Nat Severs: the English coast
In the second in series of entries for Walkmag.co.uk about his epic walk around the UK’s coastline, Nat Severs sums up what it was like to walk the coastline of England…
As I finally set off along Southsea sea front surrounded by snow and ice and with the big farewell over with I was feeling confident about the next year of walking. That confidence was tested quite early and has been shaken countless times since. The first week was a steep learning curve of just how far 20 miles with a heavy pack is, and was delivered as just punishment for my poor physical preparation.
After time my feet stopped screaming and despite not quite keeping to schedule I started to fall into the rhythm of the walk. The romantic vision of just sticking to the shore without need for maps was soon dashed as industry and private property forced me off track or into dead ends. The Solent way is supposed to run along this first part but it seems to have been left to disappear and is also very dependent on ferry travel which I have tried to avoid as mush as possible.
My first camp spot was at Old Harry Rocks with winter very much still around but despite waking up to a completely frosted-over tent several times, I was never too cold at night and somehow always managed to force myself up and going each morning. I was now on the South West coast path, so navigation became very easy, apart from when a sign had fallen down at a point with around five possible paths. I chose wrong. Rivers were also an issue – adding up to 30 extra miles – so much so that I foolishly paddled a windsurf board over a freezing river Dart. Every time the sea came back into view though, my spirits lifted and even now I haven’t bored of the sight of endless water stretching out to the horizon.
The highlights of my first months were the stunning winter sunrises and sunsets plus the satisfaction of completing my first 1000 miles. Land’s end and Lizard Point were major milestones on the journey but as places were disappointing and not worth stopping at. Once the South West Path was completed the going gradually became less walker-friendly and paths were quite poor or non-existent once more. Wales was calling though.
You can read an full interview with Nat from the Autumn issue of Walk Magazine here, and follow his trek on his Twitter feed (@nomads_land) and via his website http://natsevs.wordpress.com.
