The South West Coast Path - A Walker's Guidebook

Britain's longest waymarked trail measures 1015km (630 miles) from Minehead to Poole along the north Devon, Cornish, south Devon and Dorset coastline. The route is divided into 45 day-stages, and could be completed within four weeks. With accommodation advice and local information.

The South West Coast Path is Britain’s longest waymarked trail, measuring a staggering 1015km (630.5 miles). It is not just a long walk, but an astounding and varied experience. This remarkable and continuous coastal trail is based on the paths trodden around the cliffs and coves by generations of coastguards. The route starts in Minehead on the Somerset coast and quickly moves along the North Devon coast. After completely encircling the coast of Cornwall, it continues along the South Devon coast. A final stretch along the Dorset coast leads to a conclusion at South Haven Point on Poole Harbour. No other stretch of British coastline compares for scenic splendour, interest, history, heritage, accessibility and provision of facilities all rolled into one.

It would take a fit and dedicated long-distance walker a month to walk the South West Coast Path, while others would be happy to enjoy the experience, savour the delights of the trail, and take anything up to two months or more to cover the distance. Hardy backpackers will happily carry a tent, sleeping bag and cooking equipment, while others prefer to mix youth hostels with bed-and-breakfast establishments. Some walkers prefer a luxurious approach, spending their nights in splendid hotels and sampling seafood menus. The South West Coast Path can accommodate all types, but bear in mind that many of the facilities are only open through the summer season.

Individual approaches are bound to vary. Some walkers crave to cover the whole trail in a single expedition, while others take a weekend here and there, and make an occasional week-long trip, to complete the distance over a year or two. You must walk within your limitations; covering distances that are comfortable for you; choosing accommodation that suits your tastes and pocket. Allow time to visit museums and heritage centres, if you have a passion for local history, or to observe birds along the cliff coasts if you are interested in wildlife. Given the nature and complexity of the coast, it makes sense not to rush, but to enjoy the experience to the full.

While some might be daunted at the prospect of walking for weeks on end, staying somewhere different every night, and keeping themselves fed and watered, it is simply a matter of careful planning. Almost every town and village along the way offers some kind of accommodation and refreshment, and you just need to know what is available in advance.

This guidebook describes the whole of the waymarked trail from Minehead to Poole, and indicates the level of services along the way. The route is well marked with ‘Coast Path’ signposts and standard National Trail ‘acorn’ symbols. Read about each section before setting out; you may, for example, need to ensure that ferries are running across awkward tidal rivers, or secure accommodation in advance in summer, or you might like to know if the next sandy cove has a beach café. You should be able to break the route into manageable portions to suit your own ability. There is no need to stick slavishly to the daily breakdown given here, as there are plenty of intermediate places where you could break the journey.

Coastal Walking through History

Man has been active along Britain’s coasts since Neolithic times. The earliest settlers were basically hunter-gatherers who lived in the valleys and on the coastal margins, most of the inland country being heavily forested wilderness. These early people may have initiated a network of vague paths along the coast; maybe, just maybe, you will walk partly in their footsteps. Bronze Age fortifications and Iron Age cliff castles along the coasts of the South West signify a certain level of social unrest and warfare as waves of settlers made their way to these shores from Europe. In more peaceful interludes, settlers would surely have trodden the cliff paths.

Fishing and seafaring have always been important activities around the coast. There are dozens of natural sheltered harbours with deep-water channels; villages and towns grew up around these, and fortifications were built to afford them protection from raiders. A lookout for unfamiliar and dangerous vessels would have been kept from the clifftops. Some fisher­men also manned clifftop lookouts to spot shoals of pilchards, mackerel or herrings, and would raise a ‘hue’ to let their comrades know where to make a good catch.

Fishermen and sailors were ideally positioned for wheeler-dealing with foreign vessels, and when heavy duties were slapped onto imported goods early in the 18th century, they used their intimate knowledge of the coastline to land all manner of goods at remote spots. The government responded by administering harsh penalties and punishments for smuggling; smugglers simply became more devious, resulting in the establishment of the Coastguard Service in 1822.

Coastguards were stationed at intervals along the coast to patrol the cliffs and coves, keep an eye on any suspicious activities, and clamp down on the smuggling trade. They tramped back and forth along their coastal beats, treading out clear paths with unrivalled views of the rugged coast. The continuous coastal path largely came into being from that time.

As the coastguards were suppressing an illegal activity that local people felt was important to their survival, they were most unwelcome. It was almost impossible to procure accommodation for them, so they were obliged to live in specially constructed coastguard cottages, many of which were well away from towns and villages. Even after renovation into holiday homes, some coastguard cottages still resemble military barracks. Over the years, coastguards became less involved in tracking down smugglers, and switched to scanning the seas to ensure the safety of passing ships. Often they were stationed in lonely lookouts on prominent headlands, with binoculars, telescope and notepad. Eventually the Coastguard Service became administered centrally, using radio, radar and computers.

The old coastguard lookouts are beginning to be reopened by the National Coastwatch Institution, a charity made up of volunteers who are taking on the role of the former coastguards. They keep an eye on shipping, and also on Coast Path walkers, and are recognised as an important part of the emergency cover network along the coast.

Today use of the Coast Path is rather different. Almost everyone who walks on the path today does so for exercise and enjoyment. Ramblers may walk from one town or village to the next, while long-distance walkers simply keep plodding day after day while the infinite variety of the route unfolds before them: beaches and bays; cliffs and coves; sea stacks and sand dunes; fishing villages and holiday resorts. With all its ups and downs and ins and outs, the route is often like a monstrous roller-coaster and leads walkers through history and heritage, scenic splendour and the wonders of the natural world. It has been estimated that anyone completing the whole trail will climb three times the height of Mount Everest!

Many towns and villages along the South West Coast Path have fine little museums or heritage centres, with fishing and smuggling being oft-repeated themes. Visit them to obtain a clearer picture of local history.