South West Coast Path: some thoughts and a rest day: LEJoG Day 10

The South West Coast Path is beautiful and very tough. Beautiful due to the swooping coastline, tough due to the many ascents and descents. Although never reaching more than a few hundred metres above sea level, the total height climbed each day, when all the individual climbs are added up, is as much as, or more than you would climb on an Alpine trek. I knew this before the present trip. Many years ago my wife and I walked the North Devon section of the Coast Path. My wife was not best pleased when I mistakenly thought the contours were in feet on the newly metrified maps, when they were actually in metres. Consequently our schedule was particularly gruelling. 

On this trip I have found the last three days particularly hard. Averaging just over 20 miles a day, with an average daily ascent of almost 1,500 metres, it is not a pace I can sustain, so today I have declared a rest day. A chance for my blistered feet to rest. I have been broadly keeping to the daily schedules in my Cicerone guidebook, but it has become increasingly clear that the author of the book is some superhuman  ironman who can sustain repeated days of 20 miles or more. However I have had limited opportunity to shorten the days due to the lack of accommodation. Under current Covid rules, most lodging is closed as it is not "self contained" and campsites are not taking tents to avoid shared toilets. So most of the time I am wild camping, however as it is technically illegal in England and Wales, to avoid upsetting people I pitch late as darkness is approaching and rise early. This means there is a long day available at this time of year for walking.

My rest day has been most enjoyable, in addition to resting my throbbing feet, I washed my clothes, caught up on my blog and done some shopping. This evening I also had dinner with an old friend who lived nearby (dinner was outside wrapped in our coats owing to Covid rules). I enjoy and prefer hiking alone, so I can set my own pace, but in the evenings I appreciate the opportunity of some company.

Barnstable marked the end of my walk along the South West Coast Path on this trip. There are alternative routes when hiking from Lands End to John o'Groats but they involve a lot of road walking and lack the scenery, quirky villages and history (notably the tin mines) of the South West Coast Path, which must rate as one of the best long distance trails in Britain if not the world.