The South West Coast Path has been making headlines recently, partly thanks to the now rather infamous Salt Path debacle, but also because we’ve had a glorious summer (if you’re a walker and not a farmer, that is) and increased numbers - inspired by the book or the film - have been trudging along at least some of its 630-mile length. But where should our most famous long distance trail really begin and end? Minehead or Portishead – Where Should the Path Begin? I ask the quest

A Traditional Welcome on the Lemanak River After an hour (some of which was spent at high speed) we reached the long-house where we’d be staying as guests of the local Iban people. I could hear the welcoming bell before we arrived – a woman and a child came down to the river bank to greet us and we were marched ceremoniously up to climb the ancient steps cut out of a single log, which took us aloft to the entrance of the long-house. I was first in line to enter the long commu

Beat the Heat: 4 Refreshing West Country Hikes for Summer Days Devon's South East Coast During the two decades I spent writing a weekly walks column, the most common question from readers was: “What’s your favourite hike?” It is a question impossible to answer. This region boasts some of the finest walking routes in Europe; picking just one would be like naming a single favourite piece of music. There is simply an embarrassment of riches. The second most frequent query concer

Heatwaves in the UK and the West Country’s Cool Escape Heatwaves are hitting us thick and fast – indeed the UK is enjoying or enduring one this very day. Which is why I went out early this morning for the daily dog-walk. However, here in the West Country we do have a secret weapon in our armoury which helps us when the heat gets too hot. I am talking about the West Country’s most extensive icon – the myriad deep sunken lanes that wend and weave their way from one end of the r

Speke’s Mill Mouth – Devon's Hartland Peninsula A True Secret Seaside in North Devon Speke’s Mill Mouth has the complete kit of parts necessary to be named as one of the region’s great secret seasides. You can only access it by descending a wobbly looking staircase that looms next door to a giant waterfall – and the area boasts rare butterflies, a long lost Swannery which went the same way as a saint’s chapel and a herd of wild horses. That list alone puts it firmly into our

Just minutes from Plymouth lies a stretch of coast so secluded it is often called Cornwall’s "forgotten peninsula." From the iconic cliffside chalets of Treninnow to the lonely sheep-grazed slopes of Eglarooze, Whitsand Bay offers a wild maritime escape that feels worlds away from the city.

Discovering the Best Sand in Britain: St Martin’s, Isles of Scilly Sand is a very important topic when it comes to seasides – secret or otherwise – people often ask which beaches have the best sand, partly because the stuff comes in so many forms… The answer is simple – but you’re going to have to travel 28 miles west of Land’s End to walk barefoot in it. The beaches of St Martin’s in the Isles of Scilly have amazing white sand. It is the Rolls Royce of granular geology – the

The Enchanting Appeal of Ness Cove, Shaldon Discover One of Devon’s Best-Kept Beach Secrets A great many secret seasides are difficult if not dangerous to reach - which is probably why they remain unknown and out of the way - but here we visit a beach that is often visited and which has, for a century or more, been celebrated among local folk and holiday-makers alike. Having said that, the Ness Cove, near Shaldon, has all the hallmarks necessary to make it a secret seaside...

I once climbed down to this Secret Seaside and saw a fat naked man wobbling along in a single sandal." From bizarre flotsam to the rare Mediterranean ants that hold the key to a butterfly's survival, Strangles Beach is a wild, wonderful, and lonely masterpiece of the Cornish littoral.

What Is a Psammosere and Why Braunton Burrows Matters Do you know what a psammosere is? No, neither did I. What I now know is that the word psammosere is used to describe a sand dune system – and that Braunton Burrows the largest psammosere in England. If you haven’t ever been there, please go. Braunton Burrows is truly magnificent – and it boasts its own Secret Seaside. Saunton Sands: The Famous Face of North Devon’s Dunes Of course, everyone knows Saunton Sands which run so

Mediterranean Voyage: Sailing from Naples on the Sea Cloud Spirit Embarking from the Historic Bay of Naples If you’re going on a voyage, then the Bay of Naples makes for a pretty classic embarkation point . A great many historical figures have departed the shores beneath smoky old Vesuvius - way back in time the mythical Odysseus had his encounter with the Sirens somewhere on this coast; Roman Emperors such as Claudius and Tiberius spent time in the bay area; Admiral Nelson

Discovering the Magic of Boutique Travel Experiences Purveyors of magic. That is how you could describe some of the companies or agencies which make their money by selling you experiences away from home. The holiday industry can be hit-and-miss, but book with the right people and there can be golden moments when you are able to sit back and appreciate that your chosen purveyors of magic are, indeed, waving their wand. Cruising the Sicilian Coast Aboard a Luxury Sailing Ship

Discovering the Danish Happiness Factor Year after year, Denmark ranks near the top of the World Happiness Report , a global survey examining wellbeing across 140+ countries. In the most recent rankings, Denmark came second only to Finland, while the UK landed a less cheerful 23rd . But why? What makes this cool, windy, northern European nation so content? As mentioned in last week's feature on Skagen’s artist colony , I decided to explore the question of Danish happiness fur

Aboard the Sea Cloud Spirit We’ve recently been on a voyage aboard there amazing Sea Cloud Spirit and I am writing about it in tomorrow’s newspapers - namely the Western Morning News and Western Daily Press. After that I’ll be putting up a number of articles on here. The journey on the Sea Cloud Spirit commenced in Naples. The ship proceeded to Capri, where guests disembarked in what turned out to be the most heavy rainstorm imaginable. All good fun though and we had plenty

Discovering Skagen: Denmark’s Light-Filled Land's End with Artistic and Culinary Surprises Sometimes you find yourself enjoying a journey that you’ve decided to take for the most obscure of reasons. Such was the case with me last week as I strolled around a rather extraordinary seaside town, being almost blinded by the unusually bright natural light for which the place is famous. Which, in itself, provides a clue as to why I was visiting the very northern tip of Denmark. It a

Budock Vean Hotel and the Helford River Area Every region has special corners where geography and landscape combine to make things just a little bit more lovely than elsewhere, and this article is all about one such place. The area around the Helford River really is one of the jewels in Cornwall’s crown. What Is a Ria? Cornwall’s Unique River Valleys All Cornwall’s rias are scenic—a ria, as you’ll know, being a flooded river valley rather than a tidal estuary in the normal

Northern Denmark, particularly around Skagen, offers a straightforward approach to food. It's a region where the proximity to the sea heavily influences what's on the plate, with fresh catches forming the backbone of many meals. The Skagen harbour area itself is a hub for seafood. Restaurants here often occupy the old, red-painted fish warehouses, maintaining a connection to the town's fishing heritage. You can expect to find establishments where the daily catch is the star,

Dimos Balopoulos is a chef based in eastern Crete, and I remember him telling me how each winter his bosses send him around the world to work for short spells in top kitchens so that he could expand his kitchen’s repertoire. And if it’s good enough for a leading light like Dimos, it’s good enough for an amateur like me. Indeed, one reason I was in Crete was to learn a bit more about how the Greeks in general — and the Cretans in particular — centre all their culinary practice

An overview of an excellent hike at Lansallos on the south Cornish coast

Discover a wonderful walk around the coastal parts of Mawnan Smith in Southern Cornwall