THE SOUTH WEST COAST PATH
By Paddy Dillon (read excerpts from this book at Google Books)
Published by Cicerone Press (read more about this book at Cicerone)
ISBN 1-85284-379-9
Price £12.95

The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest National Trail, stretching along the coastlines of Somerset, North Devon, Cornwall, South Devon and Dorset. It measures a staggering 1015km (630½ miles) and takes in rugged cliff coasts, rocky coves, sandy beaches, fishing ports and smuggling havens. The route starts in the Exmoor National Park and much of the coast is designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Other parts are designated Heritage Coast and towards the end is the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. With all this interest and protection, it has to be good! This route was walked in a four-week period for The National Trails of Britain & Ireland, then was walked again over a six-week period to complete all the route research for this book. Walkers approach the coast path in a variety of ways. Some are content to chip away for years, completing the distance in a series of half-day and one-day walks. Others take a week or a fortnight to cover long stretches of the coast, returning over a period of years to cover the distance. A few aim to tackle the South West Coast Path in a single journey, which requires careful planning and a measure of dedication. The route is best covered in the summer months, when all the ferries are running across the many tidal inlets, particularly on the south coasts. However, that can be a difficult time to secure accommodation for one-night stopovers. In the guidebook, the route is split into 45 one-day walks (plus the 'Inland Coast Path' avoiding Weymouth and the Isle of Portland). Given a couple of rest days, the route fits nicely into a seven-week period. The establishment of a continuous coastal path has taken decades to achieve and ongoing work and negotiation ensure that the route is continually improved. The publication of this book coincided with the 25th Anniversary of the South West Coast Path, and this book includes complete Ordnance Survey map coverage of the route.

WALK CONTENTS

Somerset & North Devon Coast
Day 1: Minehead to Porlock Weir; Day 2: Porlock Weir to Lynmouth; Day 3: Lynmouth to Combe Martin; Day 4: Combe Martin to Woolacombe; Day 5: Woolacombe to Braunton; Day 6: Braunton to Westward Ho!; Day 7: Westward Ho! to Clovelly; Day 8: Clovelly to Hartland Quay

North Cornwall Coast
Day 9: Hartland Quay to Bude; Day 10: Bude to Boscastle; Day 11: Boscastle to Port Isaac; Day 12: Port Isaac to Padstow; Day 13: Padstow to Porthcothan; Day 14: Porthcothan Newquay; Day 15: Newquay to Perranporth; Day 16: Perranporth to Portreath; Day 17: Portreath to St. Ives; Day 18: St. Ives to Pendeen Watch; Day 19: Pendeen Watch to Porthcurno; Day 20: Porthcurno to Penzance

South Cornwall Coast
Day 21: Penzance to Porthleven; Day 22: Porthleven to Lizard; Day 23: Lizard to Porthallow; Day 24: Porthallow to Falmouth; Day 25: Falmouth to Portloe; Day 26: Portloe to Mevagissey; Day 27: Mevagissey to Polmear; Day 28: Polmear to Polperro; Day 29: Polperro to Portwrinkle; Day 30: Portwrinkle to Plymouth

South Devon Coast
Day 31: Plymouth to Wembury Beach; Day 32: Wembury Beach to Bigbury-on-Sea; Day 33: Bigbury-on-Sea to Salcombe; Day 34: Salcombe to Stoke Fleming; Day 35: Stoke Fleming to Brixham; Day 36: Brixham to Shaldon; Day 37: Shaldon to Budleigh Salterton; Day 38: Budleigh Salterton to Seaton; Day 39: Seaton to Seatown

Dorset Coast
Day 40: Seatown to Abbotsbury; Day 41: Abbotsbury to Ferrybridge; Day 42: Isle of Portland Circuit; Day 43: Ferrybridge to Lulworth Cove; Day 44: Lulworth Cove to Swanage; Day 45: Swanage to South Haven Point; Also: 'Inland Coast Path' from West Bexington to Osmington Mills

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