Join Our 40th Anniversary Walks

Useful Links

Accomodation

General information

If you provide accommodation within 1 mile of the Coast Path, or if you are prepared to do Path pick-ups, e-mail us with the details of your establishment and we'll add you to our accommodation list.

Walking Holidays

See also our separate list of Walking Holiday companies some of which also arrange kit transfer.

  • Walkitcornwall Offers coast path and other walks, with or without kit transfer, with or without accommodation.
  • West Country Walks arrange walking holidays along the North Devon coast and Exmoor.
  • Contours Walking Holidays offer a wide range of guided and self-led hiking tours which includes the South West Coast Path.
  • Combe Walks offer self-guided walks in North Devon, Tarka Country and Exmoor, many including sections of the Coast Path.
  • Westcountry Walking Holidays is a family business, based in the Westcountry and specialising in providing walking holidays in the Westcountry.
  • LightFoot Walking Holidays specialise in arranging your accommodation for walking the Cornish coast, with holiday durations between 3 days and 4 weeks.
  • Hidden Cornwall arrange all kinds of walking holidays in Cornwall--including the Coast Path.
  • Footpath Holidays has been in operation for 22 years and includes stretches of the South West Coast Path both as centre-based guided walking groups accommodated in hotels or for self-guided walkers.
  • Let's Go Walking! organise guided or self-guided walking holidays along the Devon and Cornwall coast path.
  • Way2go4 Walking Holidays is based in North Devon and provides both self-guided and guided walking holidays in Devon and Cornwall.
  • Celtic Trails offer self-guided, or guided, walks, with kit transfer on the South West Coast Path.
  • Encounter Walking Holidays arranges walking holidays. Areas covered include every section of the Coast Path and the Saints Way (Fowey to Padstow), Two Moors Way, Dartmoor and Exmoor.

Travel

National Rail Timetable
Want to get to the West Country by train? Try the National Rail on-line timetable.
National Express Coach Network
The National Express web page gives details of coach services.
South West England Bus Timetables
www.showbus.co.uk publish a comprehensive listing of services covering the area of the coast path.
First Buses
First buses operate throughout the South West. Choose from the following regions; Devon & Cornwall Dorset Somerset.
West Somerset Railway
Start or end your walk in style aboard the West Somerset Railway which runs between Minehead and Bishop's Lydeard near Taunton. Most services are steam-hauled.
Maps of the UK
Multimap is a neat web site which you can use to find places in the UK based on addresses.
UK Travel Guide
The UK Travel Guide provides comprehensive information about travelling to the UK. Includes clickable maps for the whole of the UK and also London.
QuickTide Tide Tables
QuickTide is a compact A5-sized card that predicts the tides for two years for all the SWCP. It is useful for river crossings and those stretches of beach where you may wish to walkalong the beach and not be caught by a high tide! The "south-west" QuickTide also predicts the tides for south Wales and Cherbourg to Gibraltar. Available from www.quicktide.co.uk or 0117-973 6688. Other QuickTides cover the rest of the UK (see the website).

Regions of the Coast Path

The South West

South West Tourism is the official guide to the South West of England. Find places to stay, events, attractions and where to eat.

The South West England Gateway has a collection of information and links providing a guide to business and leisure in South West England.

For more info on walking in the South West and around England, along with other countryside activities and places to visit see outdoorengland.com - a website of England's official tourist board.

More information about the Jurassic Coast can be had from http://www.worldheritagecoast.net. This site includes sight-seeing and accommodation information.

Cornwall

Devon

Dorset

  • Stay In Dorset
  • Purbeck Tourism has information and links to resources about the region.
  • Jurassic Coast extends from Old Harry to east Devon and this site has information about the whole section.
  • Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck
  • The Dorset Page has a great deal of interesting information about the County and is an excellent site.
  • Poole Tourism for all you need to know about Poole Dorset. [Poole is situated just over the water from South Haven Point.]
  • Jon Mills' Dorset Coast Path site has six pages covering the Dorset section, plus information on geology and flora+fauna.
  • The Dorset Ramblers has information about the Ramblers Association in Dorset.
  • Purbeck Plod Challange Walk.
  • West Bay, Dorset Carries very useful information for visitors to this part of the west coast of Dorset and also general information for Lyme Bay's coastal towns and villages.
  • iDorset covers a wide range of services available in the County, including tourism and leisure.
  • The BBC has some interesting 360-degree panoramic photos of the Dorset coast path (Java Required) including one taken at Durdle Door.
  • The Bournemouth Coast Path starts at Swanage and runs beyond the end of the South West Coast Path to Lymington, where the Solent Way starts. This site has a quick description of the path split into seven sections.

Somerset

Long Distance Trails and other Walking Sites

www.nationaltrail.co.uk/southwestcoastpath is is official web-site for the SWCP and is run by the South West Coast Path team.

The Rambler's Association work throughout the UK to support walking. Their site includes comprehensive information about all long distance paths in the UK.

Martin Hesp's West Country Walks site features many different walks throughout the whole of the South West, many centred on the coast. Martin is well-known in the area as a reporter on the Western Morning News and also has been seen on TV.

Miscellaneous

The National Trust has an Official Web site which includes a area dedicated to some of their coastal properties.

Cromwell's Plaques can create custom made momentos to celebrate your special achievement, like completing the longest National Trail in Britain!

Exmoor Search and Rescue gives information about a voluntary group who assist the Police in looking for lost people in the Exmoor region. One of those groups we hope we'll never need, but it's nice to know they're there!

The Good Beach Guide offers information about dozens of excellent beaches in the South West, as well as wider in the British Isles.

James Skinner has created a quality calligraphic map of The South West Coast Path which would make a superb gift or an ideal memento for anyone having walked part or all of the path.

Steve McInstosh of D J Cabs, St Ives, will happily carry your luggage onwards for quite a considerable distance along the South West Coast Path from Portreath around Land's End as far as Porthleven. Telephone: 01736 796633, info@djcars.com www.djcars.com

www.aphotoflora.com provides a comprehensive listing of plants you may see during your walks in Cornwall and Devon.

www.urlaubcornwall.de provides useful information in German for walkers in Cornwall.

www.happyhiker.co.uk The Happy Hiker website provides simple to follow directions for various walking routes, including GPS downloads and gives basic advice on a variety of walking issues . My Devon and Cornwall walks incorporate elements of the South West Coastal Path and anyone undertaking my walks could well be encouraged to walk more or all of it on future excursions.

SOLIDstaff.com is a new idea in hospitality for recruitment of catering staff. SOLIDstaff.com fulfils the purpose of a job board and a catering recruitment agency. It's unique! Employers can advertise jobs with us free of charge and employee's no costs.

The Moor Rover Service is a flexible transport service for anyone wishing to access Exmoor for walking, cycling, bird watching or any other leisure pursuits. The service has a 16 seat minibus and a 6 seat MPV available, both fully accessible. Either bus will pick up and drop off anywhere on Exmoor, and can also transport bicycles, wheelchairs, dogs and luggage. The service operates throughout the year, seven days a week from 8.00am to 8.00pm.

Perfect Stays offer unique and luxury holiday homes in Cornwall, Somerset and Devon.

My Feet and Other Animals © JR Merrifield 2003 I.S.B.N. 978-0-9544939-0-5 When two friends planned a long distance walk on England's South West Coast Path they thought the toughest challenge would be the walking itself. But the biggest obstacles to be overcome were not the 630 miles of footpaths, or the soaring ascents and descents of the cliffs. They were the unforeseen factors that cannot be planned for but which transform a journey into an adventure. Factors such as a torn calf muscle, recalcitrant underwear, two days of torrential rain and gales, two weeks of the hottest July temperatures for years, high tech equipment designed to help but determined to hinder, the capriciousness of public transport and a host of B&Bs all competing for the title of Worst Accommodation in the West. The book is available as a kindle download.

www.high-nature.co.uk We are a new ethical enterprise - www.high-nature.co.uk launching in 2013, aiming to attract those who are into walking and outdoor pursuits. We are located in East Portlemouth, South Devon on the South West Coast Path and aim to provide visitor information and overnight camping accommodation for walkers, as well as yurt accommodation for those who wish to stay longer.

Looking for books and maps of the South West? Order via Amazon UK. Amazon UK will donate 5% to the Association on all purchases made within 24 hours by entering their web-site through this special link