The South West Coast PathThe South West Coast Path is the grand-daddy of Britain's long-distance footpaths, being the longest by a factor of two. It stretches for 1014 km (630 miles), running from Minehead in Somerset, round the coasts of Devon and Cornwall to Poole in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more challenging trails. The total height climbed has been estimated to be 35 031 metres (114 931 feet), almost four times the height of Mount Everest. The path has been a complete National Trail since 1978. Many of the landscapes which the South West Coast Path crosses have special status: the path passes through two World Heritage Sites - the Dorset and East Devon Coast, known as the Jurassic Coast, was designated in 2001, and the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape in 2007. My first visit to the path was a holiday on the far west of the path, from St Ives around Cape Cornwall and Lands End to Penzance, at Easter 2008, arranged through Contours. The SWCPA's reckoner advised me that the route is 66.0 km and 2663 metres of ascent, comprised of 3.2 km "easy", 25.1 km "moderate", 15.3 km "strenuous", and 22.4 km "severe". The National Trails website echoes this, describing the section from St Ives to Lands End as "one of the most difficult sections of the Coast Path, as the path is undulating, often exposed and uneven, with some sections of gentle scrambling over rock outcrops". My walks on the South West Coast Path
Total walked so far: 63 km or about 6% of the National Trail
The South West Coast Path links
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