5 ms·

I walked 113 miles (182 km) of the South West Coast Path in Cornwall, England. That took "only" 9 days, but it was enough that when I arrived in a decent-size

by jzwinck 13y ago

I walked 113 miles (182 km) of the South West Coast Path in Cornwall, England. That took "only" 9 days, but it was enough that when I arrived in a decent-size town after a week of walking, I felt a sort of vertigo simply from being around so many people, shops, and all the rest. A week spent just walking (and eating full English breakfast every single day) was enough to feel something really different. I highly recommend ultra-long walks, and the South West Coast Path (600 miles and two months to do the whole thing). There's nothing quite like it.

arethuza 13y ago
I'm contemplating walking the Scottish National Trail (http://www.scottishnationaltrail.org.uk/ http://www.scottishnationaltrail.org.uk/) - backpacking and using bothies (http://www.mountainbothies.org.uk/ http://www.mountainbothies.org.uk/). I've walked a fair bit of this trail before - at least the bits in the Highlands and walking it in one go would be rather cool. Cycling round the North Sea would be rather interesting as well (http://www.northsea-cycle.com/ http://www.northsea-cycle.com/).
hemmer 13y ago
I too would recommend these types of walk - a couple of other ideas for long trails that I've particularly enjoyed: - Lykian Way, Turkey (http://www.lycianway.com/ http://www.lycianway.com/) - Rota Vincentina, Portugal (http://www.rotavicentina.com/ http://www.rotavicentina.com/)
nsaparanoid 13y ago
Question - what gear did you take, etc? You mention the english breakfast every day - I take it that meant you stayed in a village every day? So no camping gear etc? Did you buy new supplies in each place?
- jzwinck 13y ago
  Two of us went on the premise of a long weekend. We liked it so much we stayed on the trail for the whole week, and only returned home due to a prior appointment (which proved useless, drat). So we had clothes for three days and we did washing in the basin each evening. We had a small laptop, snacks, and not much else. The South West Coast Path is dotted with B&Bs, inns, pubs with accommodation, etc. These are often placed at convenient distances apart, 10 or 20 km at most usually. Accommodation prices ranged from 50 GBP at a simple golf course (the room had no proper heat, but the lounge/restaurant was charming) to 95 GBP at the Tinners Arms in Zennor (population 217 as of this writing), a spotless room above a pub from the thirteenth century. The chef there was from afar and cooked spectacular food in this, the middle of nowhere. You can camp instead, and in the high season you may even need to. We went in autumn when there were few distance walkers (downsides: not warm, some rain, quite a bit of mud in spots, every sleeping place in Porthcurno closed for the winter, but a B&B took us in and the local Elvis impersonator invited us to stay with him but he drove a camper van so...).
  - nsaparanoid 13y ago
    fantastic, thanks for the reply!
kjs3 13y ago
Similarly, in the Eastern US we have the Appalachian Trail (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/ http://www.appalachiantrail.org/) at 2200 miles. Many folks do the whole thing, and many more do various subsets. Highly recommended.
- grayrest 13y ago
  While it's less famous, I've always wanted to through hike the Pacific Crest Trail (http://www.pcta.org/ http://www.pcta.org/) which is the west coast equivalent.
  - tier237 13y ago
    I hope that at some point in my life, I'll be able to drop everything for a few months and go hike the Pacific Northwest Trail. It's more a route than an actual trail. It goes from Waterton, AB into Montana, and then parallels the international border (more or less) to the Washington coast. http://www.pnt.org/maps/map-pnt.gif http://www.pnt.org/maps/map-pnt.gif
    - dasil003 13y ago
      A friend of mine extended it significantly: http://www.underhumanpower.com http://www.underhumanpower.com
      - autodidakto 13y ago
        Sweet. Like a mini Jason Lewis (http://www.jasonexplorer.com/adventurer_jason_lewis_about/ http://www.jasonexplorer.com/adventurer_jason_lewis_about/)
gbog 13y ago
It's become fashionable to walk along Saint-Jacques de Compostelle pilgrimage path in France and Spain. Would you call it ultra-long walk? Anyways, the good part of it is that you have cheap and clean pilgrim hotels all the way, and the food is quite good in most places.
- jzwinck 13y ago
  Yes of course. I've seen it, but not walked it. Also known as the Way of St. James, the typical route seems to be about 500 miles (800 km), which is certainly substantial. And if you're into the religious aspects, there are probably few better places to spend a few weeks going slowly. But you probably won't find the sort of isolation that you would on less popular/accessible paths.
  - jcomis 13y ago
    Really depends on the time of year and the actual year. I lived right on the path of the camino and talked to tons of people who were completing it. "Holy years" will see about 1.5x to 2x more pilgrims. It peaks at el dia de santiago (July 25). That's when the trail, particularly the last leg, will be quite crowded. On July 25th it will be a steady stream flowing into the main square. In late summer, fall or spring, from what I gather it's quite easy to not see a soul on most days. There are also a lot of side routes off the main path. Also, although the route has a lot of religious meaning, loads of people who are hiking aren't religious at all. So don't let that discourage you.
doorhammer 13y ago
I cycled, hitch-hiked, and walked a rough perimeter of ireland. I was with a friend, though. It was a lot of fun and really interesting. Had a bivy sack and sleeping bag so most nights we just walked off the road and slept wherever seemed hidden enough. We took about five weeks or so. Stayed in random towns and such for different durations, but the walking part was always my favorite. I'd like to do more trips like that, except try a few by myself. I get to and from work walking pretty often. Right now that's only about two miles, but even if it's five to ten, it can be nice. It takes awhile, but it's always been therapeutic to me. Walking home today, actually. Love it. Roadside bivy sack: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yxfmxk7qk0mmhx7/_MG_6280.JPG https://www.dropbox.com/s/yxfmxk7qk0mmhx7/_MG_6280.JPG
shrikant 13y ago
I would strongly second this recommendation -- I've done about 200 miles over different legs of the SWCP (across two years), and it is a magnificent way to spend a weekend. Some of the scenery is quite breath-taking, and literally all the places I stayed in (ranging from campsites to B&Bs) were excellent.
agumonkey 13y ago
I wonder how much ~sensory depravation~ we're getting for free with the average sedentary/city lifestyle.

by jzwinck 13y ago

arethuza 13y ago

I'm contemplating walking the Scottish National Trail (http://www.scottishnationaltrail.org.uk/ http://www.scottishnationaltrail.org.uk/) - backpacking and using bothies (http://www.mountainbothies.org.uk/ http://www.mountainbothies.org.uk/). I've walked a fair bit of this trail before - at least the bits in the Highlands and walking it in one go would be rather cool. Cycling round the North Sea would be rather interesting as well (http://www.northsea-cycle.com/ http://www.northsea-cycle.com/).

hemmer 13y ago

I too would recommend these types of walk - a couple of other ideas for long trails that I've particularly enjoyed: - Lykian Way, Turkey (http://www.lycianway.com/ http://www.lycianway.com/) - Rota Vincentina, Portugal (http://www.rotavicentina.com/ http://www.rotavicentina.com/)

nsaparanoid 13y ago

Question - what gear did you take, etc? You mention the english breakfast every day - I take it that meant you stayed in a village every day? So no camping gear etc? Did you buy new supplies in each place?

jzwinck 13y ago
Two of us went on the premise of a long weekend. We liked it so much we stayed on the trail for the whole week, and only returned home due to a prior appointment (which proved useless, drat). So we had clothes for three days and we did washing in the basin each evening. We had a small laptop, snacks, and not much else. The South West Coast Path is dotted with B&Bs, inns, pubs with accommodation, etc. These are often placed at convenient distances apart, 10 or 20 km at most usually. Accommodation prices ranged from 50 GBP at a simple golf course (the room had no proper heat, but the lounge/restaurant was charming) to 95 GBP at the Tinners Arms in Zennor (population 217 as of this writing), a spotless room above a pub from the thirteenth century. The chef there was from afar and cooked spectacular food in this, the middle of nowhere. You can camp instead, and in the high season you may even need to. We went in autumn when there were few distance walkers (downsides: not warm, some rain, quite a bit of mud in spots, every sleeping place in Porthcurno closed for the winter, but a B&B took us in and the local Elvis impersonator invited us to stay with him but he drove a camper van so...).
- nsaparanoid 13y ago
  fantastic, thanks for the reply!

kjs3 13y ago

Similarly, in the Eastern US we have the Appalachian Trail (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/ http://www.appalachiantrail.org/) at 2200 miles. Many folks do the whole thing, and many more do various subsets. Highly recommended.

grayrest 13y ago
While it's less famous, I've always wanted to through hike the Pacific Crest Trail (http://www.pcta.org/ http://www.pcta.org/) which is the west coast equivalent.
- tier237 13y ago
  I hope that at some point in my life, I'll be able to drop everything for a few months and go hike the Pacific Northwest Trail. It's more a route than an actual trail. It goes from Waterton, AB into Montana, and then parallels the international border (more or less) to the Washington coast. http://www.pnt.org/maps/map-pnt.gif http://www.pnt.org/maps/map-pnt.gif
  - dasil003 13y ago
    A friend of mine extended it significantly: http://www.underhumanpower.com http://www.underhumanpower.com
    - autodidakto 13y ago
      Sweet. Like a mini Jason Lewis (http://www.jasonexplorer.com/adventurer_jason_lewis_about/ http://www.jasonexplorer.com/adventurer_jason_lewis_about/)

gbog 13y ago

It's become fashionable to walk along Saint-Jacques de Compostelle pilgrimage path in France and Spain. Would you call it ultra-long walk? Anyways, the good part of it is that you have cheap and clean pilgrim hotels all the way, and the food is quite good in most places.

jzwinck 13y ago
Yes of course. I've seen it, but not walked it. Also known as the Way of St. James, the typical route seems to be about 500 miles (800 km), which is certainly substantial. And if you're into the religious aspects, there are probably few better places to spend a few weeks going slowly. But you probably won't find the sort of isolation that you would on less popular/accessible paths.
- jcomis 13y ago
  Really depends on the time of year and the actual year. I lived right on the path of the camino and talked to tons of people who were completing it. "Holy years" will see about 1.5x to 2x more pilgrims. It peaks at el dia de santiago (July 25). That's when the trail, particularly the last leg, will be quite crowded. On July 25th it will be a steady stream flowing into the main square. In late summer, fall or spring, from what I gather it's quite easy to not see a soul on most days. There are also a lot of side routes off the main path. Also, although the route has a lot of religious meaning, loads of people who are hiking aren't religious at all. So don't let that discourage you.

doorhammer 13y ago

I cycled, hitch-hiked, and walked a rough perimeter of ireland. I was with a friend, though. It was a lot of fun and really interesting. Had a bivy sack and sleeping bag so most nights we just walked off the road and slept wherever seemed hidden enough. We took about five weeks or so. Stayed in random towns and such for different durations, but the walking part was always my favorite. I'd like to do more trips like that, except try a few by myself. I get to and from work walking pretty often. Right now that's only about two miles, but even if it's five to ten, it can be nice. It takes awhile, but it's always been therapeutic to me. Walking home today, actually. Love it. Roadside bivy sack: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yxfmxk7qk0mmhx7/_MG_6280.JPG https://www.dropbox.com/s/yxfmxk7qk0mmhx7/_MG_6280.JPG

shrikant 13y ago

I would strongly second this recommendation -- I've done about 200 miles over different legs of the SWCP (across two years), and it is a magnificent way to spend a weekend. Some of the scenery is quite breath-taking, and literally all the places I stayed in (ranging from campsites to B&Bs) were excellent.

agumonkey 13y ago

I wonder how much ~sensory depravation~ we're getting for free with the average sedentary/city lifestyle.