Campaigns and Appeals

A founding principle of the movement that created National Trails over 70 years ago was to connect people to the most beautiful landscapes in the country.

For the South West Coast Path (SWCP), that means caring for 630 miles of Trail, and maintaining thousands of pieces of infrastructure that help make it accessible all-year-round with the help of our dedicated volunteers. You can give to one of the appeals below to support a particular area of this work. Thank you.

Storm Damage Appeal

This February, three named storms affected the UK within the space of a week; the first time this has occurred since storm naming was introduced in 2015. Storm Dudley, Eunice and Franklin resulted in loss of life, close to 100,000 homes in South West England being left without power and total damage across the UK estimated at over £360 million.

Unsurprisingly, the result has been extensive damage to the South West Coast Path, particularly in North Devon and Exmoor where a 5 mile stretch has been closed and a diversion is in place due to many fallen trees which have been badly damaged or blocked the path. The costs to rectify the damage will be over £15000. Please help us by donating to our Storm Damage Appeal.

Volunteer Fund

We have more than 70 dedicated volunteer Path Reps around the South West who invest approximately 2,000 hours in the Trail each year. The Path Rep's primary role is to undertake an annual condition survey of the Coast Path using tablets carrying specialist surveying software. We don’t always stop to think about the devoted individuals working behind the scenes to keep our coastline accessible. Now is the chance to help them help you, by making a donation to our Volunteer Fund.

Step Up

Without the 30,000 steps that are on the South West Coast Path, many sections of the Trail would be completely inaccessible. Every year, 1,000 steps fall into disrepair and need maintenance, or need replacing entirely. This costs at least £10,000 each year. Will you help us Step Up to the challenge?

Find Your Way

Despite being absolutely vital to walkers and runners alike, upkeep of the 4,000 signposts that are on the South West Coast Path is often overlooked. A recent survey carried out by our volunteers revealed over 25% of them currently need replacing, and there are of course areas that could benefit from having more signage. We want to invest £10,000 into signage to help you Find Your Way on the Trail. Will you help us?