Its now just under 3 weeks to go before I take a “stroll” around the South West Coast starting in Bude and finishing in Plymouth, basically its the Cornish part of the South West Coast Path, some 400 kilometers which I hope to do in three weeks camping where ever I stop.
I say “stroll” as I take my inspiration from others that have walked the coasts, with my knees, hips etc. I am hardly going to yomp this at breakneck speed, I plan to enjoy it at a leisurely pace with all the pictures and pasties I can.
I have read a number of books about people who have walked the coast of the UK, The Salt Path and its two follow up books by Raynor Winn are to me not just about the extreme hardships she and Moth endured but its also probably the only love story that anyone ever needs to read. I believe there is a film of their walk released while I am away, I truly hope it does justice to this amazing couple.
Christian Lewises book Finding Hildasay shows what can be done if you have the will no matter how bad things are, he is a remarkable man clearly loved by everyone he met and a dog lover so that can’t be bad.
The third book that I am currently reading is Midges, Maps & Muesli by Helen Krasner which was written in 1986 before mobile phones and internet. This extraordinary woman admits that despite what she said at the time when she started off walking the coast of the UK she did very little preparation and very little training and was doing it simply because she had the time and she wanted to do it, there was no deep meaning in trying to find herself etc. she was just doing it because she could, I am still reading the book so maybe that will change.
For me unlike the first two authors, I am really in a great position, I have a lovely family, nice house, a pension and now all the time I need to do this, so why not. Yes I have age related arthritis problems and this will no doubt be my biggest challenge and will dictate my pace but I wont let it stop me until I collapse, which is fine because unlike the people in the books above, I simply have to make a mobile phone call and I will be picked up in a couple of hours.
In terms of preparation, I have been walking regularly however I have just hurt my foot when we were in Morocco and I cannot walk without pain at the moment (sods law I guess) so forced to rest it for now which is very frustrating but it is easing and hopefully will not cause problems when I start. In terms of kit I already have a lot of lightweight stuff including lightweight tent, good sleeping bag, minimalist cooking kit etc. from when I walked across Iceland, I have bought some new boots and a new sleeping mat so now all good.