on and needlessly walked a mile and a half out to the point and back

Someone had been playing silly buggers at Brancaster and had sawn off the finger posts. My own fault, I never noticed and sauntered straight on, needlessly walking a mile and a half out to the point and back

I used to visit this part of the coast, almost as a pilgrimage, in the 1980s/90s when I was a keen birdwatcher. It is amongst the very finest of places to view birds- residents, migrants, raptors across the reedbeds, fantastic. But for me, it was the visits each late autumn/early winter to see the thousands of geese, wintering away from the harsher conditions of Siberia that will live with me forever. Even hoofing along with a pack on my back and stopping infrequently, the Norfolk Coast Path was still a nature-watching marvel.

The early fine weather had encouraged many car borne visitors but few could be bothered to walk more than a mile or two from any carpark, as a result I had much of the coastal walking to myself for hours on end.

Brent Geese, Shelduck and waders were constant companions

Brent Geese, Shelduck and waders were frequent companions. Seals were also often spotted

Smokehouse in Cley

Lobster and Crab pots are set all the way along this part of the coast

Much of this part of the coast continues to change from the industry of old- fishing and smoking of fish, to the new, the tourist. However the flint built buildings are, mostly, well maintained, the natives friendly and opportunity to buy provisions vastly improved on anything I had experienced over the previous few days.

Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas enjoyed at Wells-next-the-Sea

While I carried food for most meals over the Peddars Way part of this walk, I had known beforehand that opportunities to eat locally were going to be much improved on the second half of my walk.

Whereas I carried eight meals for the inland section, I only had two for the coastal section. All other were purchased locally. Though perhaps surprisingly, I only ate fish and chips the one time, When I reached busy Wells-next-the-Sea.

Breakfast at the Deepdale Cafe included award winning Arthur Howell sausages and Fruit Pig Black Pudding

My two campsites on the coast were both perfectly adequate. Deepdale was a small field and I camped next to car campers, but I had no problem with that. There are plenty of opportunities to re-provision here but I only partook of a fine breakfast in the Deepdale Cafe.

£10 got me a huge field to myself and hot showers in the modern toilet block

£10 got me a field to myself at High Sand campsite and hot showers in the modern toilet block

A pint, good quality burger and writing up the day’s notes in the Red Lion, Stiffkey

Camping the following night at the High Sand camp site at Stiffkey saw my tent sitting alone in a huge field. The trail passed only a hundred metres away and I was content to treat myself to good food and ale at the Red Lion Inn in the local village.

This part of the coast was once the ‘gateway to England’ but silting up of creeks and changes in economics has reduced its importance. Blakeney is fairly typical of many towns along the coast, struggling to retain an identity. Small fishing boats take visitors out on seal watching trips when their owners are not out checking their lobster and crab pots

The distinctive windmill at Cley next the Sea can be seen for miles across the marshes. The path goes right past it and I regretted, slightly, not pausing to sketch it. The reeds here did offer up Bearded Tit though

There were a couple of miles of board walks in all

Coastal walking was almost always on good paths, though I should think that many would be pretty claggy after rain. Reedbeds, sea defence walls above marshland, scrubby sand dunes, pine woodlands, saltmarsh, sand and shingle shoreline- my walking was through a number of special and specialised habitats, it was never boring for it changed so much.

Every few miles another coastal town would be encountered, I passed through these quite quickly as there was little to hold me.

Remains of an Allan Williams gun turret. 199 of these were made during World War II

This part of the coast was thought to be at risk of attack and invasion during World War II. Surviving coastal defence installations survive to this day

This part of the coast was thought to be at risk of attack and invasion during World War II. Coastal defence installations survive to this day

The coastline stretch from Cley next the Sea to Weybourne Hope is four miles of lonely splendour. The few dog walkers at the beginning were soon left behind. Sand gave way to shingle and I found myself racing the incoming tide, only having to move up on to the punishing stone for the final quarter of a mile

For such a busy stretch of coast, I often found myself alone. Few people will walk more than two miles from their car and it is usually just the odd birdwatcher or sea angler that would be seen any further afield, again, there seemed to be few people walking purposely, and those I saw with small backpacks were either day walkers or slackpackers.

Beyond Weybourne Hope the path begins to climb as cliffs take over. This penultimate day saw me completing my biggest climb of the whole trail- the highest point was still only 346 feet (105 metres) above sea level. Norfolk really is a pretty flat county

Beyond Weybourne Hope the path slowly begins to climb as cliffs take over. This penultimate day saw me completing my biggest climb of the whole trail- though the highest point was still only 346 feet (105 metres) above sea level. Norfolk really is a pretty flat county

Beach huts below Sheringham Cliffs

My final night was in Sheringham YHA. No private rooms were available so I shared a dorm with two other guys, we battled each other in the snoring stakes that night but I am pretty sure I won.

I like to put my trade toward the YHA where I can as I think they are still doing a grand job, mostly, in a difficult modern circumstance. However I reckon I made a mistake eating an evening meal there. There was no ‘proper’ option on the menu at all, everything was snacks, so I settled for an ‘OK’ pizza. Breakfast was little better, the only egg option was scrambled, and I hesitate to guess how long it was since they had been scrambled! I queried at the counter, the server looked at me with bafflement- “I’m French” was her reply. OK, so no eggs forthcoming then.

My £12 overnight stay at Sheringham Youth Hostel was an adequate stop for my last night on the trail

Signposting and marking of trail was excellent on the Norfolk Coast Path. You might think how difficult can it be to simply keep the sea on your left, but the trail often diverts inland where access rights have not been obtained, or where erosion has caused the path to disappear into the sea

The Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path ends at Cromer Pier. Much of this popular resort town is Edwardian in age and flavour

The National Trail ends at Cromer Pier. Much of this popular resort town is Edwardian in age and flavour. The Norflok Coast Path is now part of the ambitious plans for an English Coast Path, still in the making

Reminders of a seafaring community can be found everywhere

I was so pleased to have completed both halves of the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path. While the walk through the interior of the county had been interesting, with a few points of interest, the coastal element was much more to my liking. Busy seaside towns nestled up against lonely saltmarsh and dune systems stretched for miles across a wide landscape.

The call of the nesting Curlew and Lapwing that I had gone to sleep to in the agricultural heartland was also encountered on the coast, to be joined with the burbling of hundreds of Brent geese and the frantic shriek of the ‘Sentinel of the Marshes’, the Redshank.

Dunlin, Sandpipers, Oystercatcher and Turnstone shuffled along the edge of the surf, only flying ahead when I got too close. It really was lovely coastal walking and I resented it when lack of Rights of Way took me on pointless and annoying diversions inland. I doubt that I shall return to this part of the country for quite some time but hope that the fragile eco-systems can withstand what appears to be growing numbers of visitors.

Sign of the Month- Concession Path

Leave a reply

Concession Path below Chrome Hill in the Peak District. The only way of approaching this Derbyshire hill from the north west is via this waymarked route. Concessionary, or Permissive, Paths are paths whose use is allowed by the landowner. Not normally a Public Right of Way, their use may, nevertheless, be a historic route that has fallen from use or a right of way not included on the definitive map.

Some 1:25 000 and 1:50 000 Ordnance Survey maps show Concessionary paths. Alternatively, Natural England also provides considerable information online. Not all permissive paths are shown as their circumstances change with time. Most Concession Paths will close for part of a year to ensure that it does not become a path ‘used as of right’, due to unbroken usage by the public.

Sign of the Month- Coastal Paths: Old and New

Leave a reply

A sign situated just a few miles from the end of one trail, quietly celebrates a new path still in the making.

The 47 mile long Norfolk Coast Path is part of a National Trail: The Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path. The complete 92 mile long trail runs northward from the Norfolk/Suffolk border near Thetford, to the Norfolk coast just east of Hunstanton, it then turns right and heads along the coast to Cromer pier.

The path was officially opened in 1986 by HRH The Prince of Wales and the area is remarkable in being both popular with tourists, yet also offering lonely and wide open spaces. The route crosses through and past shingle ridges, sandflats and shifting dunes, marshland, grazing land and agriculture, saltings and pine woodlands, neolithic sites rub shoulders with Roman forts. Fishing ports still provide employment and caravan parks sit on the edge of crumbling cliffs. 22 miles of coast-land from Holme to Weybourne is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, is recognised as a wetland of International Importance, a UNESCO Biosphere reserve and an EU Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation.

This sign indicates that the Norfolk Coast Path is being extended and is now part of the England Coast Path. The creation of an England Coastal Path was first mooted in 2007 however the development of this path has dragged on, for one reason or another, but probably mostly due to government apathy and disinterest. Commitment was eventually made that it would be completed by 2020. Quite a tight timetable considering how much has been achieved to date. When finished, the 2795 mile long trail will follow the entire coast of England and will be the longest managed and waymarked coastal path in the world.

Sign of the Month- Fuerteventura: GR131

Leave a reply

Long distance path GR 131, part of the E7 European long distance path, crosses all seven of the Canary Islands. The section that traverses Fuerteventura is the longest and is known as the ‘Camino Natural de Corralejo a Punta de Jandia’- A ‘Natural Trail’ stretching from North to South. In the South of the island it passes through what the locals call ‘El Jable’- The Sand.

Now mostly hidden from view beneath the shifting fossil sands of the dunes, this section of the path closely follows the route of the Old Way of the Prisoners; cobbled sections of limestone forming an almost forgotten road constructed by political prisoners between 1946-1948.

The GR long distance paths are a European network. In the Spanish Canary Islands, ‘GR’ stands for Gran Recorrido and, on those islands, paths are maintained by the Spanish Mountain Sports Federation (Federación Española de Deportes de Montaña y Escalada). Trails are normally marked by a white stripe above a red stripe, with additional marks for changes in direction or to indicate a wrong way has been taken.