Having completed the North Devon section of the SWCP, we felt it threw more than enough hills, rain, wind and heat in our direction to adequately prepare us for the North Cornwall part.
The northern sections of the coastal path are similarly rugged from the point you turn the corner at Woolacombe in Devon all the way to Land's End. There's a greater degree of weather and waves incurred by the south-westerly facing coastline than is experienced in the south, i.e. that which is directly facing the Atlantic Ocean. The same can be said about the rougher conditions thrown in the face of the SWCP hiker. You need to be made of stern stuff in order to survive the northern sections, especially if carrying heavy packs and camping out in it.
Northern Cornwall has much character and its popular towns are as iconic as its wild coastline. We very much enjoyed our time spent in Bude, Port Isaac, Padstow and St Ives, the latter one especially. Visit these places on a warm, sunny day and you'll see no need to travel further afield for an enjoyable holiday.
It was in northern Cornwall where we started to get feelings of wanting homely comforts and relaxation back again. The SWCP was the longest trip / trek we'd ever undertaken and after three weeks on the trail, there was the extra mental challenge of putting thoughts of home to the back of the mind. Having Land's End as the end point of this section was a big help as we'd never been there before and it would mark the point where we would turn the corner and start the long hike home. All in all, I think North Cornwall was our second favourite section of the whole SWCP.
By Darrell Grundy - visited on 7 July 2015