I walked the South West Coast Path solo…AMA

[SeaSwimsEveryDay]

It’s a 630 mile hiking trail around the coast of Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. I carried my own camping equipment with me the whole way, and it was one of the best experiences of my life!

I thought I’d do an AMA in case anyone else is planning their own Salt Path/ Cheryl Strayed experience and is looking for inspiration or tips.

Wow! Well done, I would love to do that!

How long did it take?

Thats an amazing achievement. How long did it take you? Did you do a lot of training? How did your body cope, especially your feet and knees? Did you suffer many injuries?

Did you wild camp or book campsites ahead?
Did you ever feel scared at night on your own or have any bad experiences?

Incredible, what one piece of equipment did you take that you couldn't be without?

Thanks! It took 8 weeks in total. I did 5 weeks in one summer, then the remaining 3 weeks the next summer (including rest days). Some people do it in as little as 30 days, some take much longer.

Did you get blisters? What was your average daily mileage?

Well done, I live very near to the SW coast path. It’s amazing. I’ve walked bits but have no inclination to walk the whole route. Some sections are too scary!

@dammit88 8 weeks in total (over two summers). I didn’t do much specific training. Something a lot of people in the long distance hiking world say is ‘training happens on the trail’. Essentially, nothing can really prepare you for walking for 10 hours a day every day carrying a 17kg pack apart from actually doing it!

Having said that, I started in July 2021, after lockdown, and had spent a lot of lockdown walking around my local area. So often had high step count days (20k steps plus most weekend days). Walking on pavements with no backpack is very, very different though.

My body coped fine, basically. I used walking poles, which were really useful in helping distribute the weight of my pack and I think helped protect my knees. Feet were fine bar a few blisters at the beginning. I took a small ‘pedi roller’ with me which I used to stretch out my feet most evenings, and that helped.

@ItMustBeBedtimeSurely I wild camped a handful of nights (during the second half - when I was more confident!) which I enjoyed. I mostly would get to about 2pm, see how I was feeling, and then think about where I would camp that evening and give a campsite a call. Most campsites said they would never turn away a backpacker - and most did really cheap backpacker rates (like £5 a night).

A lot of campsite recommendations were word of mouth from people I met on the path, too - there are a couple of legendary coast path campsites like Cerenety campsite in Bude, Henry’s at the Lizard, Bay View Farm outside Looe, and a secret one just outside Port Isaac 😉

I never felt scared or have any bad experiences, honestly. I just felt free, and very grateful!

What did you do on days when the weather was rainy etc? Did you cook your own meals at the campsites? Do they have basic supplies if you arrive late and shops are closed?

@HelloVeritas I loved my little lightweight tent. My palace and my home! I felt so safe inside it.

My second summer, I also invested in a much warmer sleeping bag, which increased my comfort at night a lot (the first summer I managed with a one season one, but did get cold some nights).

Amazing! I’d love to do this. Can’t get the time off work at the moment, but I’m hoping to be more flexible once the kids leave home and have lots of daydreams about long-distance walking, including the South West coast path.

My question is about carrying your camping stuff. I’d love to do this but hate carrying heavy bags. Did you get used to it or was it tough? I would prefer to stay in B&Bs, etc, but that would be so expensive and you’d need to stick to a fixed plan. Did you find the bag got easier over time? How much did it weigh with all your stuff in?

Do you work? I'd love to do this but there's no way I could get even three consecutive weeks off, let alone five.

@Idrankyourbananamilk a couple of blisters at the start, but not bad ones, and nothing a few Compeed couldn’t fix.

Hmm - daily mileage was probably around 14 - 15ish? The elevation profile on the SWCP is the highest of any trail in the UK, so there is a lot of ascent and climbing each day, which adds on more time than people expect (me included!).

@DobbyTheHouseElk oh, lucky you living so close to the path! Which county? Walking it means I remember each bit so clearly, and love hearing from people who live close to it!

Oh, also, what about going to the loo? Are there a lot of public conveniences on route, or was this sometimes an issue?

And, given you name, did you do a lot of swimming? It must be a great route for that!

I feel very nervous about walking alone anywhere in the countryside, let alone the Coastal paths. I’m afraid I might pass someone who will double back & attack me from behind.

I think I’m a bit paranoid so did you ever feel nervous about that especially on a very isolated stretch? It’s not unknown for attacks to happen.

@icelolly12 I was actually really lucky with the weather both summers. There was the mad heat wave in 2021, and really hardly any rain. However, there was one really stormy night where completely by chance I was passing through Newquay, and had decided to stay in a B&B that night anyway. I did laundry, then ate takeaway Thai food in the B&B listening to the storm rattle at the windows. It’s good to remember that there are always B&Bs for emergencies, and to build those into your funds. The camping is so cheap that the odd B&B feels fine.

2022 weather was still pretty amazing, but there were a couple more drizzly days. One morning was properly rainy, and so I stayed in my tent and read my kindle and drank tea, then set off around midday when the rain had eased. Walking in drizzle is fine - rainjacket on and keep pushing on! I had a raincover for my pack, and all my stuff was in a dry bag inside.

Now you’ve done it… what next?

@icelolly12 realized you asked about food too!

I carried a few v boring, lightweight meals for emergencies if there were no other food options nearby. Mainly just noodles and a packet of ‘Pasta n Sauce’. Most campsites had little shops with noodle type options. I preferred having a meal during the day (got very used to a pub lunch in the South Cornwall fishing villages…) and then snacking on nuts, trail mix, love corn etc in the evening. If campsites offered food I ate there if I could (it always felt like a bonus if I spotted a pizza oven!).

You find out what works for you though as you go. Some people always cook every night at their campsites when backpacking - but I used my stove as a last resort!

An amazing achievement!

Did you ever get lonely? Did it feel like a meditative/ spiritual experience? Did you get any aches and pains that you needed to see treatment for before continuing? Also interested in the toilet thing, what do you do if you need to do a number 2 on the trail?

thank you

If I wanted to do a 5-10 mile stretch with great views, a pub at the end and a bus back to where I started. Is there anywhere in particular that you can think of that broadly fits?

@Crampo I do work - but I’m a teacher, which is why I was able to do this. Could you take two weeks off each summer, and do it over 4 years? I met a lot of people doing things like that!

Sounds amazing OP! I'm in awe!

What were the worst bits?