Hi Fodorites -- Hikrguy and I are looking for some information on a possible walk next summer/fall on the Southwest Coast Path around the edge of Cornwall in England. An old friend of mine who is English did a portion of it last year and sent me some stunning photos of his walk. Has anyone ever done any of this trail?

We are not looking to accomplish the whole trail, or even a majority of it; we're looking to do a 9- or 10-day (on the ground not including travel from NYC) trip and visit some of the villages and towns in Cornwall, and also walk on the Coastal Path. Also, visiting Port Isaac since we are Doc Martin fans. I'm looking on Path website and see that there are companies which will take your bags from place to place so you walk with just a daypack. I'm wondering if this is the best way to do it, or can you stay at one place for a couple days, go to the trail, and then do various sections, instead of moving every night? We did that on the Tour du Mont Blanc two years ago and it was exhausting.

Would we be better with hiring a car to drive around -- taking the train out from London or Heathrow depending on when we arrive, and then getting a car at the train station -- or is it better to do a self-guided walk company that will take us to various parts of the trail?

and lastly, what might be the best time of the year to do this? What's the weather like in the very edges of Cornwall? We are able to go at any time of the year. We are late 40s/early 50s.

thanks for any and all guidance!
--hikrchick

Hikrchick - I've never walked the whole of the coastal path [though there is a group that does a bit of it every month until they've done the whole lot, and then they turn round and do it in the other direction] but I have walked some parts of it. The bit around Port isaac and south down to Land's End and round to Porthcurno on the south coast would make a great multi day walk.

instead of moving on every day [which I agree can be quite exhausting] you could choose somewhere like Penzance, which I believe has some good bus links to the coast, to walk various sections; you could even get taxis to take you to a starting point, and then walk back to wherever you want to end up.

Falmouth is also a great place to base for a few days as there are many boats that you can use to access various parts of the coast which have great walks. Ditto Fowey.

As for the best times of year, I would suggest April/May or September as being the best bets for good weather. I particularly like the spring because of the gardens being at their best then, but autumn can also be good as we often have an "indian summer" and if you like the swim, the water is at its warmest.

To get here the easiest way is to get the train from London Paddington to Penzance. The stretch of line between Exeter and the Tamar is particularly fine and is a classic train journey.

If you can provide links to any of the companies you have been looking at, I will be happy to look at them and tell you what I think.

I've walked long distance paths in England, including part of the SW Coast Path but only a day, to Land's End, on the part you're contemplating. I was staying in St. Ives and got there & away afterward on the bus that does a circular route from St. Ives to Penzance, a very good service if you stay in 1 or the other place (or along the route).

General advice: Study the Ordnance Survey (OS) maps for the parts of the path that interest you, paying particular attention to the contour lines that tell you changes in elevation and how steep. The section I walked, Exmouth to Weymouth just about did me in because I stupidly didn't pay attention and didn't realize the drastic ups & downs I was about to discover where rivers enter the channel. Very important!

General advice #2: I decided one time to give a move-your-luggage-every-day company a try and thought it afterward completely unnecessary and a waste of money. Yes, they booked my accommodations, some I'd have chosen myself and some not. Better, I think to do it yourself or if off-season, play it as you go with a list of places along the path (though Cornwall may be sparser in that regard). And I simply didn't need my suitcase at any time and afterward went back to leaving it at a hotel and just taking a change & essentials in a day pack. That remains how I do it. It depends on if you like the independence that going it on your own affords. I do.

You're going to have a wonderful time, even if it kills you! Which it has me a number of times and I'm never happier.

I forgot to give you this link, showing the OS maps which include footpaths, local and long-distance. The long-distance paths are named. The Southwest Coast Path is a broken line with diamonds (colored green on the 1/25,000 scale which is the best for walking). You can buy the OS maps you want before you go or after you get there from any number of places.

http://streetmap.co.uk/

After finding a place you want, to the right of the map choose the larger "map size" and above the word "print" choose the scale. 1/25,000 is 3rd from the bottom. Have fun (I love these maps!)

Hi Ann, so good to "see" you -- I haven't been around the past few months. Thank you for all your knowledge! This is all such good information -- this will definitely help us at least create a starting point for research.

I really like the idea of using one place like Penzance (nope, not going to make a G&S joke though I really want to!) or Falmouth. I am thinking that in 9 or 10 days it would be good to have 2 5-day bases. That would help us not to feel like we're rushing.

As for the calendar, I saw that May has 2 bank holidays so I'd prefer to stay away at that time. Though hearing about lovely gardens might make me take a risk. And next year the Jewish autumn holy days are early -- they start September 10th, so we would have to be home before that. How crowded would it be in June?

I saw a list of companies on the South West Coast Path website: https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.u...day-providers/ . Encounter Walking sounds like it will customize a trip.

Thanks again for your advice!

MmePerdu, thank you for the link to the ordnance map -- I've been hoping to look at one of those. How great to hear there's a bus that goes on the route to/from Penzance; that would make things a lot easier than trying to find trail heads with a car.

In general I agree with your General Advice #2 regarding booking yourself as opposed to having someone do it. When we hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc we did it that way with a group so that we weren't alone up there --we had a tour leader and 12 other people so Hikrguy and I didn't kill each other from hanging out too much together on that trail. ;-) We prefer doing it ourselves but dealing with the French Alps and little villages and hotels was beyond our language skills. This would be much easier, I think.

great info, thank you so much!

The SW coast path is glorious. BUT: Are you experienced walkers? Some of the SW coastal path makes for very tough walking. A LOT of up & down, quite rocky at times.

Here's the official guide: https://m.southwestcoastpath.org.uk
Note - if it says a section is difficult it means it.

It is possible to find lots of books about it, and you may find details of circular walks using bits of the path.

June would be a good month - long daylight hours, but between the two holiday periods of May and July/August.

Weather is always unpredictable though. There could be rain/mist/wind at any time.

Always tell someone where you're going - there's always a risk of broken ankles, especially if you're not in the right footwear, and there's not often a phone signal.

Oh, I've just realised your user name. Yes, clearly you are experienced hikers!

A lot of people just assume that it's going to be a stroll in the park....

I've only done a very small part, Portwrinkle to Fowey. We stayed between Looe and Polperro and could join the path at the base of our hotel's garden.

Even this small bit was great fun. The path at the time (20 years ago) was well-maintained with steps cut in to even slightly steep sections. I have a feeling this was a duffer's walk!

http://www.cornishman.com/fowey-to-p...ey_to_looe.htm

I lied - I have walked another bit of the path, from outside St. Ives into the town from my hotel in Carbis Bay. If you like the idea of being on the bus loop I mentioned, the circular route with St. Ives & Penzance on either end, that could be a good area for you. The bus stop was very near the hotel. I used the bus to go from Carbis Bay to Penzance and also to access an out-of-town part of coast path one day. There's also a Carbis Bay train stop, the last before the end of the line in St. Ives, which I used to arrive & depart and also on a day trip to a National Trust property, Trerice, while I was there.

Too busy/tired to look at your links, hkrchick, but I'll be back.

June would be good; though the gardens are largely past their best, the hedgerows are spectacular at that time of year, and you will have lovely long days.

I will only add . . . Major ditto to the Ordnance survey Explorer maps - not the Landranger series. No matter what part of the country one is visiting. Order ahead of time the ones for areas you think you'll want to walk. Those elevation changes, fords, etc are really important in planning possible routes/segments. They are laminated/waterproof.

When I lived in the UK we had one whole book shelf filed w/ OS maps.

As far as I know, the OS Explorer maps (1/25,000 scale) come in both paper ("standard", £9) or laminated ("weatherproof", £15). I've never bought the more expensive laminated version and have found the paper work fine. You can also print those on the streetmap.co.uk website and either buy the maps, widely available after you arrive, or not buy them at all, just use the printed pages. It can get expensive if you begin buying the maps because you might need them. They are wonderful maps to play with at home, it's true, but not necessary to have before you have a firm plan.

If I were on a walk where I needed a map out in my hands much of the time I might consider the laminated version. But the walks are so well marked, especially when following the coast or a waterway, there's little opportunity to get lost or end up with a wet map.

Often, after buying the maps and having a firm plan, I take it to a place that does large format (11 x 14) color copies and have them copy the sections I'll need. Then I don't even bother bring the whole map with me. At that scale they're pretty big and for a walk of more than a few days it can get cumbersome. I sometimes walk a map a day at the slow speed I go. If you go at a clip, that's a bunch of maps.

Often, after buying the maps and having a firm plan, I take it to a place that does large format (11 x 14) color copies and have them copy the sections I'll need. Then I don't even bother bring the whole map with me. At that scale they're pretty big and for a walk of more than a few days it can get cumbersome. I sometimes walk a map a day at the slow speed I go. If you go at a clip, that's a bunch of maps
*******

this is a brilliant idea! Thanks, Mme Perdu! I wonder if I can get the maps on Amazon.

OK, after a couple hours today of research, here's what it's starting to sound like: a route from St. Ives to Penzance. A one-day diversion to Port Isaac and Tintagel Castle. And another one-day diversion to St. Michael's Mount, which I just randomly saw as a dot on google maps and had to look closer.

We would stay for part of it in Penzance. But it seems that it's super-easy to get to the trail across Cornwall at St. Ives from there, anyway. We would come in by train and then rent a car there for however many days we might need it -- if at all. However, I might not want to stay for all 9 nights in the same place. What would be another good area to experience?

Is it possible to walk 12 miles in one day? Is it mostly flat? In the Alps, it was all up and down (the guide said, grinning, "it's 2 hours of up, and then a traverse, and then 2 hours of down") and 10 miles took 8 hours. Also, thoughts about using hiking poles -- necessary or not?

I showed Hikrguy my research and he is very enthusiastic!

As I mentioned in my first near the top, get the maps (or look on Streetmap) with particular attention to the contour lines. AS I'm sure you know, the closer together the steeper the slope. As I've just done a short walk on that part of the path, Sennen Cove to Land's End, it was along the face of the slope to the sea, steep but with no rivers emptying there. But where there are rivers it can be slow going indeed, steep descents & ascents, possibly with uneven stairs because of the incline. At least that was my experience in Dorset. I wouldn't make any appointments.

I haven't walked more than a few short segments a couple of decades ago. But flat it will NOT be. Even the roads go steeply up and down.

Before you make firm plans about which sections to walk, buy the guide or guides for the sections that interest you. There will different ones for each section. Read them and find the parts of the path that you're willing to take on. I recommend you do that first rather than deciding on a town you'd like to be near. You want the most suitable walks and the towns you like the sound of may, in fact, be the most arduous walking. You can visit those towns by car.

From Amazon:
- South West Coast Path: Minehead to Padstow: National Trail Guide, by Roland Tarr
- South West Coast Path: Padstow to Falmouth: National Trail Guide, by John Macadam
- South West Coast Path: Falmouth to Exmouth: National Trail Guides, by Brian Le Messurier and John Macadam

If you put this into the Amazon search engine:

walking the south west coast path

You will get seven pages of hits. Most of them are straight guides, but towards the end there are some guides to short walks rather the whole thing, and there are a few books by people who have walked it themselves.

International Travel News recently ran a piece on companies offering walking tours that were recommended by readers. The itineraries may gove you some ideas even if you want to go it alone:

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/destina...land/cornwall/

Yes, there are loads of guides. But I particularly recommend the ones that are "OS National Trail Guides". I've found them to be most useful and been disappointed in others. They have text keyed to the OS maps as you go along. Then, with your own bigger copies of the maps, they're a joy to use and read about what you're seeing and sometimes slight deviations to other sites close by the path.

When I have a moment I will look at the guides that we've got to the coastal path. i don't remember the whole of the path from PZ to St Ives but undoubtedly bits of it are up and down - the part around Portscatho [where the Minack theatre is] for example is very hilly. But you'll have no difficulty following it - it is a very well worn trail.

The other areas you might think about are the ones I mentioned above - Falmouth, where there are lots of boats trips to get you about, and Fowey, where there are a couple of outstanding walks that DH and I did some years ago now.