An excellent section of the SWCP the section in Plymouth is rather urban and uninspiring but offset by a wonderful other elements particularly out of Salcombe would highly recommend but the section is strenuous which will reduce your usual walking speed by perhaps a quarter so factor that in to your planning of timings.

This stretch (Fowey to Salcombe) is full of estuary crossings. Excellent, detailed info from Encounters on ferries and getting across the various estuaries - you really must be mindful of your timing. We love Fowey. Was very nice to finish there last year and start again there this year. Superb room at Galleon Inn over looking harbour. Hannafore Hotel in Looe is one of those faded seaside hotels with a 1970s/80s vibe but no complaints as staff are first class and views out to sea from room were stunning. Crafthole accommodation (The Liscawn) was nice but note: definitely book your evening meal here on site. There is no way to walk into town for a meal from the Liscawn without walking the 1/4 mile of death defying stretch of road. (The footpath that crosses the fields from the hotel to town is overgrown and unusable). It is terrifying as traffic is going a good 50 mph around a bend and there is no verge. No one wants a taxi to go 1/4 mile but we actually tried (no luck - must be prebooked). Ended on a real positive as we also love Salcombe - although very busy as it was a weekend. We would not recommend our Salcombe accommodation. You had to walk through the kitchen to get to our room (very strange set up.) It was noisy and hot and just sort of a bizarre set up sleeping inside the kitchen area. We have been walking with Encounters for 6 years now and they are fantastic, but this one was a miss. That said, over the years, we find their accommodation options are more hit than miss. Salcombe itself is lovely but probably best to arrive in Salcombe on a Tuesday or Wednesday to avoid the heaving weekend crowds. Also, try not to come down to West Country on public transport Fri-Sun if you can help it. All in all, a wonderful 7 days of walking.

what we enjoyed the most was meeting people along the path - all very happy , helpful with directions, places to eat. local history as we were on the path during D DAY honoring those who participated during WW II - stories from people who lived in the area during that time. we ate a lot of good food and drank a few good pints along the way. accommodations were placed well and very good, hosts were very helpful and most tried to adjust the breakfast times if needed. . ( 3 * and above B&B). company was very responsive to a concern we had and hoping that the feed back will help others in the future..

Encounter does a great job of providing daily details about each segment. We've used several walking agencies and Encounter sets a high bar in terms of providing important detail that is helpful for a successful walking experience. However, I suggest you rethink the time frames for the complicated day with transfer around the Erme and ferry to Bantham. Fortunately, our taxi driver was wonderful and suggested we don't start at Yealmpton and she drove us further down the Coast Path to another starting point. She was 100% right. I'm not sure we would have made the last ferry to Bantham and we're not a slow walking group.

One thing I suggest you consider is to check in with your walkers - especially those walking for multiple weeks.

Overall, we were pleased with our lodging except for a couple of places. The Hotel in Looe was a big disappointment. Also in Bantham. Staff were very unhelpful and not engaged. There was no cell coverage or Wi-Fi available, which was an issue for us as we didn't get an updated weather report for the start of our next segment. It was a very windy and difficult day. Fortunately, the path wasn't too much on the cliff side so we managed but if we had known about the conditions, we may have taken transport to the next town rather than walk. I would have preferred to have transport to Salcombe for lodging rather than the Inn at Bantham.

Hopefully, these are suggestions you can use for future clients. Overall, we had a great experience and would recommend Encounter Walking.

The planning of our walk was easy with Encounter Walking. The process happened over a number of weeks through emails after the initial itinerary was suggested. We are in Australia and email exchange was the easiest process for us. Encounter provided all the detail required so that we could plan our walk easily. The website was very useful for our planning. Showing the route in stages as well as the expectations of the walking route was essential to our planning. Frequently asked questions was helpful when some information was required especially when planning the walk from Australia. The SWCP from Plymouth to Poole is a tough walk a lot of the time. It has wonderful scenery and is generally well marked. There are days where ferry crossings were necessary and sometimes this required us to time our walking schedule to the timing of the crossings. Sometimes this meant that slowing down the walk was not an option however all this information was conveyed by Encounter Walking very clearly so this was not a surprise. The walking notes for the trip were excellent. They were very detailed and provided are the necessary information a walker needs. The information regarding the walking grade was essential and prepared our thinking before each walking day. Information on refreshments also helped with planning the day ahead with regard to food provisions. Excellent Luggage Transfer service for the duration of our trip. The Luggage was always on time and there was never a day where we arrived before the Luggage at our B&B or Hotel. The maximum weight is 20kg per person and we were slightly over on one of our pieces of Luggage, This was solved very quickly and simply after contacting the Luggage Transfer company and we were able to take out some of the weight out into a smaller bag for them to transfer each day. This was then sorted out between Walking Encounter and the Luggage Transfer company. Good accommodation all the way for our walk. It was always a surprise what accommodation was going to be provided each day. Each one provided something that was different and pleasing. It was interesting to see what the accommodation service was going to bring. Sometimes it was breakfast or it was the beds or it was the welcome on arrival. It was always different and appreciated by us. Excellent walk and services for the whole walk. Definitely recommend Encounter Walking as a company that provide bespoke Walking holidays.

Good communication with the team and timescales for finances and received very full information in the final pack. Damon helped clarify the details of cross the Erme at low tide. Fantastic stretch of coastline, varied and enjoyable, combination of quite remote and then several towns/resorts. Overall more strenuous than expected, and deadlines with ferries added pressure, so days varied in length. Though used to coastal walking, needed a break by time reached Brixham. Used Traiblazer a lot and found that timings were accurate if kept pace up, but never arrived anywhere 'early'. Didn't use A-Z, bought Harveys instead because it is more waterproof. Didn't like your notes about getting to Church House Inn at Stokenham. After a long day's walk it was a considerable extra stretch to walk all that way uphill. I think you could emphasise that bus should be seriously considered both ways. That's what I did! Finished walk at Brixham and did rest by bus and train! My wife wasn't well towards the end of the walk, so decided to return home a day early. Wanted to skip Babbaconbe and stay in Exmouth a night early and pick up car to return home but Royal Beacon couldn't oblige so had to go to Exmouth to pick up car, return to Babbacombe and drive home from there. So a combination of factors came into play. I thought beforehand I could manage whole stretch in 8 days but realised that I am starting to slow down at 73! And was troubled by a blister. In future I would arrange shorter days so there is a lot more time to relax along the way. But accommodation on that stretch is a problem in places.

Another wonderful holiday. Thank you Encounter N.B. We were lucky with the weather - low 20s. Any hotter and we would have struggled because parts of this walk are quite tough.

Loved our walking experience on the SWCP. We can't stop raving about it. The scenery was spectacular, accommodation fantastic. This was our fourth long distance walk over the years, and I would say that this was the best. I am more than happy to recommend Encounter Walking Holidays and Luggage transfers to anyone considering doing this walk. I can't thank the Encounter Walking Holiday Team enough for helping us to have such a wonderful experience.

We are 77 and 75 years old, and our advice is GO! We have so many incredible life long memories. Once you start walking, despite some very minor challenges, you may become addicted.! There is an incredible feeling of accomplishment and enjoyment. Over the years, we met our goal of completing the SW Coastal, and so missed the walking that we returned recently to again walk the SW Path between Teignmouth and Plymouth. Some long days, but breath taking scenery with several lovely pubs, interesting hikers who are also completing the path, friendly dogs, beautiful gardens, National Trust sites, and lovely and welcoming B and B accommodations along the path. Encounters is spot on in providing walks geared to your interests and choices. Whether it is a short walk or the completion of the entire 640 mile SW Coastal Path, it is a journey of a life time. Thank you, Encounters.

We found the day from Noss Mayo to Bantham very arduous due to the timings of tides, ferries and the fact that we couldn’t set off earlier as we had a taxi organised to take us to the start point, ( no accommodation in Noss Mayo).The taxi at lunch time to take us around the inlet (due to the high tide) dropped us of more than a mile from the SW coast path. Consequently making the timing very tight to reach the last afternoon ferry from Bigbury to Bantham. Otherwise we had a fantastic walking holiday.

It was the third time we booked with Encounter Walking Holidays, I think this speaks for itself

I can recommend Encounter Walking Holidays highly

Encounter are a local company to the South - West Coastal Path and know the path, distances and accommodation extremely well. They put alot of work and help into providing information and help upfront before the booking was made which was much appreciated. Excellent website. Easy to navigate, helpful and informative. Lovely views, parts of the routes are relatively remote despite being near to some bigger places (e.g. Salcombe to Dartmouth walk). South Cornwall and South Devon are beautiful areas of the UK - the walks are stunning. Most of the routes are reasonably easy to walk (Fowey to Polperro and Dartmouth to Brixham the only real exceptions). The A to Z maps are excellent. Trailblazers are normally the go-to book but on this occasion the Bude to Plymouth Part 2 book is not up to their normal standard and needs seriously revising and updating, Luggage transfers... Excellent! Always completed without issues. The drivers know their routes and accommodation and taking the luggage for us makes the walks &nbsp;so much more enjoyable.</p>
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<p class="font_8">A great range of accommodation - in 10 nights we had 5 inns/hotels, 3 &nbsp;guesthouses/B&amp;Bs and 2 hotels. A few of the inns were exceptional &nbsp;based on their location and quality of room and food offered. Encounter &nbsp;offer two to three choices when they can. From our experience their &nbsp;initial choice is good!</p>
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<p class="font_8">A fabulous walk with a knowledgeable and helpful provider. We are &nbsp;already talking with Encounter with doing the next stage next year!</p>

This is our fourth time working with Encounter, and as always, the preparatory experience was excellent. All of our requests (shorter day here, rest day there) were taken into consideration. Encounter provides the opportunity for a truly bespoke holiday, which we tremendously appreciate. We walked from Plymouth to Exmouth, and from Lyme Regis to Poole (we completed the Exmouth to Lyme Regis section in 2017). We were blessed with stellar weather (no rain over 21 days) and the views were consistently sublime. The condition of the Path itself was good, other than a section just past the Clavell Tower by Kimmeridge, which was TOTALLY overgrown with rapeseed - we had to push our way through shoulder-high plants. There are a number of required ferry crossings on this section (Yealm, Erme, Avon, Salcombe, Dartmouth, Teign, Exe Rivers) which we managed without difficulty (we were driven around the River Erme). We did NOT enjoy the 2 km walk along the shingle beach between Burton Mere and West Bexington, nothing to be done but persevere through it. We took the additional day to walk around the Isle of Portland which we thoroughly enjoyed. The trek through the Lulworth Ranges was fantastic, though that day (Lulworth Cove to Worth Matravers) was very long and we were very tired by day's end! We used the AZ Map and Trailblazer guide consistently, and referred to the GPS only when we were unsure (which was rare). Encounter's detailed information re how to find the night's accommodation was much appreciated. We had the opportunity to select the accommodations, so we had only ourselves to blame if we didn't like them! Other than one (Lyme Regis, the pub there has passed its best-before date) we were extremely happy: accommodations met and in many cases exceeded what we were expecting. The Smuggler's Inn in Osmington Mills, the West Bay Hotel in West Bay &nbsp;and the Cricket Inn in Beesands were especially lovely. Absolutely fantastic. We are older walkers (ages 69 and 81) and have to plan our walking itinerary more carefully than in the past (we're now like Goldilocks, not too long, not too steep, not too much tarmac) to have a successful experience, but with Encounter's help, we have been consistently able to do that, and hope to do so again in 2024.

A terrific experience and one we will remember forever

From my very first enquiry I found everyone in the team incredibly helpful and friendly. Walking the whole SWCP in one go requires a lot of planning and, in the first instance, I was given a lot of free advice as well as a suggested full, detailed itinerary customised according to my wishes and desire only to stay one night in each place. All this information was given freely without any compunction on my part to go with the company. The team have invaluable information regarding the path and accommodation en route and use this to secure the best possible arrangements on your behalf. All the bookings were made (and checked) without any problems plus arrangement for baggage transfers. This saved me a lot of work. Communication was excellent throughout this process. Go prepared to be challenged physically and mentally as this is not an easy walk however the scenery, wildlife and wild flowers are stunning the whole way around. You won't be disappointed. Luggage Transfers... Invisible angels! 60 days of bags moving seamlessly from one place to the next. Only on 2 occasions did they arrive after me and them only by about 30 minutes. The majority of the accommodation was of a very good standard.

Our experience was incredible!! We sincerely appreciate all the work that Encounter Walking Holidays did on our behalf to make sure our adventure was enjoyable and trouble free.