I’ve just completed one of the UK’s most iconic National Trails—the South West Coast Path, spanning 630 miles of stunning scenery! In 40 days, I experienced everything from rugged cliffs to peaceful beaches. Thanks to the support of @zoleolifeeurope and the #ChallengeWithZoleo, this adventure tested my endurance and left me in awe of the British coastline.
Read on to explore the daily adventures and challenges I faced along the way!
Day 1 🥾South West Coast Path 🏴, UK National Trail 🇬🇧 📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ℹ️Stats: Sunday 28th July
Weather: sunny & hot 🥵
From: @armchairadventurefestival
Start time: 1pm 🚗 with @randogirl42 to Taunton. Bus to Minehead. 5pm. 6pm start of SWCP
To: before bossington village
End time: 9pm
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: grassy paths, well maintained coastal footpaths
🥾Km: 12.8
🥾Miles: 8
🦶Steps: 17,869
Total 8/630 = 1.3% done ✅
💰Costs: £2 bus from Taunton to Minehead.
£12.25 burger & chips (no bun) at Wetherspoons
£5.80 Morrisons -water, cheese, wine gums
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10 epic to be out here 🥳
Fatigue: 4/10 - not horrendous but when it got to 9 o’clock I was feeling tired and wanted to stop.
Ease of terrain: 4/10 in terms of the ups and downs not so bad to start with. And the paths has been well maintained.
⭐️Highlights: the weather. Finally some sunshine! ☀️ so nice being back out in nature. Seeing a wild pony and avoiding the cows!
🏔️Challenges: lower back is playing up. Lots of thoughts that I need to sort through. So good to have some quiet time to reflect and process.
💭Thoughts: so excited to be out here. Looking forward to seeing how the adventure unfold. 😊
Day 2 🥾South West Coast Path 🏴, UK National Trail 🇬🇧 📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ℹ️Stats: Monday 29th July
Weather: Sunny ☀️ & hot!
From: before bossington village
Start time: 7.15am
To: 2 miles before Lynmouth
End time: 7pm
Accommodation: wild camped ⛺️
Terrain:forests, grassy tracks.
🥾Km: 15.6
🥾Miles: 11
🦶Steps:20,042
Total 19/630 miles 3% done ✅
💰Costs: brunch £5 eggs, bacon, avocado
£3.50 hot chocolate. Total £8.50
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 4/10
Ease of terrain: 4/10
⭐️Highlights: I was dreaming about bacon eggs and avocado. And having that for breakfast made my day. It was nice walking in the forest as I was out of the heat at the midday.
🏔️Challenges: i’ve been scratched a lot on my legs by brambles. Also found two ticks on me. They are so small. I do a tick check every night before bed. But I will start doing it during the day after I take a rest break.
💭Thoughts: still trying to process a lot of thoughts. But this has been amazing thinking time. I think in a few more days mentally I’ll be in better place. (I’m not in a bad place now. I’m just trying to organise thoughts/make plans etc) basically get things straight in my head.
Day 3 🥾South West Coast Path 🏴, UK National Trail 🇬🇧 📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ℹ️Stats: Tuesday 30th July
Weather: Sunny ☀️ & hot
From: 2 miles before Lynmouth
Start time: 7.40am
To: just outside Combe Martin
End time: 9pm - this does include multiple breaks.
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: coastal paths, forest, little bit of road, rocky paths.
🥾Km: 20.2
🥾Miles: 14
🦶Steps: 25,985
Total = 33/630 5% done ✅
💰Costs: £18.75 - fingers breakfast/gluten-free & Fruits smoothie
£2.75 - elderflower juice drink
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10 - still a beautiful day and I did enjoy it but it was Tough going
Fatigue: 6/10
Ease of terrain: 6/10. to me it felt like tough terrain with lots of up & downs. someplaces were rocky underfoot
⭐️Highlights: the weather has been glorious. But there has been very little shade today. And I’ve only got about a litre of water left and nowhere to get new water until I get to the next town. Managed to get some water at a river running to the sea
🏔️Challenges: went over and twisted my right ankle. Not happy.
I thought I had the perfect wild camping spot. Until three horses 🐎 came along and got very interested in me, my tent & my bag. They would not go away I thought at one point they were going to trample over everything.
I need to pack everything up and make a quick exit and find somewhere else to camp. not what I wanted at 8:30 pm in the evening. Finally got settled at 9.30pm
💭Thoughts: feeling so lazy/tired probably to do with the weather. But it is a struggle to move sometimes I just wanna sit down in the Sun. ☀️
Day 4 🥾South West Coast Path 🏴, UK National Trail 🇬🇧 📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ℹ️Stats: Wednesday 31st July
Weather: Sunny ☀️ & hot
From: just outside Combe Martin
Start time: 7.30am
To: Morte Point
End time: 9.10pm
Accommodation: wild camped ⛺️
Terrain: convoluted paths which needed some careful route finding. There are some easy cliff paths and a few rollercoasters. Lots of lots of down.⛰️
🥾Km:20.7
🥾Miles: 13
🦶Steps:26,546
Total: 47/630 7.5% done ✅
💰Costs: £18.75 I bought rubbish food. It was a convenient store. There wasn’t many options. Especially when being gluten-free. For this trip, I will just have to continue eating what I normally eat and then when I’m back home, I’ll figure out my diet.
£10.48 Wetherspoon- chicken breast, chips & peas.
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment:6 /10
Fatigue: 6/10 - I took so many breaks and had a semi doze for 90 mins
Ease of terrain: 7/10 - tough - tough - tough
⭐️Highlights: turning a corner and seeing a castle 🏰 the weather ☀️ it’s gorgeous being out here. But it’s super hot. So needing to carry more water 💦
🏔️Challenges: finding a good wild camping spot at the end of the day.
💭Thoughts: I don’t know why I’m eating so much food. None stop eating today. Stomach doesn’t feel great as I accidentally ate some wheat. But it is what it is! Lesson learned!
Day 5 🥾South West Coast Path 🏴, UK National Trail 🇬🇧 📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ℹ️Stats: Thursday 1st August
Weather: Sunny ☀️ & hot 🥵
From: Morte Point
Start time: 8am
To: before crow point
End time: 9pm big rest stops - like 3hrs sunbathing- so not constant walking!!
Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️
Terrain: sandy beaches, well marked tracks and paths.
🥾Km: 18.8
🥾Miles: 12 miles
🦶Steps:24,06&
Total: 60/630 9.5% done ✅
💰Costs: £10.25 green juice, eggs & sausage for breakfast
£2.70 magnum ice-cream 🍦
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 5/10
Ease of terrain: 4/10 a lot easier compared to the other days.
⭐️Highlights: stunning beaches and the views looking out to the sea and the headlands were spectacular - also helped by the amazing weather. I had a 3 hr chill session at the beach - which was epic
🏔️Challenges: I climbed Baggy Point coast guard pole which was so much fun!
💭Thoughts: I’ve got a plan for the next few days. When I get to Bude I have a room booked (£68 including breakfast) and they will let me check in early. So I’ll be able to have a full reset. Eat well and recharge all my electronics 🥳
Read more of my journey here: Day 6-10: Walking the South West Coast Path
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