Arrival Day in England! I flew into Heathrow early this morning, then took a 4-hour bus ride west down the coast to Poole. Not an exciting journey as it was all highway driving with 11 (!) stops to offload passengers but as it originated from the airport it was an easy connection. Then it was a short 15-minute walk to the hotel where I met up with my hiking partner for the next four days.

Kent’s a fellow member of my desert hiking club and is coincidentally in England now with a few days free. He’s done many sections of the Path already, but not this end bit so he’s pleased to be able to “tick” off another portion and I’m pleased for the company.

The Path is the South West Coast Path in the Cornwall/Devon/Dorset area of England. It started as separate trails along the cliff edges that the Coast Watch used to patrol looking for smugglers and shipwrecks, until somebody had a brilliant idea to connect them all together to create the longest official walking path in England. It’s officially 630 miles long but I’ve read of people clocking it as 650-660 miles so it’s……just long. I’ve planned out each day of it for the next 10 weeks and it all starts tomorrow!