630 Miles - An Audio Journey

"discovering the south west coast path was like finding a gateway to another world"

Critically acclaimed author, Katherine May, joins Rachel to chat about her journey along the South West Coast Path and the healing power of the path. Katherine is one of the charity's ambassadors and has walked the South West Coast Path for a number of years.

Chatting through her transformative time on the Path, Katherine also talks about winter and suggests tools we can all use to help us through the darker months.

About Katherine May

Katherine May is an internationally bestselling author and podcaster living in Whitstable, UK. Her most recent book, Enchantment became an instant New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller. Her internationally bestselling hybrid memoir Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times was adapted as BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week, and was shortlisted for the Porchlight and Barnes and Noble Book of the Year. The Electricity of Every Living Thing, her memoir of a midlife autism diagnosis was adapted as an audio drama by Audible. 

Katherine’s podcast, How We Live Now, ranks in the top 1% worldwide, and she has been a guest presenter for On Being’s The Future of Hope series. 

Katherine lives with her husband, son, two cats and a dog. She loves walking, sea-swimming and pickling slightly unappealing things.

In this episode Rachel chats with Lorna Sherriff, National Trails Officer, about the work she does improving, caring for and protecting the Path. Lorna discusses the importance of the Trails Partnership in ensuring the South West Coast Path meets the National Trail set of standards as well as introducing the Coast Path Connectors Project which is connecting new audiences to the health and wellbeing benefits of the Path.

Rachel also meets Huw, North Devon Project Officer, Coast Path Connectors Project (funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund), and Jeanie, a participant of the project, who discuss the transformative effect of the Coast Path. Alone and exhausted and struggling with her health after her husband’s death, Jeanie was bedridden for a lot of 2022. In June 2023, Jeanie joined the Coast Path Connectors group in North Devon and started the walking group Healing Steps for people who have suffered a close bereavement. Jeanie says "I love the healing power of nature, and the benefit of just walking. I've got my life back!"

In this #makingadifference episode we invite the inspiring Jo Earlam to talk with us about her love for the coast path, and her enduring passion for fundraising. Jo is a long-term member of the Association, champion fundraiser, hiker, trail runner, and SWCP completer, who has been raising money for charities close to her heart for 50 years! Jo finds solace and respite on the coast path whether she’s got her hiking boots on, or just happens to be running her 100th marathon (yes, 100 marathons!). 

We also chat with SWCPA Impact Fundraiser, Will Keen, who gives a great insight into all the ways that you can help support the South West Coast Path and the work we do. Whether it’s being a member, volunteer, sponsor, coast path friendly event organiser, mile maker, legacy maker, or fundraiser, there are a range of ways that people can get involved, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone that contributes to caring for our beloved National Trail.

Have a listen and see how you can #makeadifference  

In this episode, Rachel talks to four 'SWCP completers' - people who have completed the 630 miles of Britain's first coast path and longest National Trail. Many completers can take years to complete the Trail, but our four guests have each undertaken the journey in a thru-hike (or run in one case!) ranging from 56 days, 45 days and a record-breaking 18 days, 14 hours, 46 minutes, and 46 seconds!

Each of our guests shares their stories of walking the Path, the challenges a thru-hike can bring, the incredible experience of connecting to nature, and the generosity of people they met on the Path.

Listen and enjoy hearing from those who have walked and run the Path and what it means to them. As well as taking away valuable advice from their adventures that may help inspire your own SWCP completer journey.

Guests include:

Martin Berry, SWCPA, Volunteer Path Rep

I have always loved being “outside” and the Venture Scouts (now Explorer) gave me the chance to try many outdoor activities when younger. Having been lucky to take early retirement from a career in logistics/supply chain; and, more latterly the civil service, I am now more able to pursue my main activity of walking. Living in close proximity to the SWCP and Bodmin Moor provides great opportunities to get out and about without travelling far. I find walking out in the natural environment both physically and mentally beneficial to my wellbeing.

Dani Blackie, the Coastal Ultra Runner

As an avid ultrarunner, surfer and outdoors enthusiast I am always looking for a new adventure to embark upon. In June this year I completed the whole of the 870 miles Wales Coastal Path and back in 2021 I was the first Solo Female Fastest Known Time (FKT) holder for the SWCP. Playing in the elements, connecting with nature and people is where the magic happens!

Malcolm Joyce, SWCP Completer and Fundraiser

I fell in love with the SWCP in 2021, and decided to do the 630 miles in one go last year (2022).  Having survived a near death experience, when caught in a rip tide at Trebarwith Strand it seemed fitting to raise money for the RNLI; the lifeguard saved my life! 

Graham Eaves, five-times SWCP completer

Currently on a thru-hike of the SWCP for the sixth time! His love and dedication to the path and the experiences it brings show no sign of ending. For Graham, he may never call himself a SWCP 'completer', as his journey continues.

The South West Coast Path draws over 9 million visitors to the South West each year and is one of the region's most valuable environmental and economic assets, bringing £500 million into the local economy. Our Way Maker businesses and supporters understand the importance of walkers to their business, as well as understanding the need to help protect the path their business relies upon. This episode we talk with two of our Way Makers, Vanessa at Hartland Point Kiosk, and James at Mariners Guest House, Plymouth. We also chat with Mike of Luggage Transfers, a business that transfers walkers bags between accommodation as they hike the trail. It's a great behind the scenes look at how and why businesses located along the path welcome walkers, and also why they support the Association.

The South West Coast Path is more than a trail, it's a community, and listening to the chats in this episode it is apparent that the relationship between walker, business and the Association is symbiotic. Each is driven by a passion for the Path and a desire to enhance the experience of walking the path, and to protect it now and for future generations. As Rachel concludes, it's a three-way relationship and one that we are proud to be part of.

Mike Kearon, Luggage Transfers

Mike lives in Porthleven, and runs Luggage Transfers providing a bag courier service for the entire South West Coast Path and all routes in between. Mike set up Luggage Transfers in 2009, providing transfers for walkers, and in June 2023, had their busiest ever month completing over 4100 transfers moving almost 9000 bags!

www.luggagetransfers.co.uk

James Kay, Mariners Guest House, Plymouth

James and his wife Marie manage a 4 star 8 bedroom guest house just off the South West Coast Path. All rooms are ensuite with free wifi and an award winning breakfast served each morning. James and Marie moved to Plymouth in 2004 from the Midlands. They have had the Mariners for over 7 years now and have built it up from a run-down state, to a now successful guest house. They love living in Plymouth due to its proximity to the sea, Dartmoor, and the easy access to Cornwall.

www.marinersguesthouse.co.uk

Vanessa Ludwell, Hartland Point Kiosk

Vanessa grew up at Hartland Point on the farm and had a fabulous time being so close to the coast. Vanessa's grandparents started the Kiosk in the late 60s early 70s and ran it for several years followed by various other local people before being taken over by Vanessa in 2019. Vanessa says, "I feel so lucky to be able to carry on what my grandparents started - it’s very special. This stretch of coastline is awesome - it’s constantly changing - the wildlife - the dramatic landscape - the colours - the smell - just being there in its presence is something else."

https://hartlandpointrefreshments.co.uk

In this ‘live from the path’episode Rachel returns to her podcast roots and chats with people as she takes part in the Trailblazer Walk over several days in Dorset and Cornwall. Over 20 interviews were captured as people joined us to walk, meet other path lovers, and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Association. This latest instalment of 630 Miles is a great soundbite into the 35-day relay hike along the #SWCP, but it's a long one, so grab a cuppa, or pop on your headphones and go for a walk, and enjoy listening to a rich variety of chats along the South West Coast Path. If you couldn’t join us for the Trailblazer Walk – this is, almost, as good as having been there! 

The live podcasts were recorded on the following sections of the South West Coast Path during the Trailblazer Walk:

South Haven Point - Kimmeridge, Dorset

Sat 27 May - Sun 28 May

Lamorna Cove - Lizard, Cornwall

Sat 3 June - Mon 5 June

This episode was recorded during Mental Health Awareness Week and delves into the increasing body of research, both quantitative and qualitative, that shows how people's mental and physical wellbeing is enhanced when spending time outside in nature, most specifically, when walking the South West Coast Path - a coastal wild belt providing a valuable space between land and sea.

Rachel talks with Dr Carolyn Petersen, a social science and environment researcher at the University of Exeter. Carolyn has a long-standing research interest in the coast and the South West Coast Path, including health and wellbeing, coastal communities, tourism, managed realignment (the Otter estuary) and nature-based solutions.  She has completed two reports about the health and wellbeing benefits of walking the SWCP for the association and will share the insights from these reports as well as her own relationship with the path.

Rachel then chats with Paul Sharpe, an SWCPA fundraiser and 2022 SWCP completer, and David Morris, SWCPA Trustee.

Paul has been an SWCP walker since 2007. A lifelong wildlife enthusiast, wildlife gardener, birder and botanist. As a graphic designer for 37 years, Paul's world fell apart when the Covid pandemic hit, the business closed, all 40 employees were made redundant, and depression developed after shocking treatment from his employer. A stream of tough events followed, that left him in a dark place with no idea of what to do next. Walking the SWCP was his only plan.

David's career has been in community engagement, mental health and social inclusion with local and central government, social care, NHS, voluntary, and university sectors. He is committed to contributing to the association’s aim to maximise the value of the path, and the blue and green space it represents for health, wellbeing and recovery.

Episode 4 explores how the environment on and around the Coast Path inspires artists and creatives. We had the absolute privilege of chatting with renowned contemporary artist Kurt Jackson; celebrated musician Peter Knight; and artist, writer, and fundraiser Emma Scattergood.

Each artist discusses their very personal relationship with the coastal landscape and how immersing themselves in its awe-inspiring beauty, provokes and inspires their artwork and music. 

Kurt Jackson is a dedicated environmentalist and true polymath whose artistic practice ranges from his trademark visceral plein-air sessions to studio work and embraces an extensive range of materials and techniques including mixed media, large canvases, print-making and sculpture. Kurt and his wife Caroline live and work in the most-westerly town in Britain, St Just-in-Penwith where in 2015 they set up the Jackson Foundation. Jackson says that his ‘creativity, visual art and writing is often inspired, motivated and in response to the typography, biodiversity and changing seasonality of the coastal habitats’.

Peter Knight is a violinist who was 'discovered' by Ashley Hutchings, founder of the folk band Steeleye Span. He was invited to join the Band when they were just on the cusp of fame and spent 45 years touring the world with them, making several Gold Albums and appearing in their own BBC series. He left in 2013 to focus on the Gigspanner Trio and the Gigspanner Big Band, and most recently joined with The Salt Path author, Raynor Winn, on Saltlines – a collaboration of prose and music celebrating the South West Coast Path. 

Emma Scattergood is a writer, artist and educator, specialising in community-facing projects. After many years as a journalist/author and then a university lecturer, her latest project is walking and drawing the SW Coast Path and sharing elements of that process in Creative Path workshops, encouraging intuitive, creative engagement with nature. When not on the Path or in her studio, Emma also works part-time on a community project for a writing development agency and as a lead trustee for The Story Works (a children’s charity she co-founded).

This episode focuses on the nature and wildlife that you may encounter as you walk along the Path, how nature can adapt to changing landscapes caused by climate change, and highlights the beauty and ruggedness of the coastal environment that the South West Coast Path traverses. We speak with 3 guests: 

Sue Sayer MBE, Founder and Director of the Seal Research Trust

Sue is an internationally renowned researcher and author, and to Sue, there is no such thing as an average seal. Each one looks different, and has an individual personality, range of habits and migration route around the Celtic Sea! Sue founded the Seal Research Trust (est. Cornwall 2000) – a multi award-winning, evidence-based conservation charity. Sue’s philosophy is inspired by the Ecozoic and is all about ‘sharing our seas successfully’. Sue’s MBE is for services to Wildlife Protection and Conservation.

Tom Munro, Manager, Dorset AONB

Tom has worked for the Dorset AONB Partnership for 17 years; leading the team for 15 and helping the team and wider partnership deliver on nature recovery, regenerative agriculture, heritage conservation, enabling people’s connection to nature and place, local food and access to landscape for health and wellbeing.

Charlotte Wray, Ranger, Exmoor National Park

Charlotte has worked as Ranger for Exmoor National Park for a few years and has an interest in nature, conservation and working to ensure equal access to natural spaces.

Sue shares some amazing facts about the seals in Cornwall from their range of habits to their migration route around the Celtic Sea and talks of her renowned marine conservation work; Tom discusses nature recovery and the resilience of the coastline when impacted by erosion and highlights some of the unique Dorset wildlife including a small population of puffins; and Charlotte takes us on a journey through stunning Exmoor that includes lichen colonies living on the Exmoor sea cliffs and the infamous Exmoor Mile, plus much more.

Our second episode focuses on the people at the heart of the charity – the volunteers. 

Rachel meets members of the SWCPA team, Lorna Sherriff and Alex Turner, who work closely with the volunteers, and also chats with SWCPA volunteers Helen Marshall and Steve Church, about why and how they volunteer and what it means to them.

We are incredibly grateful to each and every one of our volunteers who come from many different walks of life and bring with them a host of immeasurable skills, knowledge and enthusiasm plus a shared passion for the South West Coast Path and the outdoors. Whether it's being a path rep and helping with our annual path survey, or volunteering on our community walks to help support other people who want to experience the path, we simply couldn't do what we do without them. Listen and find out more.

Guests in this episode include:

Alex Turner
Coast Path Connectors Project Manager, SWCPA

Alex has worked for SWCPA for over 5 years, starting off on an education project which developed into wider community engagement work. Before this, she worked in environmental education in various roles: teaching in colleges, practical conservation, and working with schools. Alex’s work has always focused on getting people outside into natural environments; learning, protecting, and enjoying.

Lorna Sherriff
National Trails Officer, SWCPA

Lorna grew up and worked on a private forestry estate in West Sussex and always had a passion for the countryside and the outdoors. She undertook a Rural Resource Management Degree at Seale Hayne in Newton Abbot where she fell in love with the South West. Lorna worked at the National Trust as part of the South Devon Ranger Team from 2003, until she joined the SWCPA in 2021. Lorna feels passionate that anyone who wants to get out and experience the coast and countryside whatever background or ability should have that opportunity.

Steve Church
SWCPA Local Rep; Chair, SWCPA Path Committee; SWCPA Planning Advisor, Cornwall

Steve has volunteered at the SWCPA since he retired in 2008. Before this, he worked in a local authority in the environment and countryside planning department and is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. Steve was invited to join SWCPA as an advisor and became secretary in 2010 (upon the illness of the previous holder) and became a Trustee 2010-2016. He has stepped down from the Trustee role but continues to be a Local path Rep and Chairs the SWCPA Path Committee.

Helen Marshall
SWCPA Coast Path Connector Volunteer

Helen made the decision to take early retirement last year after almost 40 years of working in a pharmacy. Her interests are walking, wild swimming, gundog training with her 2 black Labradors and keeping an allotment. Helen has lived in Plymouth her whole life and is within a few miles of the coast path regularly walking sections of it and swimming from it in and around Plymouth. Helen is an SWCP completer, a member of the SWCPA and volunteers as part of the Coast Path Connectors project.

Listen to our inaugural episode of 630 Miles – An Audio Journey and find out more about the charity that has been championing Britain’s longest National Trail for 50 years!

Our host, Rachel, talks with Ken Carter, SWCPA Trustee; and Julian Gray, SWCPA Director; who provide an insight into the history of the South West Coast Path Association. They explore some of the main challenges and issues that the charity faces in its 50th year, plus take a look forward at what the next 50 years might hold for the National Trail and the charity. Aletha Mays, SWCPA Head of Comms discusses some of the exciting events and activities planned to celebrate the charity’s 50th trailblazing year!

Ken Carter
SWCPA Trustee; SWCPA Path Rep; Chair of the Trails Partnership.

Ken has enjoyed a 35yr career in Coast and Countryside Management. In the mid 80’s he was the Heritage Coast Officer covering Brixham to Plymouth helping to manage and ‘fill the gaps’ in the SWCP. After various roles with the South Hams Council Ken retired and started volunteering at the Association in its 40th year.

Julian Gray
Director, SWCPA; Vice-Chair, World Trails Network; Chair, National Trails UK; Member, Natural England’s Landscape Advisory Panel.

Julian is an environmental leader with over 30 years experience in sustainability, access, conservation, and protected landscapes.

Aletha Mays
Head of Comms, SWCPA.

Aletha looks after the communications for the charity and is fortunate to live just a stone's throw from the SWCP in West Cornwall. She has worked in marketing and heritage for over 20 years and enjoys combining her professional experience with her passion for coastal walking.