Day One (Minehead to a Minehead campsite!)

After saying goodbye to two amazing friends who’d offered to drive me to Minehead, Pegasus and I set off along Minehead sea front. I was keen to get going. The first hundred yards seemed so familiar as Ive watched so many YouTube video of walkers starting out .

The sun made an effort to come out making me think, oh my sunglasses are out of reach. There was no way I was taking off that backpack having fought to get it on. But, that thought didn’t last long because I hadn’t walked any more than a few hundred yards before a light shower turned into a deluge! We sought cover in a shelter and decked ourselves in waterproofs, while a old fella with a yapping dog preceded to tell me about all the people he’d known walk the SWCP, one friend apparently walks the 8 weeks every year.

Spurred on and ready for battle we started the steep climb out of Minehead with the rain lashing down and running off our gear. And my what a climb. Pegasus was going great guns I needed to pause every so often to adjust my back pack and rest for breath. I screamed novice!

The view at the top was a welcoming sight. The sea lapping on a lonely stoney beach at the bottom of a heather covered slope.

Our first Coastal Path sign.

Pegasus backpack was proving to be a pain as it kept slipping. Every time I bent down to adjust it I nearly toppled over, as the weight of my pack propelled me forward.

High on the hills we were watched carefully by three wild horses most interested in the sight! I don’t suppose it’s every day you see a German Shepherd wearing a backpack and raincoat, followed by a dripping wet moving backpack.

The path was well signposted so easy to follow until it was time to divert to our camp site. When I originally planned today I’d planned getting to Minehead by train and bus so had booked a night on a camp site.

Walking into the wind and rain is one thing but walking sideways high up on the halls over looking the coast is quite another with a bulging backpack! Crystal Palace goalpost with a parachute opened came to mind as I staggered along a narrow path, running with water.

Finding the campsite just away from the path involved a map and compass and our first stile. Pegasus’ back pack had to come off in order that he could squeeze through. It never went back on, which was great for him but a killer for me.

Having set up the tent we strolled to the nearest Fish and Chip shop, 1.8km away, and tucked in, me cod, Pegasus a sausage.

Now we are all tucked in ready for sleep.