Last week we completed the 630 miles from Minehead to Poole, logging our local walks and virtually tracking them around the South West Coast Path.
Well, we didn't stop there. Until the end of the month, we are going to see how much further around the UK coast we can get and, believe it or not, one week on we are already in Margate, Kent!
Our members are doing an incredible job. Here's what they've been up to this week.
Day 10 South Haven Point to Beaulieu
41.65 miles
After completing the SWCP, Laura C got the ferry over to Sandbanks (I think it's still the most expensive place to live in the UK?) and walked along Bournemouth Beach past the pier.
Bournemouth Pier (CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72532)
Harriet continued along Bournemouth beach, up onto Hengistbury Head and down towards Christchurch Harbour on her walk in Portishead, whilst Mary and Marta took us on to Hurst Point and through Keyhaven Marshes, moving closer and closer to the Solent and with views of the Isle of Wight out to sea.
Janet then took us on to Lymington Pier, whilst Laura C and Mary's local Bristol runs and walks passed Needs Ore Point with the view to Gull Island and Cowes. Vikkie completed the day on her Bedminster walk, hiking inland along the edge of the river to Beaulieu.
Days 11 to 15
Beaulieu to Greatstone
169.52 miles
Marta started us off in Beaulieu with her walk around Leigh Woods. She and Lorraine took us into Hythe and Southampton and past the ruins of Netley Abbey.
Netley Abbey (By Gillian Moy, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4412624)
Vikkie's walk in Leigh Woods (see pic below), Laura C's Brockweir walk and Becky's Snuff Mills stroll then brought us around the corner along Brownwich Cliffs towards Tichfield Haven.
(Leigh Woods, photo by Vikkie)
(Snuff Mills, photo by Becky)
From there Janet Miller took us on towards Gosport and Portsmouth, passing Fort Gilkicker and the Spinnacker Tower.
(Spinnacker Tower, By Oxfordmale - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52032565)
Vikkie's walk round Blaise Castle then passed through Southsea Common and Southsea Pier whilst Charlotte's run round Clifton and Georgia's loop round Leigh Woods and Abbot's Pool took us to Sweare Deep (like Helm's Deep?). Clare's big 24-miler around Bristol brought us into Chichester Harbour AONB, whilst Vikkie, Lorraine and Mary took us through Pagham Nature Reserve to Bognor Regis (our second Butlins!).
(Clifton Observatory, photo by Vikkie)
(Clifton, photo by Mary)
(Bognor Regis Pier, By Carol Sowerby, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=330391)
Laura C's hike round Tintern passed the second of many piers on this stretch of the UK coast, Littlehampton Pier. Janet and Vikkie brought us to the next pier at Worthing and Mary and Clare's urban wanders took us to the most famous pier of all (maybe?) Brighton Pier!
(Worthing Pier, By Earldelawarr - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17911193)
(Brighton Pier, By Diliff - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6062965)
Laura C, Mary and Kelsey has the pleasure of walking some of the nicest parts of the UK coast along the Seven Sisters, Birling Gap and Beachy Head to reach Eastbourne Pier.
(Beachy Head, By Ian Stannard from Southsea, England - Beachy HeadUploaded by snowmanradio, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18759171)
Mary's totter around Totterdown and Laura C's Bathfor walk passed another pier, Hastings this time.
(Hastings Pier, By No machine-readable author provided. Jarlhelm assumed (based on copyright claims). - No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=647025)
Finally, Lorraine, Vikkie, Mary and Ashleigh's various runs and hikes at Stourhead, Knowle and Bath, brought us past Pett Level Beach, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and Dungeness into Greatstone.
Days 16 and 17
Greatstone to Margate
54.02 miles
Mary started the day with her walk around Knowle, taking us to St. Mary's Bay. Lorraine then took over on her walk round Wincanton and Mary and Janet Miller brought us to Folkestone Harbour.
Mary's walk around Keynsham (see pic) then took us round to Samphire How and over the White Cliffs of Dover to St. Margaret's Beach.
(Keynsham Walk, photo by Mary)
(White Cliffs of Dover, By Immanuel Giel - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25365041)
Ashleigh's stroll round Bath passed through Sandwich Bay and Laura C's long walk around Combe Down took us around the Stour estuary to Pegwell Bay and past a Viking Ship!
(Viking Ship replica, By Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13033225)
Lorraine then finished off Thursday with her long hike round Cucklington, bringing us through Ramsgate Harbour, Dumpton Bay - the amazingly named Hackemdown Point (is that a Viking thing?) - beautiful Kingsgate Bay Sea Arch, Botany Bay and into the seaside resort of Margate.
(Botany Bay, By Le Deluge - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11384795)
Great work everyone - keep logging those miles! Can you believe we have already turned the corner onto the East Coast and we're now in Kent?!