My breath comes in short, wheezing gasps and my thighs are searing with pain. I swipe sweat from my eyes and glance at my wife stoically plodding ahead of me. I force myself to follow in her footsteps up the ever-increasing incline. Below us the sea boils and crashes over jagged rocks. We’re nearing the top of the climb and I’m consoled by the knowledge that soon I’ll be able to take a breather before we tackle the next muscle-straining section of Cornwall’s South West Coast Path on our way towards the village of Polperro.
My wife and I had returned to the UK to complete another section of the path – this time from Penzance to Plymouth. Over two previous visits we’d managed to walk a grand total of 440 kilometres of the path from Minehead to Penzance and now that we’ve become totally smitten by the path’s allure, we’re determined to one day complete the iconic trail. We also want to experience again the wild and spectacular scenery of the rugged coastline, the beguiling hamlets tucked away in hidden coves and the mystique of coastal Cornwall that exudes magic and legend (not to mention the Cornish mussels, the hand-made pasties and the Cornish ciders!).
The South West Coast Path is considered to be the UK’s ultimate challenge for the long distance walker – a path stretching a whopping 1,014 kilometres, from Minehead in Somerset (the starting point is marked by an impressive monument featuring a pair of hands clasping a map) right around the bottom southwest corner of Britain and finishing at Poole Harbour in Dorset.
The origins of the path lie in Cornwall’s smuggling history when wreckers lit their bonfires along the cliff tops to lure unsuspecting ships onto the rocks below before salvaging the booty that was duly washed ashore. The path was created so coastguards of the early 19th century had an effective way to patrol every cove, inlet and creek along this wild coast. By the beginning of the 20th century foot patrols had ceased and it wasn’t until 1948 that a government report recommended the creation of a footpath around the entire southwest peninsula, however, it took until 1973 for the Cornwall Coast Path to be officially open and another five years before the rest of the path was completed…
……The story continues in Wild issue 149. Subscribe today.
Former 12th Century priory, St Michael’s Mount.