Walkabout – walking for mind, body and soul

Walkabout, a Coast Path Friendly activity, offers a transformative journey for women along the South West Coast Path in Cornwall. We invited Walkabout founder and long-time supporter of the South West Coast Path Association, Sarah Middleton, to write a guest blog about Walkabout and to share her connection about walking the South West Coast Path.

“Walkabout is designed to build confidence, push your limits, and help you realise your potential, all while providing a space to escape, feel alive, and reconnect with nature.”

I love the South West Coast Path (SWCP). It’s my go-to happy place with its ever-changing scenery. It’s a great place to get back into nature, be by the sea, and take some much-needed time out from the hustle and bustle of our busy daily lives. Growing up in Devon and Cornwall, I regularly walked the SWCP with my parents. I have fond memories of long walks carrying packed lunches, discovering hidden coves, and new parts of the coastline along the way, jumping across rocks, looking in rock pools, stopping off to play frisbee on the beach, followed by a swim in the sea to cool down.

When I was 24, I walked solo the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile pilgrimage across northern Spain. I remember feeling absolutely terrified of what lay ahead as I set off from England. Feeling like I wasn’t fit enough, hadn’t done enough training, and was unsure what to expect, etc. After 28 days, I wound up in Santiago de Compostela having completed the walk, feeling confident, resilient, and elated having had an epic solo adventure. I had overcome my fears, and actually completed it. It was one of the best experiences I ever had.

When I returned to the UK, I had a new thirst for long-distance adventure walks and wanted to carry on walking. I had enjoyed following a well-signposted route and just putting one foot in front of the other without having to think about it and the adventure and freedom of walking on to a new destination each day without having to navigate using maps and a compass. The closest route to this in the UK was the SWCP, with its yellow arrow markers, acorns, and signposts.

The SWCP is longer than the Camino de Santiago at 630 miles. When I returned, I started walking 4-day sections, and over the years I have now walked (bit by bit) from Minehead in North Somerset to Sidmouth in East Devon, often repeating various sections. It continues to be my go-to place, whether solo or with friends, to take some much-needed time out.

I work as a creative producer/ event/ project manager and am often juggling multiple projects as well as family and home life. This is a space for me to escape, feel alive, and get back into nature. I get some of my best ideas and creative thinking while walking the SWCP. The act of walking and being in nature gives space and time to clear my mind and get inspired. After a few days of walking, I always end up feeling refreshed, inspired, recharged, and ready to return home and get on with things.

Because I get so much out of it and as I like to curate events, I wanted to bring this experience to others. So, I set up Walkabout in 2021. Walkabout is a 4-day long-distance walking adventure and retreat for women on the SWCP. We stop off at a new campsite each night. Understanding that women often carry significant responsibilities in their work, home, and family lives I wanted to lighten the load, so we ferry all their kit for them to our next camping destination each day so all they have to carry is a daypack with their essentials (packed lunch, water, swimming kit, etc).

I also bring a retreat chef to join us so a delicious and nutritious breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided. I guide the walk, and I bring a co-facilitator who holds space for the group with morning meditations, stretching, and yoga, and evening circle time. It’s a space to take a pause from their daily lives, go on an adventure, meet new people, and not have to worry about carrying your kit or what they are going to eat. I see it as a launchpad for those who would like to walk the SWCP but are unsure of where to start or for those who just want to take some time out and go on a group adventure!

So far, we have received some great reviews. I always keep the group size to a maximum of 10, as groups under the size of 14 tend to bond more. Plus, the SWCP is a shared path, and it’s narrow in sections, and out of respect for other walkers, we don’t want to clog it up.

When I am walking the SWCP, I always use the South West Coast Path Association guidebooks. They have been my go-to over the years along with their distance calculator on their website which I use for planning Walkabout. I really appreciate the good work that they do caretaking this special national treasure of a path. For me, it’s important to make Walkabout SWCP friendly and give back what we get out of it, so for each member of the walk, I donate to the SWCPA.