Last summer my daughter spent three weeks attempting to hike England’s 630 mile South West Coast Path.

Beautiful and rugged cliff side walking

I say attempt because she gave it her best shot for three weeks.

But after rain, rain and more rain, ferry schedules that didn’t mesh with her timetable. expensive plus hard to book B&B’s (because of Bank holiday weekends), plus a loneliness on this trail that she hadn’t experienced on any of Spain’s long distance trails, she called it quits and headed by ferry from Plymouth to Santander, Spain and hiked the whole of the Camino del Norte – a long distance trail across the top of Spain. And she thoroughly enjoyed herself there.

Still looking back over her pictures she had plenty of good things to say. The scenery is fantastic – even if it’s tough going and treacherous in places. B&B owners are friendly and the food is much better than what you typically get in Spain on the trail.

But there were cows that cornered her and made her fear for her life, cliff side walking where a fall would result in death, loads of biting insects and very few people. That – and the rain – is why she decided to head for Spain.

She recommends doing it with a friend and picking a section rather than the whole trail. In three weeks she met only one other hiker planning to do the whole path but lots of people out for a day, a weekend or a week.

When I look at her pictures it absolutely makes me want to hike it. But I think I’d take her advice and go with a friend or my husband so there is someone to share the experience.  And with England’s notoriously wet weather, a week in the rain would be okay but  6-8 weeks, the time it takes to do the whole trail,  wouldn’t be any fun with constant rain.

All of her photos below were taken with a phone – so the quality isn’t quite as good – but the coastal beauty still shines through.

The start of the Southwest Coast Path in Minehead, England

Pastoral scene

Caribbean like colour to the sea on a sunny day

You have a choice – wait for the funicular or zigzag your way up this steep slope; the town of Lynmouth is at the bottom, Lynton is at the top

I don’t associate England with snakes

Beaches off the southwest coast of England

Moody skies under constant threat of rain

Quite the contrasts in the colour of the fields

Lonely looking building on a deserted beach

MUD!

Walking in a scene that’s close to black and white

Trail lined with heather

Very pretty walking the further south you go

Surfing in England is big. Who knew?

Nothing but heather as far as the eye can see

Impressive colours for the middle of summer

The sea is your constant companion

Looks more like an artist’s rendering than the real scene that it is

Does hiking the whole of the South West Coast Path have any appeal for you?

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