Detailed route cards for all 70 paths

To find out more about the South West Coast Path please visit National Trail or South West Coast Path Association.

To find out detailed information about each path, select a region and then click on an individual route card:

Exmoor/North Devon | North Cornwall | South Cornwall | South Devon | Dorset

Exmoor/North Devon

Minehead to Porlock Weir (doc 50k) Moderate
Porlock Weir to Lynmouth (doc 50k) Moderate
Lynmouth to Combe Martin (doc 50k) Strenuous
Combe Martin to Lee Bay (doc 50k) Moderate to Strenuous
Lee Bay to Croyde Bay (doc 50k) Strenuous to Moderate
Croyde Bay to Barnstaple (doc 50k) Easy
Barnstaple to Bideford (doc 50k) Easy
Bideford to Westward Ho! (doc 50k) Easy
Westward Ho! to Clovelly (doc 50k) Strenuous
Clovelly to Hartland Quay (doc 50k) Moderate to Strenuous
Hartland Quay to Marsland Mouth (doc 50k) Severe

A roller-coaster of a ride through the twisted rock formations that characterise this coastline awaits you. Dark, brooding cliffs where the birds glide gracefully on the thermals and seals bask on the rocks below; the sands and hostelries of Bude provide welcome relief as we enter a landscape of legends; is Tintagel really the Camelot of King Arthur?

This coastline inspired the writings of a young Thomas Hardy who found here love and passion and a hundred years later became enshrined in the poems of Sir John Betjeman; his grave can be found in the small churchyard of St Enodoc in the dunes of the Camel Estuary.

Fortify yourself with a pasty from one of the numerous bakeries in Padstow and indulge in a pastry from Rick Stein's deli as we become more emeshed in the culture and traditions of Celtic Cornwall. A stag night in Newquay, the choice is yours but perhaps a step too far for the rich Methodist tradition that found favour among the mining communities. An artistic interlude at Tate St Ives in anticipation of a wild and rugged coast, where the engine houses of a once thriving mining industry are stark but strangely beguiling reminders of the toils and tribulations that give rise to the popular notion that down every hole you will find a Cornishman.

Our journey west is complete and at Lands End we turn east with the prevailing winds now in our sails.

Botallack in North Cornwall

Marsland Mouth to Bude(Canal) (doc 50k) Severe
Bude (Canal) to Crackington Haven (doc 50k) Strenuous
Crackington Haven to Boscastle (doc 50k) Strenuous
Boscastle to Trebarwith Strand (doc 50k) Moderate
Trebarwith Strand to Port Isaac (doc 50k) Severe
Port Isaac to Rock (doc 50k) Strenuous
Padstow to Trevone (doc 50k) Easy
Trevone to Porthcothan (doc 50k) Easy
Porthcothan to Newquay (doc 50k) Moderate
Newquay to Holywell (doc 50k) Moderate
Holywell to St Agnes (doc 50k) Moderate
St Agnes to Portreath (doc 50k) Moderate to Strenuous
Portreath to Gwithian (doc 50k) Moderate
Gwithian to St Ives (doc 50k) Moderate
St Ives to Zennor Head (doc 50k) Severe
Zennor Head to Pendeen Watch (doc 50k) Severe
Pendeen Watch to Sennen Cove (doc 50k) Moderate

Pencarrow Head in South Cornwall

A rich tapestry of coves, beaches and villages greets us as we head east. Here, a benign climate supports rich and luscious gardens, sheltered from the off-shore winds in the inviting valleys that punctuate the coast.

Take in a play at the open-air Minack Theatre at Portcurno, nestling in its cliff-side location. The distant views towards St Michael's Mount draw us through the fishing port of Newlyn and past the terminus of the Great Western Railway at Penzance. Like the medieval pilgrims who embarked for mainland Europe, while away an hour or two at the Mount before we circle the unique landscape of the Lizard, home to rare orchids, plants and wildlife, the distant views dominated by the satellite dishes at Goonhilly Earth Station, sadly soon to be dismantled. The castles at Pendennis and St Mawes guard the entrance to Carrick Roads at Falmouth. Quintessential Cornish fishing villages invite us to sample the delights of seafood platters and slake our thirst with a glass from the Sharps and St Austell breweries.

A short detour inland takes us to the iconic Eden Project whilst our literary senses are fulfilled in Du Maurier country at Fowey as we dream of Manderley again. Along the harbour walls at Looe the children cast their lines in the hope of landing a crab or two. As we embark on the ferry from Cremyll to Stonehouse, Plymouth, we say a fond farewell to Cornwall.

Sennen Cove to Porthcurno (doc 50k) Moderate
Porthcurno to Lamorna Cove (doc 50k) Moderate
Lamorna Cove to Marazion (doc 50k) Strenuous then Easy
Marazion to Porthleven (doc 50k) Moderate then Strenuous
Porthleven to Mullion Cove (doc 50k) Moderate
Mullion Cove to The Lizard (doc 50k) Moderate
The Lizard to Coverack (doc 50k) Moderate to Strenuous
Coverack to Helford (Ferry) (doc 50k) Moderate
Helford Passage to St Mawes (doc 50k) Moderate
Place to Porthscatho (doc 50k) Easy
Portscatho to East Portholland (doc 50k) Strenuous
East Portholland to Mevagissey (doc 50k) Strenuous then Easy
Mevagissey to Charlestown (doc 50k) Strenuous
Charlestown to Fowey (doc 50k) Easy then Moderate
Fowey to Polperro (doc 50k) Strenuous
Polperro to Looe (doc 50k) Moderate
Looe to Portwrinkle (doc 50k) Strenuous
Portwrinkle to Cremyll (doc 50k) Moderate

We can linger over our game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe as we plan for a soft shoe shuffle through the South Hams. Idyllic maritime haunts await us at Salcombe and Dartmouth, having sampled the pristine golden beaches of South Devon.

These shores hide dark secrets of shipwrecks and smuggling, glorify in the art noveau of the D'Oyly Cartes at Coleton Fishacre and indulge in the theatre and mystery of Agatha Christie as we are greeted with the magnificent sweep of Torbay.

A procession of seaside towns, Paignton, Torquay, Teignmouth and Dawlish take us to the Exe Estuary with its abundance of wading birds. Our attention is now drawn to the red cliffs that characterise the East Devon coast, through the elegant seaside resort of Sidmouth. We are now in the World Heritage Site, the magnificent Jurassic Coast, stretching some 90 miles from Exmouth to Swanage.

This is a rich agricultural landscape where the paths are often steep and tiring but where we are never far from the comforts of modern society. Glistening white in the distance we are approaching the western-most outcrop of limestone at Beer Head. The sandy beaches have generally given way to shingle beaches such as Branscombe and beyond lie the landslips of the national nature reserve that stretches six miles from Seaton to Lyme Regis.

Near Salcombe in South Devon

Cremyll to Mountbatten Point (doc 50k) Easy
Mountbatten Point to Wembury (doc 50k) Easy
Noss Mayo to River Erme (doc 50k) Easy then Strenuous
River Erme (East) to Cockleridge (doc 50k) Strenuous
Bantham to Hope Cove (doc 50k) Moderate
Hope Cove to Salcombe (doc 50k) Strenuous
Salcombe to Torcross (doc 50k) Strenuous
Torcross to Dartmouth (doc 50k) Moderate
Kingswear to Brixham Harbour (doc 50k) Strenuous
Brixham to Torquay Harbour (doc 50k) Moderate
Torquay to Shaldon (doc 50k) Strenuous
Shaldon to Starcross (Ferry) (doc 50k) Easy
Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton (doc 50k) Moderate
Budleigh Salterton to Sidmouth (doc 50k) Moderate then Strenuous
Sidmouth to Beer (doc 50k) Severe then Strenuous
Beer to Lyme Regis (doc 50k) Moderate

Durdle Door in Dorset

Reflect on and put to right the ills of the world sitting on the Cobb at Lyme Regis, the outline of Portland Bill to the east. There is one final steep climb from Charmouth up to Golden Cap and a breezy undulating path down to West Bay, a chance to indulge in traditional seaside activities before the mighty Chesil Bank, where shingle crunches underfoot for mile upon mile. The satisfaction of experiencing one of the undiscovered treasures of the south coast path and the prospect of afternoon tea and Dorset apple cake at Abbotsbury spurs you on...

In five years time Weymouth will be the centre of world attention as it hosts the yachting at the 2012 Olympics. The coast path is diverted through the shifting shales that will be our companion for many a mile and we aim over a series of switchbacks for the nationally recognised natural arch at Durdle Door and on into Lulworth Cove.

Not a walk for the timid but one which Thomas Hardy would have recognised in Far From the Madding Crowd. The army ranges are a doddle as we ingratiate ourselves into Purbeck, heading for the Square and Compass at Worth Matravers for a well earned pint and pastie. We are now heading to the final stretch, through Swanage, past the Old Harry Rocks onto Studland Beach and South Haven Point.

Lyme Regis to West Bay (doc 50k) Strenuous
West Bay to Abbotsbury (doc 50k) Moderate
Abbotsbury to Weymouth (doc 50k) Easy but Chesil Beach is Strenuous
The Isle of Portland (circular) (doc 50k) Moderate
Ferrybridge to Lulworth Cove (doc 50k) Easy to Moderate to Strenuous
Lulworth Cove to Kimmeridge (doc 50k) Severe
Kimmeridge to Swanage (doc 50k) Strenuous, Moderate towards end
Swanage to South Haven Point (doc 50k) Moderate

To view paths graded by difficulty, please click here.

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