Day 0: Heading for the train to Minehead!

My new boots have been walked in, properly this time, and I enjoyed polishing them with beeswax this afternoon. I’m feeling so optimistic about the trip that I have even planned to walk the so-called “rugged alternative route” from Minehead to Porlock!

Why do I keep doing this?  You’d think that by now I would have learned that this is too much for my aging frame. The problem is that it always looks so inviting in prospect, and then as the day draws nigh, I realise that I haven’t done enough training, I have underestimated the demands of the specific trail and I am not getting any younger. Somewhere down this path, there will be a discontinuity!

Not yet!

I recall that I made a conscious decision not to make use of the South West Coast Path on my original Land’s End to John O’Groats walk. That decision was partly based on some reports that I had read on the net which emphasised the difficulty of the path; that it was very much more up and down than one would expect. I was determined that I should ease into that very long walk as gently as possible.  Also, I was conscious of the much greater costs associated with seaside B&Bs, and I was also earnestly interested in the industrial archaeology of Cornwall and Devon.  Now I’m below all that and up for the challenge! My experience on the Pembrokeshire coast whetted my appetite and I can’t wait to get back to the beautiful Southwest peninsula.

That said, it is actually a very long walk, influenced also by the many rivers, peninsulas and coastal features; 1000km (630 mi).  I don’t have permission to do the whole thing in one go (!), and could anyway hardly afford it, so I will be doing it over a few years. This year, I’ll be doing the first stage from Minehead to Westwood Ho! (the only town in Britain with an exclamation mark in its name!)

The other welcome difference is that Veronica will be joining me for the first three nights at my nightly B&Bs, though she won’t be walking. We will be meeting our very good friends, Rosie and Richard, who have a beach cottage in the area. This is a significant difference from my usual solitary progress, and it will be interesting to see how this affects my approach to walking and perhaps my very psyche!

You will be the judge…..

Leftovers and plate scrapings at all other times?