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Tuesday 24 March 2020

Distractions and escapism: Join me as I re-live my adventure hiking the SW coast path

Other SWCP posts:

Introduction
Day 1: Minehead to Porlock
Day 2: Porlock to Lynton
Day 3: Lynton to Combe Martin
Day 4: Combe Martin to Mortehoe
Day 5: Rest day, Morte Point loop
Day 6: Mortehoe to Braunton
Day 7: Braunton to Westward Ho!
Day 8: Westward Ho! to Clovelly
Day 9: Clovelly to Hartland Quay
Day 10: Hartland Quay to Morwenstow
Day 11: Morwenstow to Bude
Days 12-14: Bude to Crackington Haven
Day 15: Crackington Haven to Tintagel
Day 16: Tintagel to Port Isaac
Day 17: Port Isaac to Padstow
Day 18: Padstow to Porthcothan
Day 19: Porthcothan to Crantock
Day 20: Rest day, Holywell bay loop
Day 21: Crantock to St Agnes
Day 22: St Agnes to Godrevy
Day 23: Godrevy point to St Ives
Day 24: St Ives to Pendeen Watch
Day 25: Pendeen Watch to Sennen Cove
Day 26: Sennen Cove to Lamorna
Day 27: Lamorna to Marazion
Day 28: Marazion to Porthleven
Day 29: Porthleven to Lizard Point
Day 30: Lizard Point to Coverack
Day 31: Rest day in Coverack
Day 32: Coverack to Maenporth
Day 43: Kingsand to Plymouth


Introduction


What a strange situation we find ourselves in. I don’t think there is a lot I can say about it all, other than I hope everyone is staying safe and following government and WHO advice, and thank you to the wonderful medical staff and everyone who is keeping things going. Here in the UK we have just entered a period of lockdown - no leaving home except for food and essential supplies, and one session of exercise a day. How quickly normal life can disappear. I’m not really able to do my work from home, so for something to do and as a distraction, I’m going to write up my big adventure from last year. If you fancy some escapism, and lots of photos of the beautiful South West coast, please join me. 

In May 2019 my 2.5 year job contract came to an end, so it was the ideal opportunity to do something I’ve fancied for a long time: Walk the South West Coast path in the UK. This is a 630 mile hiking trail, hugging the coast line from Minehead in Somerset, all the way along the north coast of Devon and Cornwall down to Land’s end, then back up the South coast of Cornwall and Devon, finishing in Studland in Dorset. I’ve lived close to the Dorset part of the coast path for much of my life, and liked the idea of walking the path; stunning scenery, time away from it all, getting back to nature, and a physical challenge. I didn’t seriously consider it until I heard an episode of the Tough Girl podcast with Zoe Langley-Wathen, who successfully walked the path a few years ago. She made it sound so achievable, and I thought, why not just do it?

The route

I made a firm decision around the middle of April, and decided to start at the end of May, a few days after my last day at work. Luckily navigating the path is very straight-forward so didn’t require much planning, just follow the signs and keep the sea on your right-hand side! To minimise costs I decided to camp, sticking to campsites as I am not an experienced wild-camper, and you can’t strictly legally wild-camp in England. I bought the SW Coast Path Association guidebook, and some very useful map books so I didn’t need to carry several OS maps. I planned to roughly following the 52 day itinerary, with adjustments depending on campsite locations (and pasty opportunities!), and a few rest days thrown in. Making a spreadsheet of campsite locations and contacts was an excellent time-waster during my last few days at work.

Maps and guide book; I recommend both!

Next up, I assembled the necessary kit. A somewhat limited budget meant I couldn’t get the newest and lightest of everything, so I made do with my chunky Decathlon sleeping bag and a perfectly serviceable Thermarest mat. I discovered Alpkit as an excellent source of good value kit. I treated myself to a lightweight tent and a simple stove, and also invested in a proper beast of an Osprey backpack. A final luxury purchase was a Finisterre insulated jacket, totally extravagant but a little bit of comfort in the cool evenings.

Too much stuff...


A comprehensive (and sometimes ill-advised) Kit List:


Osprey Ariel 65L backpack
Alpkit Ordos 3 tent with extra footprint (an excessive tent choice but I wanted to be able to use it with the boyfriend in the future)
Decathlon Forclaz light 5ยบ sleeping bag
Thermarest self-inflating mat
Snugpak bivvi bag (in case of wild camping, and also an extra layer of warmth)

Finisterre Nimbus insulated jacket
Regatta waterproof jacket (had it for ages)
Decathlon waterproof trousers (cheap and cheerful)
Regatta walking boots (more on these bastards later…)
Merrell walking sandals

Ravpower folding 16w solar panel
Kobo e-reader
Petzl Tikkina head torch + spare batteries
USB powerpack
Mains USB adaptor
iPhone 6 + cable
Garmin Vivoactive 3 watch + cable
Bluetooth headphones

Alpkit Brukit stove (cheap alternative to a Jetboil)
Keepcup
Reusable coffee filter
Plastic plate
Alpkit long spork
Spatula
Friction firestarter
Sawyer mini water filter
1.5 litre decathlon water bottle
750ml water bottle
2x folding 500ml water bottles
Swiss army knife (a lovely gift from the boyfriend)
A couple of food clips and clothes pegs
Cloth
2x zip ties
Duct tape (a couple of metres wrapped around an old cotton reel)

Fresh coffee
Instant noodles
Cereal bars
Fruit and nut mix
Oatcakes
Instant soup
(I mostly planned to buy food on the way as there are plenty of shops/cafes/restaurants on the path)

Map book
SWCP Association guidebook
Compass
Notebook + pen

First aid kit
Osprey wash bag
Nail clippers, scissors
Deodorant
Lush shampoo/soap bar
Lush moisturiser bar
Lush toothpaste tabs
Toothbrush
Moisturiser
Suncream
Aftersun
Alcohol gel
Baby wipes
Tissues
Lip salve (with spf)
Ear plugs
Contact lenses
Glasses
Sunglasses

A couple of carrier bags for rubbish etc
Trowel (advised for ‘calls of nature’)

2x Craghopper trousers
2x Craghopper shorts 
2x Patagonia t-shirts
Patagonia long sleeve t-shirt
Patagonia lightweight hoody
Lightweight trackie bottoms for camp/pjs
Cotton t-shirt for camp/pjs
Cotton socks for camp/pjs
2x sports bras
3x merino blend walking socks
5 x knickers
Bikini
Decathlon quick-drying towel 
Woolly hat
Woolly gloves
Foldable sunhat
Cheapo PlanetX buff (weirdly turned out to be my favourite item!)

Decathlon packable 20l rucksack
Drybags (1 for clothes, 1 for sleeping bag, 1 for electricals, and a big one to line the entire main rucksack compartment)
Decathlon hiking poles (lent by my Mum)

I’m sure you experienced hikers out there are rolling around laughing at that lot! Yes I definitely packed too much, it is quite hilarious seeing it all written down now. I didn’t ever weigh my pack but I suspect it was close to 20kg with food and water included! I did end up ditching several items throughout the walk when I realised they were ridiculously unnecessary.

Personalised Swiss Army knife, a gift from the boyfriend

Testing my new Alpkit stove: Really simple to use!

Too little too late, but a training walk on my local bit of path

Now, I’m not completely unfit, I do regularly walk/cycle/kayak and generally try to be quite active, but I had never before done a multi-day hike, so this was definitely going to be a new challenge. I probably did myself a favour by deciding to do it last minute, I didn’t give myself a chance to think about the actual walking part! I did squeeze a couple of test walks with the rucksack, although never completely loaded, so no chance to realise what I was really getting myself in for… Next up, can I make it up the first hill out of Minehead? Will I eat anything other than pasties for 6 weeks? And will I get blown off the cliff above Lynton? 

Why is this backpack so damn heavy?!


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