The South West Coast Path - Continued from page one

History and especially rural history is commonplace. The Romans established signal stations to watch for Saxon raiders, the Vikings landed at St Ives, ships sailed from the ports to Calais, then to engage the Spanish Armada and to Normandy on D-Day. Many explorers sailed from our peninsula to the New World and indeed to circumnavigate to globe. The list could be continued. The sea is with you always. It will not take you long to encounter its every mood, and when you have seen it at its most savage, you will understand why there is a recorded wreck for every furlong of the Cornish coast. Obviously in a path of this length there is a tremendous variety and it is extremely hard to choose a few sections for a special mention; so do not regard our choice as everyone’s.

Iron Coast The coast from Hartland Point in Devon down to Bude in Cornwall has been called the “Iron Coast”.  It is indeed severe - a jumble of strata and jagged rocks; there is no land between you and America.  It is best seen in spring with the violets and delicate primroses contrasted with the severity of the coast. It is the finest place in England for coastal waterfalls.

The Granite Coast Land’s End is the Granite Coast, a delight for climber and photographer. The granite forms itself into angular castellated blocks which are unique on the English coastline. See it in early summer with the sea pinks, a vivid carpet of pink and the sea beyond, a shade of azure blue.

The South Hams The coast of South Devon has an area of metamorphic rock. This gives rise to sharp-topped ridges running down to the sea like the backs of enormous extinct dinosaurs. You can see these near Bolt Head, Prawle and Start Points. The best time here is late summer when the heather is purple and the early blackberries provide welcome refreshments.

East Dorset Coast The coast of Eastern Dorset is a mixture of rock which given rise to a surprising variety of scenery in a comparatively short stretch of walking.  There is the chalk of Lulworth and the Arish Mell Gap, the shales of Kimmeridge and the limstones of Purbeck. Here grows the wild cabbage and at all times of the year, the gorse will be in flower, because as the old country saying goes “ when gorse is out of flowers, kissing is out of season”. Appropriately enough, this mixture of coast coming towards the end of the path is a useful reminder that the South West Coast Path’s greatest feature is its enormous variety, a walk indeed as has been said “though some of the finest coastal scenery in Europe”.

The South West Coast Path Association We have a membership of about 3,000. Our objectives are to secure the protection and preservation of an acceptable South West long-distance coast path and public access to it, in order to improve the conditions of life of the users of the path and to educate walkers along it in a proper respect for the countryside. We provide an Annual Guide and detailed descriptions of the path. Our aim is to obtain, as far as possible, a true coast path and the avoidance of roads and consequently the motorcar.

We provide information on the coast path to the public and our members. We encourage the improvement and maintenance of the South West Coast Path. We provide a forum in which different interests connected with the South West Coast Path and its use, can discuss problems of mutual concern. We are in constant touch with the Countryside Agency, the National Trust, the County Councils of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, Exmoor National Park Authority, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Borough Council.

In the early 1970's a few of us believed that a very little was being done, in a very slow manner, on the South West Coast Path, which in our opinion was potentially a very fine path indeed. We therefore set about starting to prod the authorities to complete it, and to see that it was way marked and maintained.

We honestly believe that we have been responsible for some of the enormous improvements that have come about since we started and yet, you will find it hard to believe that after 29 years of pressure from this Association, this coast path has not been completed. There are still great gaps in it due to unsympathetic landowners.

Eric Wallis
Hon. Secretary
August 2002