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When we started the South West Coast Path, back in 2008, we never expected that it would take until 2023 to finish it. At that time, we didn't even expect to do it all - it was just a pleasant revisit of the scene of some past family holidays. It was only after completing that … Continue reading Finishing the SWCP
2018's section of the South West Coast Path never happened, the year being taken up with a combination of art exhibitions and the asthma-y aftermath of the TGO Challenge. So it was 2 years, almost to the day, that Dad and I returned to Bude for the 60 mile (or so) section to Barnstaple. What … Continue reading South West Coast Path 2019
Dad and I spent a week walking along the coast path from St Ives to Padstow. I'm not going to write a long story about this as it tends to get repetitive, so will confine myself to a few remarks and then leave it to the photos to tell the story... We headed down to … Continue reading South West Coast Path 2016
Day 5 The Old Man had clearly been struggling the day before, a combination of a dearth of training and a surplus of blisters. So much so that the state of his feet ruled him out of a walk today, so I set off on my tod, taking the same bus journey out to Zennor for … Continue reading The Far End of Cornwall – Part 3: Guano and Galleries
Day 3 The bus dropped us back at Porthcurno, among the tourists arriving to visit the Minack Theatre, and we walked around it as much as we could short of actually paying to get in. We had other things to do. Up on the cliffs, the views back across the bay were stunning, and yielding … Continue reading The Far End of Cornwall – Part 2: The Corner
Day 0 Familiar stations flashed by as the train made its way through Devon - Tiverton Parkway, my old city of Exeter, then the highlight of the whole route with the coastal section through Dawlish and Teignmouth. Soon we were passing Dartmoor, and I craned my neck to get a glimpse of a favourite place. … Continue reading The Far End of Cornwall – Part 1: The Plodders of Penzance
Planning the Walk Planning for this year's section really began whilst we were still on last year's walk - abandoning the last day gave the opportunity to start this year's walk with a two night stay in Falmouth. The sense of this approach was easy to see, and the difficulty of finding accommodation for the … Continue reading South West Coast Path 2014
A few days family camping offered an opportunity to fill-in a long-standing gap in the South West Coast Path, and was well-timed as a warm-up walk for this year's main SWCP trip the following weekend. We headed down to Somerset, along a road we've travelled so many times that our car has its own special … Continue reading A Golden Cap and a Filled-in Gap
The Plan Every year from 2008, my Dad and I have walked a section of the South West Coast Path (SWCP), taking 4-5 days per section, and walking anywhere between 40 and 60 miles, depending on the terrain and logistics. Some years my brother has also joined. Having decided to do the SWCP the "wrong … Continue reading South West Coast Path 2013
This year's planned chunk of the South West Coast Path was due to be the biggest section yet, but circumstances had another idea and we had to cut it short. Here's the story. Day 0: Friday 18 May It’s all been a bit weird. I finished most of the planning for this trip way back … Continue reading SWCP 2012
Ok, maybe the title is a bit dramatic. It wasn't anything like a complete failure, unless you only measure it against the original plan to walk as far as Falmouth over 7 days rather than to Par over 4. Indeed, the irony was that in some ways this trip was the best of the 5 … Continue reading SCWP 2012: Post Mortem
I flew along today. The walking was, for the SWCP, easy; a certain amount of fitness had kicked in; and I had a reason to get it done. Day 4: Tuesday 22 May I lingered over breakfast talking to Tim, the proprietor of The Well House, partly because I was the only guest, but also … Continue reading SWCP 2012: One under Par
Every year there's always one day more than the others when I become aware of the place names. Maybe the toilet humour from yesterday put me in the mood. That said it was also about the simple joy of putting one foot in front of the other on a day of perfect weather and perfect … Continue reading SWCP 2012: A day of silly names and perfect views
I'm not deliberately setting out to offend anyone with this post, but if I do then I guess that's a bonus. Every so often you find yourself doing a walk where a theme emerges and try as you might, it persists. Today was just such a day. Day 2: Sunday 20 May. Crafthole to Looe … Continue reading SWCP 2012: Toilet humour
Today the Olympic torch arrived in Plymouth and I left town. Not that I am trying to avoid it, but I do have a long distance path to walk... Day 1: Saturday 19 May - Plymouth to Crafthole Poppy's Guest House turned out to be ok - at least at a price of £50 for … Continue reading SWCP 2012 – Escaping the Torch