I confess I’d not heard of The Salt Path until the day before we started our walk. We were going to walk a tiny section of the South-West coastal path which starts at Minehead in Somerset and ends in Poole in Dorset, via Land’s End. A total of 630 miles. We were doing just 25 miles from St Ives to Land’s End.

The Salt Path is a Sunday Times bestseller written by Raynor Winn who at the age of 50 found herself (and her husband) homeless. If that is not bad enough her husband was diagnosed with a terminal degenerative disease. So they decided to walk the salt path. Wild camping and living on the meagre rations that their 40 pound per week benefit payment allowed.

For me it was just a chance of doing something more normal after months of lockdown. A stroll along a coastal path in a beautiful county. I was walking with my friend, Jill, who I first met 44 years ago. We lived next door to each other in the nurses home. More recently we have got together once a year (except 2020) to walk the Wiltshire hills where she lives. But this year we decided to do something different so Jill threw herself into planning our itinerary.

My first challenge was to pack a rucksack with everything I would need for 3 days walking and 4 nights away from home. No hair straighteners and as the weather forecast was good no waterproof trousers or gloves. The rucksack when packed weighed just under a stone. It felt comfortable but how will it feel after a day’s walking?

I travelled to Penzance first class as it was only £10 more than standard class with my senior citizen railcard. A good start. On our arrival in Penzance we dumped our rucksacks at the B & B and went to the local pub for our first pint of lager. Sitting in the sunshine we felt ready to get going. The following morning we were on the open top coastal bus to St Ives where we would start our walk.

We had been warned by a couple of the locals in Penzance not to go anywhere near St Ives as the world leaders had arrived for the G7. But whilst there was a huge police presence and a couple of warships visible beyond the beach I’m sure St Ives was much as it normally is in the Summer. It was busy. Buzzing with holidaymakers. We had a coffee sitting on a bench by the harbour. Bought a couple of Cornish pasties for lunch. And then we were off.

According to the guide the coastal path from St Ives to Pennine is graded ‘severe’. We would get to Pennine at the end of our second day. But how ‘severe’ could a coastal path be? I’d climbed numerous mountains so this should be relatively easy. How naive can one be.

The sun was shining, the views were glorious. But there were sections of the path that were tough. Comparable to any mountain I’ve climbed. I soon reminded myself that walking up was a lot easier than walking down. I was far more likely to slip over on a descent. And there were plenty of downs. As a last minute addition to my rucksack I’d included a telescopic walking pole. But when the going got tough I discovered that it was broken. And I really needed it.

It was perfect walking weather. Warm but with a coastal breeze. I’d put on my sunscreen. The pasties were tasty and the few other walkers we passed were friendly. And I was taking plenty of photos.

But that slip happened as I manoeuvred myself down a descent. The path was less than a foot wide with gorse/bracken (who knows) encroaching from both sides. I couldn’t put my hands down as the barbs were so sharp. But then I slipped. My knee ended up in a position that months of yoga had failed to achieve with a hand punctured with barbs. Had I injured myself? Could I get up? I got up. I pulled the barbs from my hand. Wiped the blood away and started walking again. But a little more tentatively.

In The Salt Lake they visit The Tinners Arms in Zennor but couldn’t afford to stay. We couldn’t stay as they were fully booked. We were staying in a B & B 15 minutes walk away. As The Tinners Arms was the only place to eat we had to decide whether to eat even though we weren’t that hungry or walk to the B & B and then come back again. The latter was not an option. We were tired, aching and thirsty. So we sat in the sun. Downed 2 pints of soda and made ourselves eat a bowl of soup.

The following morning whilst digging into to our full English breakfast we started talking to two other women who had walked the same path as us. They had decided that walking the path with a rucksack was too difficult so were going to take the bus to their next stop off point drop off their rucksacks and then walk the path. It did strike us as we carried along the path that we were the only walkers carrying our luggage. Those we spoke to were using luggage transfer. One walker even congratulated us.

We never considered luggage transfer an option but it did make the walk harder. It changes your centre of gravity so the scrambling over rocks is just that little more precarious. Plus by the end of each day my shoulders ached from the weight of it.

Coincidentally the weight of my rucksack was the same as my lockdown weight increase. I need to contemplate that snippet.

Our second day of walking brought rain. That wasn’t in the weather forecast. And no waterproof trousers. Fortunately, by the time we set off the worse had passed leaving just a drizzle.

The coastal path is full of surprises. It goes up when you think it should go down. Down not up. Round not over. Over not round. It is never boring. But it remained brutal in parts. According to Raynor Winn ‘the ground breaks and heaves, pushing up boulders, turning the path into a spew of sharp, impassable rock’. But you have no option but to pass.

We ate our packed lunch (courtesy of the B & B) sitting on a rock in Portheras Cove. The whole beach to ourselves apart from two fishermen.

After 6 hours of walking but only 7 miles covered we arrived at Pendeen. B & B at the local pub. The day had been cloudy, the rain had held off but my face was red. I should have put sunscreen on. Rookie error.

The following morning we were woken by rain. We waited until it stopped before we set off after another delicious breakfast. The path was now graded ‘moderate’. Two down from ‘severe’. We were looking forward to a more leisurely day. But first we had to find the coastal path. We got lost. Fortunately a woman walking her dogs showed us a ‘local’ route back onto it.

The path was easier but our walk was longer. 10 miles to Land’s End. And my knee was sore so I had to rely more on my other leg where any scrambling was needed.

For the first time in three days we came across a cafe in a car park by the path. I had imagined that such refreshment stops would have been scattered throughout the walk. But this was the only one. After a cappuccino and a flapjack we were on our way again. Land’s End was in sight. Literally. We eventually got to Sennon and then just 1 mile uphill to the most south westerly point of England. It is a little disappointing. You have to pay to have your photograph taken by the signpost (we didn’t bother) and the ‘resort’ is tacky with a capital T. But all we were interested in was getting the bus back to Penzance. It was getting cold and we were tired. Initially it seemed as if G7 had scuppered the expected bus schedule but after a short wait we were back on the open top coastal bus. Except we sat inside this time.

The end of our 25 mile walk from St Ives to Land’s End. It was harder than I thought it would be. The landscape was breathtaking. The people were friendly. It was a mini adventure. One that I would definitely do again.

I’ve now read The Salt Path. I’m probably more appreciative of their experience after doing just a tiny part of the walk with the benefit of accommodation and food. I can’t imagine having to set up a tent in wild weather whilst feeling hungry and exhausted. But it was life affirming and I got a glimpse.