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Book Review

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Walking the South Coast of England
by David Bathhurst

It may not have occured to you to walk the entire South Coast of England, but it is possible, and David Bathurst's fine stage-by-stage guide is the right book to set you on your way.

Stand, in your imagination, beside the much-photographed signpost at Lands End and look eastwards. If they put in the sign for Dover and gave you the distance by land, instead of "as the crow flies", it would read "725 miles". Turn your gaze from the naff tourist symbol to the ancient windswept cliff tops and tell yourself "I'm going to start walking along those cliffs and carry on step-by-step all the way to those other, famously-white, cliffs overlooking Dover harbour. If you like that thought and decide to put the dream into action then you should read David Bathurst's excellent book.

This compact paperback does what the title says. At a rough average of 3 miles a page it takes you along the walk in a way you can follow as a guide and enjoy as an armchair read. It describes the journey in an appealing, narrative style with touches of gentle humour. It can be read passively but I hope it will spur you to get out your boots and start walking; and it can be that simple. There is no rule that says you have to walk the entre route in one go, or even to do it in sequence. You can pick up parts of the route over several years if that's all opportunity allows and then, by re-reading the book, put your personal memories and impressions back into the right order.

"Walking the South Coast of England" breaks the route down into sections that can be walked in a day, though some people may find 20+ miles a bit too much and may therefore chose to break the sections down further. But it doesn't miss anything that can reasonable be included; it takes in the whole coast of the Isle of Wight and Hayling Island and the only coastal sections it avoids are those where the laws of trespass or the risk of being shot on a military firing range make circumnavigation an essential. On the other hand, it is not so pedantic as to force you miles inland round long estuarine sections; a ferry makes sense if it forms part of the true coastal route.

For some readers it may never be possible to walk the whole 725 miles; but you can use the book to guide you through just a few parts of this gorgeous coastal wonderland. And, for the rest, you can dream.

© Derrick Phillips 2008