Finished!

 

At lunchtime on a bright, sunny and warm day I arrived at South Haven Point in Dorset and celebrated arriving at the end of the 630 mile South West Coast Path with a bottle of champagne – shared with a beach fisherman and several surprised locals out for a stroll. There is no better way to finish than a walk along a nice flat beach in the sunshine – not least because this was in direct contrast to the weather and the terrain on other parts of the Path!

This was the culmination of weeks of walking over the last 3 years and it prompted me to reflect on some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the experience.

Encouraged and accompanied by friends along the way – and special thanks go to Anne and Bill who travelled from Texas to join me on more than one occasion and were always encouraging even when I was cranky – one of my abiding memories will be of the kindness of total strangers, from the bed and breakfast places that welcomed you even when soaking wet, late and dripping water all over their carpets to the taxi drivers who gave impromptu tours of the local area and the church congregation who gave me a round of applause!

The weather, of course, features prominently. The days when it poured with rain or blew a gale (particularly memorable when descending cliffs and wondering how long it would be before being blown off) and the days of gorgeous sunshine and beautiful views all vie with each other for pride of place in the memory.   

There are the practical problems (particularly my questionable navigational skills) that also loom large in the memory. Contrary to the popular belief that you simply put the sea on your right and all would be well navigation did sometimes prove a challenge. I had a “senior moment” on Sidmouth sea front and mixed up my “east” with my “west” ( which is not the way to make friends with the taxi driver waiting for you and who had not made the same mistake). There were diversions and on the Jurassic Coast even the diversions had diversions. I do pride my self that I did not, unlike two walkers ahead of me, after negotiating a long stretch of wet, fallen rock followed that diversion sign that had been erected at the end of it which took them all the way back to the beginning of it…….

These were eventful weeks interrupted by major business crises or shortened by the need to attend professional engagements but the weeks were a haven where the main concern was whether or not you were up to the required effort …. Very relaxing, in a masochistic sort of way!

Thanks in abundance to Suzanne and to Ian for their superb organisation – the accommodation, the travel arrangements, the guides and the maps. Could not have done it without you!

It is now finished but I awoke this morning thinking … anyone for the Wales Coast Path??                                                          

  

Keith Wilding