Day 40: The final county

Start: Seaton

End: West Bay

Miles: 17

Total miles: 553

This morning I left Seaton and returned to the path. The route to Lyme Regis followed a path through The Undercliff nature reserve, a section I'd been looking forward to. This was a unique 7 mile stretch formed from the sandstone and chalk slipping over clay and limestone. This has left a ragged coastline dissected by some of the largest coastal landslides in the county. Before I entered a sign informed me it would take 4 hours to get to Lyme Regis and once you enter the undercliff there is no route to regain the cliff or the seafront. It described the route as arduous and served to deter people who were unprepared. A further sign listed safety points; stick to the path, don't stand under trees for long periods of time and don't enter in high winds or storms. A place with so many warning signs was intriguing to me, so I entered. The undercliff is a world in itself. A dense forest, with a narrow path lined with rocks and tangled roots. It felt like a jungle. I was fully enclosed and protected by the trees, only occasionally would I catch a glimpse of the sea to my right or a flash of the white cliffs to my left. It felt so different to all the other sections where I was out in the open with endless coastal vistas. Here it was just me and the trees. The man from Boston yesterday told me this section was magical, saying the enclosed path in the trees reminded him of the Appalachian trail back home on the East coast. The route was fun, it undulated and the momentum I gained on the declines propelled my up the short inclines. I hopped over tree roots, swerved under low branches and admired the variety of plants thriving in this unique ecosystem. I adopted a hybrid approach between trail running and hiking, really enjoying the fast pace over the fun terrain. Before I knew it, I was in Lyme Regis in just over two hours. The Undercliffs were a perfect transition from Devon to Dorset, a section I was captivated by and will surely return to. I'd made it to the final county and thought it was fitting to have a celebratory cup of tea and cake. This would refuel me before the next chapter of the day. Golden Cap.

The majority of the route over these final days is familiar to me. But you never repeat the same walk; the conditions and the people on route would all be different. After some road walking I arrived to Charmouth. Getting to Charmouth felt significant and I felt a smile form as I saw the iconic fossil hunting beach. I was here back in February, shortly after I'd decided to undertake this challenge. I'd packed up a heavy rucksack and headed for Golden Cap, where I marched up and down to prepare my body for the hills I would encounter. I remember sitting on the beach in my winter coat and hat staring at the big cliffs, pondering questions like: How would it feel to arrive here after 40 days of hiking? After 500 and something miles? Would I even make it that far? But here I was. Still standing, still smiling, still moving forward. I felt proud and a little elated. I held onto this feeling and used it as fuel for my legs to climb the next hill.

After a series of hills I arrived at Golden Cap. A series of switch backs lined with steps leads to the summit, the visibility was poor and I could only see a view metres ahead. After the climb, I descended into Seatown where I rested. My feet were beginning to grow sore. Tired of being caged up in sweaty socks and heavy boots for days on end, they were ready to be free. I did my best to ignore the soreness and continued climbing hills to West Bay. As the fog lifted and the sun burnt through the clouds, the Isle of Portland and Chesil beach came into view. I was ready to rest as I staggered into West Bay, I had walked 34 miles and climbed 2000m in two days. When you think of coastal walking it’s easy to envisage sweeping sandy beaches and flat promenades and forget about the elevation. As the trail rises and falls with every river mouth it crosses, the total elevation gain across the path is 35,031m. This is almost 4 times the height of Everest, just without the extreme altitude, freezing temperatures and with more opportunities to stop for pasties and ice cream. Or to compare to a peak closer to home, it's the elevation of 26 Ben Nevis climbs. There were more hills to come in Dorset over the next days. But Poole was only 4 days away, it wouldn't be long until I'd allow my mind to wander to the comforts of home.