The South West Coast Path...

Agadoo · 24 Apr 2018 at 23:14

Hi,

Has anyone had any experience of walking this? I live in Dorset so know the Dorset coast, Durdle Door to Lyme very well. But I'm planning to go further afield, I've read a few posts elsewhere and watched a few videos but I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience if anyone of the path? Or must see places along the route?
I'm planning on wind camping with a dog by the way.

Thanks.
Lewis

Amp34 · 25 Apr 2018 at 00:52

I’ve done most of the Cornish coast, albeit around 10 years ago now. A beautiful stretch of the country, the biggest issue being finding somewhere to camp. It’s exposed and most of the beaches are covered at high tide or have villages on, making them difficult to camp on.

bobbyspangles · 25 Apr 2018 at 01:01

I've heard the authorities and locals in Cornwall are quite militant about wild camping on the SWCP. You will have to either be very discrete or obtain permission from the landowner first. The part I'm familiar with between Penzance and St. Ives you will struggle to find anywhere to pitch a tent that isn't a farmer's field.

gort · 25 Apr 2018 at 07:09

It's something I'd like to do but as has already been stated, getting a decent wild camping spot could be a PITA.
A lot of videos in youtube of people camping along the route don't fully disclose their camping spot (understandable) and might have been lucky not getting seen. So no guarantees.
Pitch very late, rise very early is likely the easiest way to avoid hassle camping without permission.

Rimsy · 25 Apr 2018 at 07:50

And the fact you have a dog with you will make farmers view you in even less kind eyes if you get cought on their land.
Plenty of campsites along the way though... Just may struggle finding dog friendly ones

btph · 25 Apr 2018 at 09:08

Anyone know if Penzance to St. Ives is achievable in 1 day? I understand it's a 40mile, hard, walk. But in theory, that is doable in a day. We've done 31mile/day walks (not SWCP) in the past with relative ease, ie 11hrs. My friend is convinced we could do it, I'm not so sure. I think that the narrowness and steepness of the paths, coupled with other walking traffic would slow the pace to near standstill for some of it.

#Chri5# · 25 Apr 2018 at 09:42

btph said:
Anyone know if Penzance to St. Ives is achievable in 1 day? I understand it's a 40mile, hard, walk. But in theory, that is doable in a day. We've done 31mile/day walks (not SWCP) in the past with relative ease, ie 11hrs. My friend is convinced we could do it, I'm not so sure. I think that the narrowness and steepness of the paths, coupled with other walking traffic would slow the pace to near standstill for some of it.

Can't say I've ever found the SWP that busy, more the repeated climbing and descending.

A quick route plan on RideWithGPS says 63.9 km with +1459 m / -1476 m. Chucking that through a Naismiths calculator turns up a time of 16 1/2 hours with no stops, assuming you can keep 5k/hour all day. There's a few villages for resupply but I'd want to have a solid bail-out option.

suenstar · 25 Apr 2018 at 10:56

I live around the Roseland area of Cornwall so don't visit the coastal paths further to the West as much, last went along a few sections of that area about 2 years ago.

You should be fine for most of the path between Penzance and St Ives, last I saw there were a few points that were at risk of collapse so you may need to inland for part of the route... that coastal path isn't as bad as the path section near Coverack so you shouldn't have too much disruption on the route.

As already said, it'll take the best part of 16 hours of non-stop walking so it's borderline doable in a day... however you'll most likely be wrecked by the end of it, there's also some fair inclines along that route (largely around Sennen, Botallack and Morvah) so you may want to take a break at the half-way point.
Botallack is quite a nice place to chill for a break, normally I'd say Sennen Cove would be a good place to rest as it's a lovely beach but they have a dog ban in place during this time of year... Priests Cove near Botallack is dog friendly all year round, as are the beaches around Pendeen.

I reckon it'll actually be more comfortable doing that route in reverse as you'll have more downhill than up heading to Penzance from St Ives.

hux · 25 Apr 2018 at 17:13

Most places to see will be along your route, quite easy to see and do. Camping will be difficult, cot valley you might get lucky, there's some brush you might be able to hide inside if you're late and no one sees you.

Other than that you're pretty exposed, so might have to head inland to find somewhere.

There's a nice steep climb at Porthgwarra, and Cot valley/St Just will be fairly technical, so long as you have a decent set of poles you can make it in good time provided you don't hang about.

St Just isn't far from the path, perhaps they have some kind of hostel you can bunk for the night?

Just be aware it is holiday season, so it will be busy until late.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cot_Valley

Amp34 · 25 Apr 2018 at 17:28

40 miles in a day? That’s one long slog. Why bother doing it if he’s not going to actually “savour” it. As mentioned above it may look relatively flat but there’s a lot more (usually pretty steep) vertical gain involved throughout as well.

Also, of all the Cornish section I did the part between St Ives and Lands End was by far the most stunning. Why rush it?

As for business, you won’t have a problem. Outside of the coastline in the main towns it’s basically empty. As an example the coast path to the west of St Ives is busy for around half a mile, then becomes dead as most tourists don’t go far.

bobbyspangles · 25 Apr 2018 at 20:03

btph said:
Anyone know if Penzance to St. Ives is achievable in 1 day? I understand it's a 40mile, hard, walk. But in theory, that is doable in a day. We've done 31mile/day walks (not SWCP) in the past with relative ease, ie 11hrs. My friend is convinced we could do it, I'm not so sure. I think that the narrowness and steepness of the paths, coupled with other walking traffic would slow the pace to near standstill for some of it.

Depends what you want from the experience. It might be doable as some kind of sadistic endurance challenge if that's what you're after.

Agadoo · 25 Apr 2018 at 20:32

Thanks guys, given me something to think about...I'd not even considered wild camping being an issue (and indeed tides if camping on beaches
I'm trying to do it on a very limited budget so camp sites are a no go.
I suppose the idea of pitching late and leaving early would resolve most issues, avoiding farmland and I guess the worse I could expect would be a rude awakening to being told to pack up/ not do it again?
I just assumed for one night if you leave no mess most people wouldn't mind...
Thanks for reply's so far!

moon man · 25 Apr 2018 at 20:40

i do my local coast quite abit ,usually parking at tintagel church and heading south ,im more into enjoying the veiws than the walking itself ,i enjoy the polzeath to rock section and the ferry across to padsiow , back when i was a tourist st agnes to perranporth was one of my my favorite ,sections (a lot of wild camping places in those dunes)