This was a huge challenge and one of the hardest and most rewarding things I have ever done. I decided on 25 days as I picked a daily mileage I thought was achievable but it was a real struggle at times and there were quite a few occasions where I didn’t think I would make my planned timescale or even make it to the end. I had issues with my leg throughout the last week which had swollen quite badly but I strapped it up, took painkillers and managed to limp through to the finish. I chose to do this unsupported as there was nothing recorded on the site for an unsupported time. Although I didn’t have any crew, friends or family to help me along the way I never felt unsupported as everyone I met along the way made me feel very welcome and well looked after. Plus I had huge support in the way of messages from home.
The path is so varied and the terrain was either very steep, rugged, overgrown, sandy and you can be in a busy town then on very remote cliff tops, woodland, beaches, through golf courses, valleys, old mining sites - it truly is amazing. There were also other challenges with the logistics of ferries, tides and restricted access to consider. It definitely kept it interesting the whole way through and I would highly recommend doing part or all of the path to anyone. The scenery is absolutely stunning and I will definitely be back to experience parts of it again but at a more leisurely pace. I tried to keep my Garmin recording constantly but it used up my battery so the first few days is a bit jumbled and I ended up just recording each day individually, which worked better. I have listed below the start and end point for each day and where I stayed.
day 1 Minehead to Lynmouth - Sunny Lyn Caravan Park
day 2 Lynmouth to Woolacombe - Woolacombe Bay Hotel
day 3 Woolacombe to Yelland - Tarka Trail Campsite
day 4 Yelland to Clovelly - New Inn B&B
day 5 Clovelly to Bude - Upper Lynstone Caravan Park
day 6 Bude to Tintagel- Headland Caravan Park
day 7 Tintagel to Harlyn Bay - Mother Iveys Caravan Park
day 8 Harlyn Bay to Perranporth - Seiner Arms B&B
day 9 Perranporth to Gwithian - Churchtown Farm Caravan Site
day 10 Gwithian to Lands End - Cot Valley YHA
day 11 Lands End to Marazion - Dove Meadows Campsite
day 12 Marazion to Lizard - Haelarcher B&B
day 13 Lizard to Maenporth - Tregedna Caravan Park
day 14 Maenporth to Gorran - Treveague Campsite
day 15 Gorran to Polruan - Polruan Holidays Caravan and Camping
day 16 Polruan to Looe - Bay View Caravan Park
day 17 Looe to Jennycliff - St Anne’s House
day 18 Jennycliff to Bolberry - Kerrageen Caravan and Camping
day 19 Bolberry to Stoke Fleming - Leonard’s Cove Campsite
day 20 Stoke Fleming to Babbacombe - The Babbacombe Hotel
day 21 Babbacombe to Sidmouth Kingswoid & Devoran Hotel
day 22 Sidmouth to Eype - Eype House Holiday Park
day 23 Eype to Portland Bill - The Bunkhouse
day 24 Portland Bill to Lulworth Cove - Lulworth YHA
day 25 Lulworth Cove to Haven Point - Home!