The Southeast Coast Trail benefits from its history. Running from Minehead in Somerset to Poole Harbour in Dorset, the trail crosses two World Heritage Sites, including the Jurassic Coast with its 240-million-year-old cliffs. In addition, you’ll climb a total of 35 kilometers, the equivalent of four climbs of Mount Everest.
The trail along the southeast coast has its own history. It runs from Minehead in Somerset to Poole Harbor in Dorset. It also simultaneously crosses two World Heritage sites, the rocky Jurassic Coast, which was formed 240 million years ago. In addition it is necessary to climb a total of 35 km. This ascent can be compared to the four climbs of Mount Everest.
The South East Coast Path skirts the southeast coast of Britain completely, passing through the westernmost point of the island and connecting the towns of Minehead and Poole. These towns are 1,013 km apart. The route also completely covers the county of Cornwall, which is very different from the rest of England.
The route runs mostly along the coast, on rare occasions going inland. This occurs mainly in the deltas of the rivers. Villages are encountered at least once a day, though not all have stores. The nature of the terrain is very diverse, but the distinctive features are:
Sand dunes. Located just behind the line of the beach and can reach up to several kilometers in length and up to a kilometer in width. Usually a protected natural area.
Coves. Go practically one after the other, and therefore there is a constant difference in elevation on the trail. According to the SWCP Association, the total elevation difference on the trail is 35 km. Constant ascents and, to a greater extent, descents can lead to knee pain. By the way, almost without exception, there is no cellular signal reception in the bays.
The route owes its creation to the smugglers of the 19th century – the Guards patrolled the entire south coast of England. The former patrol paths now form the longest National Walking Trail in Britain, passing through all the bays, gorges, and fishing villages of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset. It will take about 8 weeks to walk the entire route.
Journey time: This is England and it’s very difficult to predict the weather behavior. Of course it will be colder in winter and hotter in summer. But don’t expect extremes of heat or cold. But the wind can be strong, and very strong. And it might be bad luck with precipitation and it will rain all the time… But they say there were lucky men who passed the whole route almost without rains.
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