So I live in England, and I deeply deeply love England. I particularly love London, but I'm also very fond of the country as a whole. However, we have appalling weather. Really really bad. BAD. This summer I think it's probably rained more than it does in winter in most countries. I've been so lucky in that - oddly - most Saturdays have been really not bad, and I have only been rained on a few times. Now that it's September, however, I've been preparing myself for the worst, weather-wise, especially after this week when it's rained pretty solidly all week.
Guess what happened today though? The clue is in the title! It was PERFECT. Amazing. I was all the more shocked, because I'd decided that I wanted to check out what the actual South West Coast Path was like. Cornwall is really really really far from London so I couldn't go down there, but the other end of it starts near Studland, and I thought if I could get down to Weymouth, I'd be able to try it out. However - naturally - there were works on the line, so I had to go to Poole instead. This was practically a military operation to organise - it's almost a three hour train journey down, and even when I got there I had to catch a bus for 40 minutes to Sandbanks and then a ferry over the harbor to Shell Bay before I could even get to the start of the "path" ... and the reason I say "path" in inverted commas is because the first 4.6km is along a beach!!
Consequently, I had to get on the 06:13 train from West Brompton, and it was miserable - freezing, drizzling, grey and misty. Awesome. I watched the countryside rolling by all the way down to about Southampton and it just got worse and worse ... but then MAGIC happened. Once we left Southampton, it was like we moved into a whole new country - the sky turned blue, the sun gleamed, and there was no mist in sight! By the time I got to Poole at 09:00, the weather could hardly be more perfect. After a small detour via the Quay (because the bus didn't leave from where I thought it did) I got to Shell Bay at about 11:00. Unfortunately, because there is only one bus an hour between Poole and Sandbanks, where the ferry goes from, I knew I wasn't likely to be able to do the full 42km today but I thought it was worth it to actually experience the path itself. Obviously, being me, I completely missed the sign for the start of the path - I mean, who wouldn't miss this, it's so discreet, so subtle:
Everyone else was taking their shoes off and wading across, but I was really really reluctant to do that because I knew I was going at least 30km and the beach was superfine sand. If that got into my socks I'd have absolutely had it in terms of blisters and I knew it. Therefore, I had to give this some thought. Eventually, I left my shoes on and picked my way over, which resulted in wet feet but at least my socks were sandfree. Since the beach was soooo long ... and we're talking 4.6km long here ... I decided to fartlek my way along in order not to knacker myself out, since I haven't got any experience running on sand at all. Since there weren't any other markers, I fartlek'd between people wearing red sweaters. This was made more interesting by the fact that sometimes they were walking away from me, but generally was quite an entertaining way to fartlek.
It was STUNNING on that beach. I was a bit confused by the lack of actual path, but a quick look at the guide to the the path reassured me that yes, I was meant to be on the beach. Once I realised that I could give up worrying and enjoy it! I have lived in some classically "beautiful" places - in particular, the Cayman Islands and New Zealand - and I don't think I've ever seen any beach to match this one.
Once I got to the end of the path I was at Studland - the place with the most expensive property in England! I can't say I massively appreciated this - I was busier concentrating on where the start of the actual path was. I finally asked someone, since the entire place was just filled with beach huts. Turns out you go between the beach huts, up some stairs, around the road a bit, and then you're back on the path. Cracking. I got going ... only to find that the path was blocked off thanks to the military. I'll have a few words to say about that next time I run into Army personnel! Luckily you can do a quick detour round the road and get back onto the path before Old Harry Rocks. I was super-happy about this 'cause Old Harry Rocks are famous and I'd been really looking forward to seeing them. I ran up the path feeling pretty happy about seeing them soon and I was definitely rewarded by an amazing view from the top of the cliff above the Rocks.
Having stopped for a photo-and-peanut-butter-wrap break, I headed straight up the cliff above Old Harry and down the path on the other side. I soon learned one thing about the SW Coast Path - the path can be unbelievably thin! I had to keep my eyes sharply on the path, as it was literally one foot directly in front of the other and a sheer drop to my left down to the sea. That made for fast running ... not! It was worth it though for the gorgeous views as I went over the crest of the cliff as Swanage was straight down to my left. The nice thing about the path is that it's got these markers everywhere so just in case you're not sure how far you've got to go, you've got it handily marked for you.
By this point, I'd gone about 13km and I was feeling really good. The downhill path was a bit hard to run because a) it was narrooooooow; b) it was muddy and slippery as anything; and c) it was really steep, so steps had been cut in it at various points. This, together with my slow start on the beach, meant that I was probably a lot fresher than I would normally have been, but I also think that the gorgeous weather and views were really helping. By the time I dropped down into Swanage I was ready for lunch, but I decided to get through town first and eat on the other side, because I knew I could only go for another 20 minutes or so before I had to turn around to get back in time for the ferry.
Swanage smells A.MAZ.ING. Basically, fresh fish and chips, vinegar, icecream and donuts. I couldn't work out what the town reminded me of - it was so cute and it felt really familiar somehow, even though I knew I hadn't been there before. I got chatting to an old dude when I was filling up my water bottles and he provided the answer - he told me "It reminds you of a time you've never known; a time before you were born, but a time you've always heard about. Kids without technology, building sandcastles. Teenagers learning to fish off the pier. Families enjoying each other's company. Fresh food and simple treats. That's what it reminds you of ..." And you know what? He was so right. I wasn't around in the 60s or 70s, but now I know what it must have been like ... it was so lovely. Once I'd made it through town I rejoined the path on the other side to head up the next hill, but only as far as the top before I flopped down and ate my lunch. With all those smells I was STARVING but I decided that a sneaky fish and chips probably wasn't going to help me get back over that hill, so I settled for - another - peanut butter wrap. I am swiftly evolving the kind of hatred for peanut butter wraps that's normally reserved for dictators and mass murderers. However, I swallowed it down and headed back through Swanage and back over the hill. Heading back, I went up the path a bit further and through a couple of gates - to discover I could see the sea on both sides!
That second picture is the 4.6km beach from Studland to Shell Bay - it's so amazing!
Not only did I have the amazing views on both sides, I was also greeted by one of my people. Haha jokes - just a sheep. Although since I lived in NZ for 18 years, I did wonder if he'd heard of the sorts of things Kiwis allegedly get up to since all I can say about his behaviour is that he preened at me. Look at the lil poser! There were other sheep too, but this was the only one evincing an interest in me (story of my life ... the bloody lunatic is the one that fancies me!)
Having said goodbye, it was a straight run back down to Old Harry, then down the cliff path and back to the beach. I stopped again at Studland (if it's going to be the most expensive realty in England, I thought I might as well enjoy it), and then worked out I had 45 minutes to get back along the beach. I was pretty knackered by now, so I decided to do the fartlek action again (my favorite weapon in my arsenal when I'm tired). This time I did blue sweaters but it didn't work out so well because blue is obviously not in this season, so I changed to beach wind breakers. That was much more effective and it even worked in the nekkid bit! Cracking! I slowed down to a walk after a while though, because as it turns out sand is a real pain to run on.
Finally, at 29.5km, I ended up back at the ferry. I was really really tired! 1/3 of the run was on sand, and I am pretty sure that's why I was more tired than I thought I would be. I also had really been enjoying the run so I think I hadn't really noticed that I was getting tired in the same way that I had on other runs. Luckily I had the ferry right there and then a 40-minute wait for the bus back to Poole (ONE BUS AN HOUR!).
By the time I got back to Poole I was STARVING MARVIN but when I looked at my remaining peanut butter wrap, I couldn't even. No way was that thing getting anywhere near my stomach. What I really really wanted was fish and chips, but sadly the only thing that was open was Greggs. Whilst a steak bake wasn't the same thing, at least it was hot and not a peanut-butter wrap. Well worth the £1.10! Having changed into compression tights and a warm fleece (it might have been a nice day but it IS September), I jumped on the train and tucked into my steak bake. Sadly it wasn't quite as warm as one would consider wholly ideal (read: stone cold) but at least it was comforting. I finally got home at 20:30 - a long day, but absolutely my favorite run to date. I'm glad I didn't find the path before because (the beach aside) it was easier than Beachy Head, so I think I've had better training there, but I'm so happy I did get down there today. 
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