Most people walk the South West Coastal Path anti clockwise. That’s to say they walk from Minehead, Somerset to Poole, Dorset. Even people walking it in sections tend to go that way around, although it’s also quite common for them to just compete sections based on convenience and logistics and gradually fill all the gaps in. It’s funny, in some ways, walking it all in one go is actually easier because you don’t need to work out any of the logistics, you just have to get round the path. No checking bus times or expensive taxis needed for me.

There is actually no official direction. In the same way that Wainwright’s coast to coast can be done in either direction, but most people, even me in this case, choose to walk it west to east (St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay). Even I conformed on that one. So, most of the people I meet are walking from Minehead and hope to eventually end up in Poole at some point.

Luckily when I started I didn’t meet any backpackers doing the whole thing in one go. Me just starting and them near the end of their journey. In fact, the first person I met doing the whole thing was in Helford which is a few miles before the half way point. So that was really nice because we were both at the same stage of our respective journeys so had a lot in common.

I maintain that doing it ‘backwards’ is the best way. There are not a huge number of people who walk the whole thing in one go, relative to the population of the world anyway, and even fewer that go in the direction I have, so it makes me feel a little bit unique. This way you meet more people as well. I understand from fellow hikers that go the conventional way that you do meet the same people multiple times, which I guess would mean you’re more likely to make a longer term friend, but with my way you get lots of little insights into many people’s lives. I quite like that. And of course, when you do meet people multiple times, because it’s so unlikely, it makes it all the more special.

However, today I could see the benefit of walking the other way. For the section from Combe Martin to Lynton some of the better views were definitely behind me. Luckily I often remember to stop and turn around, so I’m hopeful I didn’t miss too many, but the people walking the other way definitely had it slightly better.

It’s funny as earlier in the day I’d had a really long conversation with a man while I was looking at Broadsands Beech and he said he’d met a man who’d walked the whole coastal path one way and then straight back the other. He’d asked him why and he’d said that it was a totally different walk in the other direction because you see it in a whole new way. I liked that and today realised how true it was.

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If at first you don’t succeed

I was playing chicken with the rain again. It’d been raining most of the night but I’d looked at the forecast and could see that it was due to stop around 8am so I thought, maybe, the sun would come out and dry my tent. I wasn’t in a rush today so I thought I’d give it a try again. Yesterday there really wasn’t any chance but today I was more hopeful. Besides, I don’t need much of an excuse to take my time in camp.

The rain over night has had a really strange effect on my sleeping. I keep on dreaming that I’m moving on, that I’ve packed up and I’m walking the next section of the trail. But then the noise of the rain on the tent brings me back to the present and I’m not walking but back in my tent. My mind though is then confused, I feel like I’ve done some walking and I need to update my blog, but then I also realise I’m back in my tent at the campsite. It creates a really confusing sleep and it’s been consistently like this for the last couple of weeks. When I do eventually realise what’s actually happening though I’m relieved and happy to relax again and get some more sleep.

This morning, despite the usual strange dreams, my plan worked. At around 9:30am I was happily packing away a dry tent and heading out for another days walking. Just 15 miles to cover today so I’d have time to get breakfast in Combe Martin and take time to enjoy all the views.

Back to the campsite

As I left the campsite I went into the reception area to pay for my nights camping. The man on reception asked me what time I’d eventually arrived and when I told him he just looked at me and said “why do you do it?”. I said I didn’t know.

I told him that the campsite was really nice and I’d enjoyed my stay. I said the toilet block was particularly good. He told me the showers used to be free flowing and not push button but some people would spend 45 minutes in there, which created a problem for everyone else, so they’d had to change them. I did think those people selfish but when I was cold yesterday I could have pictured myself doing that – I hope I would have been better behaved, although it was very quiet when I was there so I think it would have been ok.

I then left the campsite via the main entrance, back onto the road, walked back to find the sign for the coastal path, which directed me back into the campsite and close to my pitch. I did feel a bit daft.

The path then climbs up through the campsite and then, once I’d stopped to admire the view and have a long conversation with a local man, walked into Combe Martin for my breakfast.

So lucky

The weather now had cleared up nicely. It was a bit windy but the sun was out and the views spectacular.

The terrain was hard work, some big climbs and descents, but it also had some flatter, high up, sections which allowed me to recover from the harder parts. The only negative really was that the path was scattered with loose rocks which aren’t fun to navigate. My boots really are on their last legs as well so I don’t think they appreciated all the sharp edges.

I did however love how close to the edge the path often was. Even the flat sections are so high up, and I marvelled at how far down the sea was. I did enjoy this section and wasn’t unhappy that the time it was taking to get to Lynton was longer than I expected.

Crazy fool

Eventually the path turns inland a little and goes through a woodland and then onto the Valley of the Rocks.

It was within this woodland that I’d had my final nights camping when I previously walked this route. I couldn’t believe that I’d made it from this point all the way to Minehead and I was very glad I didn’t have to do that this time. I was also glad I’d booked a campsite because I still remember the anxiety at the time, and looking at where I’d eventually camped, on a big slope in all that undergrowth, well I could tell I’d been desperate.

Luckily for me today though, I just had a couple of miles left to walk. The campsite was a little off the path but only about a mile, although the big climb wasn’t appreciated, but I was soon at my pitch and settling down for the night.

Base camp

There are a few people at the campsite that are walking the coastal path. All really friendly. They’re all walking towards Poole though so only just starting on their journeys. I’ve not been at a campsite on this trip with so many other hikers.

I’ve had a long conversation with a man who lives near the Pyrenees in France and he’s walking the whole route. He’s new to trekking but does a lot of cycling so his only issue is getting his kit working properly for him. He was asking my advice – which makes me laugh because I’m pretty new to this as well. I was happy to try and help though.

And I’ve just spoken to one man who’s walked from Minehead, which is about 20 miles and a hard walk, and he said he’s struggled. He’s only going as far as Barnstaple on this trip but that was quite ambitious for his first day. He’s really nice so I hope he’s ok for the rest of his trip. He said he went a bit dizzy in the pub afterwards but felt ok now. I have my fingers crossed for him.