I just walked the entire South West Coast Path

[babybluefish]

For four years I had been slowly losing myself in the fog of menopausal rage, anxiety, insomnia and weight gain.

My bedside drawer was filling with remedies and supplements that did little to ease my symptoms.

Walking was the only thing that kept me on the right side of sanity, and quite possibly of prison.

From July to October I walked alone the 630 mile South West Coast Path.

AMA

I live in the South Downs National Park and keep promising I will do it.

Polruan to Polperro certainly is a brutal section!

I can't say that I hated any part, but the hardest parts were not because of the terrain or distance but rather because of the weather or my own tiredness.

My 'home' area, although I now live in Bulgaria, was Plymouth so psychologically I had to battle with having walked 'home.

The day I headed onwards from Plymouth was also a very, very wet and stormy day.

What an achievement! I live in Torquay and would have offered you a nice meal when you were passing!

Did you have a favourite place you visited?

That's so kind, thank you.
I stayed in the thrilling and edgy Trecarn hotel when I passed through Torquay.
Bingo and cabaret every night!

It's impossible to say a favourite place.
Marazion and Gorran Haven were two places where I felt a strong "I could live here" feeling.
But I really could say good things about every place I passed through.

I'm most jealous! I read "500 mile walkies" as a kid and decided that one day I'd do this. I'm 40 now and have never quite found myself with the time. Still determined to do it one day though.

That’s amazing! I’m going to order your book!

I live on part of the path but would love to do the whole thing. One day!

I did a three day Dartmoor hike/camp which was great (hard at times but worth it).

My question would be what are your three top tips for anyone considering doing this?

I really hope you both manage to do it one day.

I waited over 30 years and the idea of doing it grew and took on momentum with the Amazon purchases of a back pack and sleeping bag etc.
Before I knew it I had bought a train ticket to Taunton and was standing at the monument, with excited butterflies.
When we lived in the UK we lived right on the edge of Dartmoor at the start of the Two Moors Way.
I had an idea to offer beds and cooked breakfasts to the hikers that passed through, and before we knew it every bedroom was full of guests and my husband and I were sleeping in the living room.
Top three tips?
Gosh, I suppose to go slowly is a big one. Like life itself, it really isn't a race.
Also to travel light. It is so liberating to carry exactly what you need to survive and no more.
For women of my age, or any woman, I would strongly advise a tent that has a large enough porch or internal area, away from bedding, and an all-purpose beaker!

Oh OP from one menopausal Plymothian who loves to hike to another I couldn't resist, I had to buy your book. I only read on holiday though so going to save it for that.

My next question is how hard was it to publish on Amazon?

My daughter is currently tearing her hair out over my inability to grasp how Instagram works, and most techie things are beyond me, but the self-publishing was shockingly easy.

Having said that, if any publishers would like to poach me I would probably be just as shockingly easy to hook.

My paperback version will hopefully be published any day now.

The manuscript is currently with freelancer from Fiverr who is formatting it and doing me a cover.

Anyway, I'm happy to give free extracts to anyone who asks, and love answering questions.

Whortleberry shotgun man was seen off by a few sharp blasts on my emergency whistle and an fake dog.

all right... I must hear more about the wife swap offer.

I posted an extract from my book lower down the thread which describes the wife swap man encounter.

ah, read more carefully. Your heart was nearly won over by Dairy Milk.

My stomach

@babybluefish I love that book and still have it, you’ve made me want to re read it, ‘ Ronnie Corbett ‘ will make me laugh until the day I die 😊
An amazing achievement.

I still have it too, and despite having moved across Europe with all my belonging in a trailer it was one of the very few books I kept!

My book is written in the same wryly humourous style, and I credit finding humour in everything with my completing the path.

Humour including black humour is also a key menopause survival strategy, which I why I think so many women are so funny to be around.

I credit the blackberries as being my sole source of dietary fibre and antioxidants though.

If you would like to read about my adventures, and stories from the people I met on the path, the kindle book is FREE today to download from Amazon.

"I'm no Shakespeare: Walking the Coast Path" by Cheryl Dummer

Hope you enjoy it 😊👍

Thank you ! Just bought and looking forward to reading it.

Loving this thread!

I'm only just reading The Salt Path but have just moved home to the UK after a decade in the States and consuming a lot of hikers' books about the PCT and the Appalachian Trail and would love to do a long distant walk one day - have hungered for Camino El Santiago too. We live in the South Downs now and DH and I have our eyes on doing the South Downs Way in 2024 in one go, and I have a friend who is aiming to complete the Coastal Path bit by bit before she's 50.

Thanks for taking time to respond to all the questions and for posting some of your book, I don't have any more questions just enjoying reading all your answers! I think there's something to be said for harnessing the hag of the menopause and striking out on your own for a bit...I'm only 40 but I think this is a brilliant aim (especially because I'll be like you and empty-nested by the time the menopause rolls around)

You've also inspired me to start doing 100 squats every time I go to the loo !!

Just read your book sample and loved it, have downloaded the whole thing for free - Thank you, it feels criminal that it is free, but grateful anyway 😊

Thank you 😊

Please do review my book!

It's tough bring a self published author, and quite more than a bit cringey having to self promote.

I only get 8p per paperback in royalties from Amazon, so it's my pleasure to let as many people as possible read for free on the five days every month that Amazon allow me to list for free!

And good luck with the squats! 😁

Ah, nice one OP. Interesting that the walk had such a positive effect on your menopause symptoms. Who can forget Moth from the Salt Path and the near miraculous effect long distance walking had on his health? A good friend claims serious running helped her through the menopause.

I find that I'm getting regular episodes of feeling weak and fatigued with peri, but if I push through them- somewhere at about mile 7- I get a second wind and can walk my usual amount. I do lots of day walks on the Coast Path (I live round 'ere),but like a PP was foolish enough to have a child at 41, so it's difficult to get away for longer. I am eyeing up the Via Francigena though....

Any good hiking areas/ routes you'd recommend in Bulgaria?

Well done OP,

I have, so far, walked about 100 miles of the path (not in one go), I have got as far as Hartland Point.

I had quite a serious ankle break a couple of years ago and am just building myself up to restart but the next stretch is quite challenging so I want to make sure I'm up to it.

I would love to do it in one go though, amazing.

Question:

Did you meet any resistance from friends/ family at the idea of doing this alone over such a long period?

Yes, the effect on the anxiety and hot flushes was almost instant relief.
This was from a gradual build up of having been taking lots of supplements and herbal meno remedies, to overnight taking nothing but fresh air and prolonged exercise.
I tried running and the effects on mental health are all positive, but I kept getting silly physical ailments that I don't get from walking.
Oh yes, the Via Francigena does look very tempting. It has been recommended to me several times too!
There is a west to east long distance trail in Bulgaria called the Kom Emine trail, which is about the same length as the SWCP.
It follows the Balkan mountain ranges through the country from Serbia to the Black Sea.
I did an English conversation lesson plan about it once when teaching Bulgarians English.
In the Rila mountains where I live there are lots of good day walks, but nothing beats walking by the sea.
I miss it.