Inveterate dabbler in business, travel, gadgets & life

Postcard index for my South West Coast Path Walk

Last night the Jones design team did a great graphic design of my walk complete with interesting facts. The design is currently been made into a physical postcard by VistaPrint.

I intend sending a copy to every b&b I stayed at, as a lot of the owners expressed an interest in knowing whether I finished I not 🙂 and virtually none of them are web natives. (If you would like a FREE copy of the postcard please email me or fill in the form below).

Using ThingLink I made the postcard into a clickable index of the stages:-

Contact form removed due to spammers

My map of The South West Coast Path from my tracks.

South west coast path

Here is a map that Adze generated from all the data (about 70Mb) that my GPS collected each day as I walked the South West Coast Path, Adze displays each day walked as a different colour.

Adze gives the following data: Total distance 1102.98km, duration 307 hours, distance climbed 47.6 km, max gradient 48 degrees, maximum elevation 486.56 metres.

I would love to make the map zoomable, if any map techies are out there know how to do it or are willing to write a plugin, can you please get in touch with me 🙂 As it is, clicking the map should download a  kml file that hopefully will display in Google Earth.My route on the South West Coast Path

Worth Matravers to South Haven Point on The South West Coast Path

South West Coast Path The End

Worth Matravers routesOne advantage of the Chiltern Lodge is that they do breakfast from 7.45 so you can escape get away early. So I was out on the road just after 8am. With it been an easy day, the guide said 16 miles to the end and ‘only’ 1768feet of ascent. I decided to do the decent thing and return to where I left the trail last night. As you can see from the gps trail it added a considerable amount to the day, that’s how good I am 🙂

It was a good decision, as you pass some interesting memorials and stone benches. Since this area is famous for the Purbeck marble. and also in the development of UK radar in the early days of the second world war.

Durlston stone globeI quickly reached Durlston Park with a total surprise in the huge globe carved from stone in 1891, very surprised it didn’t feature in the coast Path Guide since it’s directly visible from the trail. I’m always astounded with carving, how do you create a perfect globe shape? Durlston is now a Jurassic Gateway centre, I can’t help thinking that a walkway carved with millenia over yards, with human’s scrunched into the final 1/4mm is a bit beyond the average kid. The one that does it for me is that the 100 foot high white cliffs are just dead creatures ( densely-packed shells of the freshwater snail Viviparus).

So onto Swanage and the very clever Trompe L’Oeil on a harbour building, the little museum was quite good too with it’s Titanic exhibition and film on the stone industry. But no time to hang about, I can smell the end.

Naked people aheadPast the monument to Alfred The Great’s great battle with the Danes in 877AD, pausing for the best ice cream yet! honey & stem ginger 🙂 then on through more private chalets to reach the Old Harry rocks with their precipitous edges, Finally dropping down to the beach which had to have the very best National Trust sign ever! Oh, what fun I could have had if Sally, Liz & Chester had been there to pose naked behind the sign.

And finally rounding the corner on the beach, just missing the huge Condor Ferry boat, the end marker came into view 🙂

Geoff at the end of The South West Coast Path

So that is it! 676 miles walked in 222 hours moving time over 40 days. and 1.5 million steps walked. Full round up in the next post.

A tip for other walkers at the end, book your train ticket from Bournemouth station not Poole as I did. You can catch the bus just off the ferry that takes you directly to Bournemouth station 🙂 It’s the same line as Poole anyway!

Photos of the final day here, trip spreadsheet here and Everytrail below.

Worth Matravers to South Haven Point on The South West Coast Path at EveryTrail

Weymouth to Worth Matravers on The South West Coast Path

Weymouth to WorthMatravers elevation profileWhat a day! Probably one of the toughest on the whole trail! I thought folks were kidding me when they said it was going to be tough.

I did in total 24 miles with about a mile of vertical ascent! the 6 miles through the Lulworth ranges were simply amazing in terms of ascent / descent  (38 degree inclines) if the squaddies are running up and down those hills with 60Kg backpacks then boy are they fit 🙂

Fitbit had me down as burning 6216 cals today, although they didn’t tell the lady at the Chiltern Lodge who produced a 500 cal meal. Good job the Compass and Square do a good range of pasties and stout type beers. 🙂

The scenery as always is stunning the weather overcast with an occasional glimpse of sun with low cloud on the top, so the views are not the best.

Tomorrow I’m only left with 15 or so miles plus a couple to get back on the trail so should easily make it to my train home which leaves at 5.55pm

No benches at Durdle DoorFascinating to see the hordes of folks ascending the hill from Lulworth Cove just to see the Durdle Door rock formation. Plus huge groups of walkers going from Lulworth Cove to Osmington.

The stats are here pictures here and Everytrail below:-

Weymouth to Worth Matravers on The South West Coast Path at EveryTrail