South West Coast Path | nichepoetryandprose

poetry and prose about place

Posts Tagged ‘South West Coast Path’

glimpses of the South West Coast Path 7-21

map showing distance travelled (map from Google Earth)

As I bike along the road, following the Street View path of images, I know that between me and the ocean is a path. Known as the South West Coast Path, this long-distance footpath is a National Trail in the UK. It runs 630 miles or 1014 km from Somerset, along the coast Devon and Cornwall and into Dorset. It originated as a path to watch for smugglers and is now a major tourist attraction.

Sometimes, where the road I am following approaches the coast, the path becomes synonymous with the road. Most of the time, however, it runs along the high land overlooking the sea …

stretch of coastal path near Pentewan, marked in red … part of the path runs along the road and part along the top of the cliff overlooking the ocean ( map from Google Earth)

Where the path and the road run together, there is often a rail fence to mark the way …

Sometimes I see a set of stairs or a parking lot to allow public access the trail …

stairs to access coastal path near Looe (image from Street View)

It occurs to me that a variant on what I am doing for exercise would be to walk the path virtually. In reality, the path takes about 8 weeks to walk, although one runner has run the path in a little more than 16 days. The path is quite visible in aerial view in Google Earth.

Best View: stone walls as I neared Mevagissey …