Not all of us have the energy, inclination or indeed time to walk the whole of the magnificent South West Coat Path; it is 630 glorious miles long after all. However, there’s no rule that says you must walk it all at once or in any particular order. In fact, you don’t even have to stick to the coast path at all. The South West Coast Path Association have very handily divided the National Trail into five separate sections and the part that runs from Minehead to Combe Martin – the best bit obviously – is aptly called The Wilderness Coast.

Using this breath-taking (literally; it can be very steep) trail as the base, the SWCPA have put together a series of daily itineraries which offer lots of ideas for making the most of the area around the coast path. You can lose yourself in the atmospheric Exmoor hills and moors that inspired characters in RD Blackmore’s novel, Lorna Doone or perhaps climb Dunkery Beacon, Exmoor’s highest point, for stunning 360 degree views over land and sea. Maybe take a trip on Lynton & Lynmouth’s famous Cliff Railway (is this cheating I wonder), hire a kayak, go coasteering, join a red deer safari or fly a falcon.

It may be called the Wilderness Coast but there’s no shortage of things to do on and around our section of this very special path. See all the itineraries here. You can download it in Dutch or German too.