The South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path (SWCP) goes from Minehead to Poole. It goes from Poole to Minehead as well of course, but the guidebooks always have you walking counter-clockwise. No idea why. All I know is it's hugely confusing trying to follow the guidebook while walking clockwise.
The 630-mile coast path 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, fantastic weather and wild storms, pubs and villages, tea and scones, and some of the most spectacular scenery ever. You will get exercise. You will be sore. Your knees will hurt. But if you make it through you will have bragging rights forever and that is something nobody can take away. I use mine every chance I get. Tons of people walk the whole thing in one fell swoop; tons more do bits and pieces here and there. Our original plan was to walk the whole path, section by section, over a five-year period. As of the beginning of our 2022 trip—our fifth year—we've hiked 238 miles, meaning the aforementioned goal clearly won't be happening. So our new plan is to Just. Finish. Goals and plans and objectives can be so overrated. We had a few decisions to make in planning this really long walk. Mostly: what to do about luggage? As the paths are linear, not circular, we will end up far away from our cottage. Eventually, we'll be far, far away. The thought passes through my mind—oh so fleetingly—that we would simply backpack our stuff around. Hahaha. In the end, we settled on a "homebase plan": choose a town to stay in for each week of our two-week stay—making sure the town has good bus service and proximity to food and drink, preferably a Marks & Spencer—and use buses to get back and forth. It works. |
