Day 2 Swanage to Kimmerage Bay
Stunning hills but intimidating for the first full day of walking. So grateful to have my brother’s company or I might be questioning the whole thing 
Enjoyed reminiscing about our wonderful mum’s who are both dearly missed. Rich wore purple socks in honor of Ann and brought a kanga that my mum had gifted him in Malawi from the time I was born. A truly special day 
Day 3 Kimmerage Bay to Durdle Door
Delighted Claire Bedwell joined us. Loved her company, oh and the treat of her pasta too! (worryingly my dehydrated meals are getting tiresome already)
Claire and I met once before mum’s death (at a charity meeting with mum). She’s become such a friend and I’m so grateful for that gift. It’s also such an honor to run the charity together. Claire kindly organized these t-shirts which have been great to strike up conversation with fellow walkers.
Bizarre weather of rain, snow, wind and sun made it hard to work out the right clothes layering through the day.
Enjoyed swapping stories about life, the charity, mum and African adventures. Helped distract from all those blimin hills. I very much appreciated Claire and Rich’s encouragement as was feeling the weight of the pack. Definitely slow moving at the moment, feel like a turtle when my green rain cover is out to protect my belongings 
Grateful to Rich and Claire for being so patient with me and for making sure I didn’t roll back down those hills.
Grateful to Rich and Claire for being so patient with me and for making sure I didn’t roll back down those hills.Delighted Claire Bedwell joined us. Loved her company, oh and the treat of her pasta too! (worryingly my dehydrated meals are getting tiresome already)
Claire and I met once before mum’s death (at a charity meeting with mum). She’s become such a friend and I’m so grateful for that gift. It’s also such an honor to run the charity together. Claire kindly organized these t-shirts which have been great to strike up conversation with fellow walkers.
Bizarre weather of rain, snow, wind and sun made it hard to work out the right clothes layering through the day.
Enjoyed swapping stories about life, the charity, mum and African adventures. Helped distract from all those blimin hills. I very much appreciated Claire and Rich’s encouragement as was feeling the weight of the pack. Definitely slow moving at the moment, feel like a turtle when my green rain cover is out to protect my belongings Grateful to Rich and Claire for being so patient with me and for making sure I didn’t roll back down those hills.
Grateful to Rich and Claire for being so patient with me and for making sure I didn’t roll back down those hills.Day 4 Durdle Door to Weymouth
A cold morning so packed up pretty quickly from the campsite.
Was delighted Rich decided to accompany me for another day. Enjoyed learning about sociology and politics from Rich’s wealth of knowledge. In exchange, I imparted my (limited) A level geography knowledge about the Jurassic coast.
Biggest excitement the day… seeing a lizard! I never realized we have them in England.
Rich departed for his train from Weymouth and I pitched my first solo camp!
Appreciated a resupply of fresh fruit, laundry facilities and first sunset of the trip. A beautiful pink sky over Chesil Beach to close the day.
All the messages of support for the trip have been so uplifting – thank you!!
Day 5 Weymouth to Burton Bradstock
Decamping in the rain was a challenge. Trying to avoid packing a wet tent proved fruitless. I waited as long as possible but had to set off early to achieve my 18 miles today.
The shift in weather and walking alone over such a long, largely flat, stretch made for a tough day mentally (hence fewer photos ). That said, I definitely appreciated the lack of ascent/decent after developing a twinge in my left ankle.
). That said, I definitely appreciated the lack of ascent/decent after developing a twinge in my left ankle.I associate the colour yellow with mum (it’s beautiful serendipity that Claire chose a photo of mum wearing yellow for our hike t-shirt!), the pops of yellow (gorse, daffodils, dandelions and rapeseed) punctuating the grey sky and clouds through the day kept me smiling.
I enjoyed carb-loading at the Swan Inn in Abbostbury and eventually found myself utterly relieved to arrive at my campsite. The owners were tremendously kind, refusing to charge for my stay after finding out about the charity walk; even gifting me change to use the coin operated showers, saving me from hobbling over to the ATM in the village post office (I’d used the last of my change to do laundry the night before).
Pitched, showered, ate. Safe to say, I fell asleep quickly!
Day 6 Burton Bradstock to Seaton
After a surprisingly good night sleep in the tent, I packed up for another 18 mile stretch.
First priority… a bacon sandwich and cup of tea to fuel the day. West Bay was the perfect spot for this before a rollercoaster of hills.
Reaching Golden Cap, I had a lovely memory of walking here with mum in 2017. I enjoyed brief pitstops in Charmouth and Lyme, meeting fellow through hikers along the way. So beautiful to revisit this section but sad to see how erosion and landslides have changed the area.
It was eerie walking the undercliffs for the first time. I couldn’t believe 7 miles would really take 4 hours but it did… treading carefully over tree roots so not to fall.
I was grateful for the heads up about this section from a couple earlier in the day. With no access to the beach or inland, I felt quite claustrophobic in the ancient forest, perhaps from the stark contrast of being on expansive cliffs in previous days. Not seeing anyone for hours felt unnerving yet the blue sky overhead kept me going.
Some sections of the coast path you don’t find a marker for miles. The last mile of the day felt endless, really eeked out by quarter mile markers so everytime I reached one, my heart sank to find I was only inching closer to Seaton but eventually I got there!
I couldn’t believe my luck to find the Flipside burger joint only a few strides into town. Then the owner of my hotel accommodation was so very kind, contacting me and insisting to pick me up… saving me from additional walking today and booking a taxi. Turns out Craig is a fellow Colyton Grammar alumi! My headmaster was his form tutor.
I was so grateful not to pitch my tent tonight, the luxury of a proper bed and a bath was next level bliss!
Day 7 Seaton to Sidmouth
Today started with such heartwarming generosity! Chatting with the owner of my accommodation during breakfast about the walk, Craig unexpectedly gave me a cash refund for my stay which we agreed to put as a donation to the charity. Craig then kindly gave me another lift back down to Seaton beach
Turns out Craig’s parents ran Peacehaven before him and his wife. They welcome families and groups doing all sorts of community work. I had the pleasure of meeting two remarkable teenage guests who are organizing a musical this weekend. They were on their way out to the garden to feed Bob, the pet sheep 
At the seafront, I was met by Becky – a friend of Claire’s. We’d never met before but she’d reached out with an offer to accompany me on today’s stretch.
Becky’s company was truly appreciated as this section of 11 miles is described in the official SWCP guidebook as “severe” and I wasn’t sure how I’d cope with the pack.
Becky was a ray of sunshine through the day! Chatting away, I was pleasantly distracted from my tiredness and aches. Turns out we have a shared love of psychology and other common interests. Although I’ll be leaving the Spartan races to her and Claire!!
Becky was so patient with my turtle pace and insisted to walk behind me on hills to catch me if I fell. I tried to reassure her that the pack would cushion any unexpected landing! Luckily I didn’t fall and Becky wasn’t flattened trying to protect me. One particular moment of kindness (among many through the day)… was when Becky gallantly clambered back up a giant hill after realizing I’d left my walking pole on a bench. I was seriously considering abandoning it as couldn’t face the climb but Becky came to my rescue The steps are deep in some stretches… clearly not designed for short legs! The poles really help keep my balance with the pack so I’ll be keeping better care of them from now on!
The steps are deep in some stretches… clearly not designed for short legs! The poles really help keep my balance with the pack so I’ll be keeping better care of them from now on!It was wonderful to stop periodically to take in the views of each hill we achieved and celebrate the end of our day with a warming cup of tea when we reached Sidmouth. It was into the evening when Becky left, she was so kind to ensure I was settled. The views have been spectacular but meeting, and spending time with people along this journey has been such an unexpected gift.
I hold so many memories of mum in Sidmouth so planned another hotel treat tonight to explore the high street in the morning with minimal extra steps. I ended the day with a fancy feast of dauphinous potatoes and halibut. No DIY dehydrated pasta and veg for me tonight! 
Well that should have been the dignified end to the day but no… it actually ended chuckling with reception staff as they watched me muster motivation to hobble up the stairs to my room
