| Day | Route | Mileage | Approx time |
| 1 | Minehead to Porlock Weir | 8.9 | 5 hours |
| 2 | Porlock Weir to Lynmouth | 12.1 | 6 hours |
| 3 | Lynmouth to Combe Martin | 13.7 | 7 hours |
| 4 | Combe Martin to Woolacombe | 13.9 | 7.5 hours |
| 5 | Woolacombe to Braunton | 15 | 5.75 hours |
We started at Minehead in August 2015 and we were lucky enough to choose the last day of the Minehead Harbour Festival, which was marked by a fantastic fireworks display. A fitting send off to mark the beginning of our adventure!
The SWCP is very well signposted and the acorn appears at most junctions, so it is almost impossible to get lost, even without a map. It was raining as we set off and the visibility was poor. We couldn’t see the sea, but we could sense it: the lapping of waves, its faint tangy smell, the calls of sea birds. Uncomfortably wet and expecting an imperfect day, something incredible unfurled in front of our eyes. After lunch, which we had eaten whilst perched on a bench, with our backs to the sea as the view was a white sheet of cloud, I turned round. Spectacularly, the cloud had lifted to present us with a most glorious panorama. Moors, heather, cliffs, the sea, Lundy Island and Wales. They were all present. The first wow moment of many we were to encounter on this path. As if the Gods had lit up the scene especially for us.
On day two we walked through the empty car park of the amazing Valley of the Rocks early in the morning, in full sun, before any tourists had arrived. These extraordinary rock formations, and the magnificent views from them, were the beginning of a spectacular day. We climbed Great Hangman, which is the highest point of the entire SWCP, enabling far reaching visibility inland to Exmoor and out to sea to Lundy Island and Wales.
On the wild section between Combe Martin and Woolacombe, I experienced the first test of my fear of heights. The path was single file, and high, and to the right was a very steep drop straight into the sea. It reminded me of a single track country lane with no passing spaces. With shaky legs and my eyes fixed on where I was placing each step, I nervously moved forwards. I couldn’t take my eyes off the path as I would then have to look ahead or, even worse, down. I didn’t want my brain to become conscious of the height, the gradient or how long this would go on for. I was praying no-one would come in the opposite direction. Nicky, my unflappable companion, ably coached me through these vertigo-inducing sections, keeping up my ailing spirits.
Arriving at a craggy headland, with space away from the edge, Nicky wandered freely with no hint of anxiety, whilst I nervously clung to a rock. In relative safety I could finally relax and allowed myself to look back and take in the enormity of what I had just achieved. The tiny trail had cut through a cliffside covered in mauve heather in full bloom. The path was thin, the drop was sheer. I felt a deep satisfaction of being on this path and looked forward to overcoming any new challenges that may lie ahead.
On the last day of this section, the path was a relatively flat walk around Braunton Burrows. At this point, after covering 50 undulating miles in 4 days, I was in agony with a sore knee. Filled with painkillers, I lumbered and limped my way to Braunton.
I realised that, to get through the next 565 miles, I needed to address my fitness.
| Drive to Taunton and park car |
| Bus Taunton to Minehead (Buses of Somerset, Bus 28) – 1hr 20 min |
| Walk from Minehead to Braunton |
| Bus Braunton to Barnstaple (Stagecoach South West, Bus 21 or 21A) – 20 mins |
| Train Barnstaple to Taunton (Great Western Railway/Cross Country via Exeter) – 2 hours |
| Minehead | Old Ship Aground, Quay Street, Minehead, Somerset, TA24 5UL |
| Porlock | Sea View, High Bank, Porlock, Somerset, TA24 8NP |
| Lynmouth | Bonnicott House, 10 Watersmeet Road, Lynmouth, North Devon, EX35 6EP |
| Combe Martin | Fontenay B & B, Woodlands, Combe Martin, Devon, EX34 0AT |
| Woolacombe | Eddy’s, 3 Granville Terrace, West Road, Woolacombe, Devon EX34 7BW |
