On one of our trips to England my husband and I discover the South West Coast Path.
Life has never been the same.
The SWCP takes you around the entire southwest peninsula of the UK, going from Minehead in the north to Poole in the south. It goes from Poole to Minehead as well of course, but the guidebooks have you starting at Minehead and walking counter-clockwise. No idea why. All I know is it's hugely confusing trying to follow the guidebook while walking clockwise. We know this from experience. And yet, we continue, quite often, to do so.
As we walk the path one small section at a time, we live an English coastal village life: wide beaches, cream teas, thatched cottages, pubs, cider, crumbling castles, quaint little shops, and heart-stopping breathtaking scenery—-all in a section of the UK few Americans know.
As we walk the path one small section at a time, we live an English coastal village life: wide beaches, cream teas, thatched cottages, pubs, cider, crumbling castles, quaint little shops, and heart-stopping breathtaking scenery—-all in a section of the UK few Americans know.
We don’t use a car: we take buses and trains. We don’t stay at hotels: we rent little cottages whenever we can.
We pack lunches for the trail and seek local food and pubs, including quite a bit of fish & chips (we’re on the coast after all) and an alarming number of cream teas (we're in England after all). Not to mention quite frequent doses of Rattler Cyder and Tanqueray Sevilla Orange gin. Oh, and Bakewell tarts whenever we find them, preferably from small bakeries or village markets.
Both my mother and sister had walked parts of the SWCP and insisted we check it out. So in September 2012 we traveled from London to St Ives by train—an 8-hour trip with one change in St Erth—and hit the path the next day. And that hike started it all. That very day we set a goal to walk the entire 630-mile trail.
Ten years later we're still working on it. (What can I say, we get tired, we get hungry.)
Hopefully, these pages will inspire people to Get. Out. Of. London. and explore England's quaint villages——cozy pubs, scenic streets, ancient churches, gracious manor homes, bursting flower beds, and quintessential English cottages.
This is us. Hello!
I'm Chris, my husband is Bob, and we adore everything about England. Well, not blood pudding. Oh, and not the public toilets in Mevagissey, which are frightful. But just about everything else.
When I discovered there’s actually a word — Anglophile — for people who are consumed and infatuated by everything British*, I felt vindicated. It wasn’t just me being obsessive and un-American; there’s a whole slew of us who obsessively adore everything English!*
My mother and all her family are British. She came over by herself in the 50's and met my father, who had come over from Germany by himself. My father became a US citizen but my mother didn't.
My mother and all her family are British. She came over by herself in the 50's and met my father, who had come over from Germany by himself. My father became a US citizen but my mother didn't.
Even though my mother lived in the US for the rest of her life she never became a citizen because, she will stoutly inform you, “I’m British!”
Actually she’d say I'm English* which leads to a whole discussion that we might as well address here and now. See the * box at the bottom of the page.
As a kid I’d been to my gran and gramps’ house in Northamptonshire several times and fell in love with it all: the gardens, the candy, the shoes, the clouds, the accents, the horses prancing regally down the tiny lanes with young riders in full riding gear. Before we were married Bob and I visited my mother, who was on a long stay at Gran’s house, and that’s when he too fell in love with England. I believe Bakewell tarts, fish & chips, and cream teas had a lot to do with it.
As a kid I’d been to my gran and gramps’ house in Northamptonshire several times and fell in love with it all: the gardens, the candy, the shoes, the clouds, the accents, the horses prancing regally down the tiny lanes with young riders in full riding gear. Before we were married Bob and I visited my mother, who was on a long stay at Gran’s house, and that’s when he too fell in love with England. I believe Bakewell tarts, fish & chips, and cream teas had a lot to do with it.
Now that our boys are grown, Bob and I go to England every chance we get, slowly but surely walking that path.
The SWCP carves around a particularly rugged section of the UK—-stone buildings and hardy people that have battled storms and rough living for centuries—-and offers everything: history, geology, wildlife, art, glorious weather and wild storms, pubs and villages, tea and scones, and some of the most spectacular scenery ever. You will be exhilarated. You will be sore. Your knees will hurt.
But if you make it through the entire path you will have bragging rights forever. And that, my friend, is something nobody can take away; I use mine every chance I get.
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*England, Great Britain,
The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland,
The British Isles
What the heck? Where am I?
Describing where you are in this conglomerate of nations is a bit confusing. Luckily, I had to learn this for my British citizenship test (I passed but am not a citizen yet, as of July 2022) so here it is straight from my notes:
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: consists of four individual countries: Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England. This is the official name, often abbreviated as UK because what a mouthful.
Great Britain: consists of Wales, England, and Scotland.
England: a country that is part of the UK.
Northern Ireland: a country that is part of the UK.
Ireland is not part of the UK.
British Isles: just to add more confusion, the British Isles consists of the two main islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and a bunch of smaller islands and island groups, including the Hebrides, the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Man.
I had a reader from Cornwall comment on my blog that Cornwall is not and never has been part of “England” and please could I make a correction on my post. So obviously there is some contention kicking around over there. But it stands to reason: if you watched Braveheart you’ll know Scotland didn’t exactly come skipping into the union, the fierce battles between Wales and England literally spanned centuries, and let’s not even get started with Ireland.
All this is to say that there is some touchiness about names. On this site I mostly use England and Britain because it’s easier than saying The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Pure laziness, no offense intended.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: consists of four individual countries: Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England. This is the official name, often abbreviated as UK because what a mouthful.
Great Britain: consists of Wales, England, and Scotland.
England: a country that is part of the UK.
Northern Ireland: a country that is part of the UK.
Ireland is not part of the UK.
British Isles: just to add more confusion, the British Isles consists of the two main islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and a bunch of smaller islands and island groups, including the Hebrides, the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Man.
I had a reader from Cornwall comment on my blog that Cornwall is not and never has been part of “England” and please could I make a correction on my post. So obviously there is some contention kicking around over there. But it stands to reason: if you watched Braveheart you’ll know Scotland didn’t exactly come skipping into the union, the fierce battles between Wales and England literally spanned centuries, and let’s not even get started with Ireland.
All this is to say that there is some touchiness about names. On this site I mostly use England and Britain because it’s easier than saying The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Pure laziness, no offense intended.