Overview
Discover challenging and dramatic walking trails shaped by the footsteps of traders, smugglers, saints and pirates. Cornish walking trails will reveal ancient tin mines, clifftop castles, timeless fishing villages and wild moors as you travel through a landscape of huge cliffs and hidden coves that goes back to the depths of time itself. In between the coastal drama, iconic harbours such as St Ives and Padstow give walkers access to some of the UK‘s best restaurants and coastal hotels. A county encircled by the wild Atlantic ocean, there is over 330 miles of spectacular world class coast path here taking you around the farthest corners of England - put simply it feels like walking on the edge of the world.
Stretching from coast to coast across the southwest of England, Devon is a richly diverse county with rugged shores and cliffs in the north, and classic Victorian seaside resorts in the south. In between you'll find tranquil green pastures, wooded gorges and the two dramatic wild moors in the National Parks of Dartmoor and Exmoor. Choose Devon for its walking variety, and you'll find that the popular image of cream teas and thatched cottages is true - but that Devon is so much more once you explore it on two feet. Coast to coast routes like the Two Moors Way will offer a journey through it all from the wild northern shores that inspired the Romantic poets to the maritime ports of the south coast.
Free your soul and clear your mind! Walking on the wild moors of these National Parks is a wonderful antidote to modern living. England's last true wilderness, Dartmoor offers 365 square miles of virtually uninhabited freedom with high moors and twisted dramatic granite tors a land of myths, ghosts and legends. Exmoor, its smaller and more gentle neighour, is 250 Square miles of near perfect and unique beauty, with high uplands swathed in heather and steep, wooded gorges and rushing streams. See Dartmoor ponies and Exmoor stags in these wildlife rich areas, home to 30 species of mammals and over 240 types of bird. The moors offer a unique opportunity for more challenging walking where the only human sound you will hear is the rhythm of your own breath.
Avoid the crowds and discover “Secret Somerset” missed by so many rushing headlong for the far South West. The 'land of the summer people' was named in a time when this area could only be visited in the summer months as the sea receded. Today its a rich, fertile and 'for real' landscape crowned by the fine walking ridges of the Mendip and Quantock Hills both protected areas of outstanding natural beauty. Rising up over King Arthur‘s Vale of Avalon along with the magical Tor at Glastonbury, walkers will find hidden gorges, wooded combes and the best inland panoramas of the South West. Also boasting its own Jurassic Coast Path, providing a gateway into the wilds of Exmoor National Park, Somerset offers walking routes without the crowds for those who want to find..... what the rest miss.
Dorset has a comfortable old world “English” feel to it and its walking routes traverse a rather more green and agricultural land of thatched cottages, cream teas.... and fossils ! Walkers here will find the more gentle rolling farmland, pretty villages and chalk ridges beloved by Thomas Hardy that sweep down to end abruptly at the World Heritage Jurassic Coast. Here, alongside the sea, those after more challenging routes can take a walking holiday through time itself amongst the dramatic chalk stacks, cliffs and arches of the Dorsetshire fossil coast. An area that can be very busy in high season but often suits walkers looking for more gentle and less exposed walking than the far west of the region.
Wales offers some of the best walking and outdoor activities to be had anywhere in the world. The 870-mile Welsh Coast Path was only fully opened in 2012 and is the world's first walk along the entire coast of a nation. The terrain is on an equally grand scale with towering cliffs, vast stretches of unspoilt golden sands, imposing castles, offshore islands and to the north there is the backdrop of Snowdonia National Park with its stunning mountains. Wales in general offers walkers great value for money compared to more popular areas like Cornwall with walking options to suit everyone, from those who want the cosmopolitan restaurants and facilities of towns like Tenby and St Davids, through to isolated and remote forests and coastal hills that sit on the very cusp of the Snowdonian Peaks. Bursting with confidence and pride in its “Welshness”, its Celtic history, language and culture there has never been a better time for walkers to enter Wales.
The South West Coast Path is the UK's longest National Trail and one of the top ten walking routes in the world. It snakes, dips and rises continuously on its way through a staggering 1014km (630 miles) of pristine coastline, 450 miles of which is through nationally protected areas. It's a challenge too; walking the entire South West Coast Path is the equivalent to scaling Mount Everest four times! From towering cliffs to hidden coves, ghostly tin mines to lush subtropical wooded creeks. One minute a dramatic rock theatre hewn out of the cliffs, the next a prehistoric fossilized forest or a 20thC Art Deco Island Hotel. What sets The South West Coast Path apart from other trails is that around almost every corner is yet another surprise as you retrace the footsteps and histories of the tin miners, fisherman, smugglers, wreckers and the customs men who chased them.
1st August 2022 Update - Sorry but we are now full to capacity up to the end of September 22 on all routes. We have good availability for October - so please get in touch for some relaxing Autumn walking breaks. We are also now booking 2023 season walks - Click Here to send in a quote request and get your walking plans underway
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Would you choose Encounter Walking Holidays for future holidays? Yes
Would you recommend Encounter Walking Holidays to others? Yes
Would you choose Encounter Walking Holidays for future holidays? No
Would you recommend Encounter Walking Holidays to others? No
Everything was great. Really enjoyed this winter walk and a good start to walking in 2022. Appreciated quick response to my last minute booking. Accommodations all fine and easy to find on the route, good food. (Ancient Mariner has no heating in the rooms apart from a couple of oil heaters which, as they aren’t turned on prior to check in, took hours to warm up. Rooms modern and large. No food on Mondays) Lots of variety of scenery.
Quiet tracks even at the weekend. Lots of tempting walking trails in this area and pretty villages. Instructions, guide book and route map useful though the trail is very well signed (apart from the Dunkery Beacon option where the signs differed from the gpx file but I was able to figure it out from the description in the guide book). Great service from Encounter, would recommend etc etc.
Hi Damon Just to say thanks for all the arrangements on this walk. Everything went as planned and I had a really good week of walking and the choice of hotels was excellent. Thanks again Kevin
We are now home from a very wet trip and recovering from the buffeting the wind gave us. However even in those conditions we had a great time.
We found the Dartmouth to Brixham section quite tough, you think you are at Brixham and then find there is an additional three miles around the headland.A special thanks for your assistance getting us across the numerous rivers where we couldn't wade or the ferry wasn't working due to the wind. Couldn't have done it without you.
All the accommodation was great but need to call out the Cricket Inn, we arrived soaked, but got a fabulous welcome, the staff, rooms and food really were excellent. Looking forward to the next sector in September. Regards Steve & Toni
We had a really good time. It was a little windy but added a bit more interest to the walk. Cornwall at it bleakest but still beautiful. Accomo was very good and we had good breakfasts and meals out. Our hosts were very welcoming.
The distances were just right for us, as the wind slowed us up a bit and the terrain more demanding than previously but we were still able to arrive in our destinations in good time,early enough and importantly fit enough to enjoy a look around and our evening meal.
All in all another good do organised by you.
Amazing company. Too many good things to say so I'll just some up with this....you have to use these guys if you love to hike properly with experts, and love a proper British village in proper British terrain. Outstanding
Hi Damon - We have just returned from our walk from Padstow to St Ives and we wish to thank you for organising it. All went smoothly and we hope to conquer another section in the future. Being unfit 60+adults we did find the days over 10 miles (moderate or above) to be quite gruelling but the scenery was worth it. The accommodation was good to excellent. It proved worthwhile booking restaurants in advance, using trip advisor as a guide.
Hi Damon and team at Encounters, We had a marvellous walk through Dartmoor and across Exmoor last week. Everything went well and the accommodation was excellent. We particularly enjoyed our nights stay at Partridge Arms Farm in Yeo Mill. We learned that 10 to 12 miles a day is our limit with a 15 Kg pack; the long first day ( 15 miles ) completely exhausted us although given the geography of mid-Devon it would have been difficult to do anything else.
We found a few places in mid Devon approaching Morchard Road and Witheridge where the path was blocked by electric cattle fences and in one case completely ploughed over. We confirmed this with other walkers who had found the same. The area around Pascoe House Hotel seemed particularly unwelcoming to two moors way walkers; some of the route posts had been torn down and thrown aside. - Thanks Steve we will forward this info to the Two Moors Way Assocation who can take a look - EW
Overall we enjoyed the walk enormously; Thank You!
It was a fabulous week and we are grateful for such a relaxing holiday in this crazy times. The Imperial B&B in Woolacombe especially was a lot of fun, because of Roger ( ? ) the host , and his daughter . Also everybody in every hotel was really friendly with our dog and it was so easy going .Really sad to leave Cornwall and Devon. So , thats why we definitely book again for next year. Best regards and take care
Simone
Hi Damon,
Much as I'd love to wax lyrical about two great weeks in Cornwall, I'll spare you! Suffice to say we had a really fantastic holiday. The South West Coast Path is very special, isn't it? We were blessed by the weather (basically two sunny weeks with no rain!) and the experience of those 11 days on the trail will live long in the memory.
Thanks to you and all your colleagues for putting it together for us...we couldn't be more grateful. Once again, many thanks. Andrew
Damon,yes it was another successful holiday thank you. Given the circumstances having a holiday at all was a relief.
The weather and covid did have an effect as it was harder to stop on the way each day without booking ahead. It was actually quite cold at times and one day was lost to rain but it improved towards the end. This lead to a lot of looking at clouds and pressing on rather than lingering. I missed the section over Dunkery Hill and changed the order slightly in the middle but did complete the coast path elements. The contrast of woods, coastal hills and beaches was refreshing.
The accommodation was all good with Porlock Weir and Croyde being my favourites. I stuck to the coast path rather than the Coleridge Way once I got to the coast. A couple of comments on the walking - Minehead to Porlock Weir was very hard work not only as the first hill is really steep but the wind that day was extreme and I could barely walk at all on the exposed sections (I did not take the "alternative Path"). The alternative path in the guide from Culbone Church to Sugarloaf Hill is now marked as the main route. Combe Martin to Woolacombe I found just as hard as the previous stage although the guide seemed to think it was much less so. At Woolacombe the route has changed and now goes over the main road and up the other side before coming down a valley (rather than just down the road) which neither my map or the guide showed. it is about an extra 1/2 mile and a slightly nicer end to the day. The last day was short but it was the sunniest so that was fine.
Thank you for all your help with organising everything.
Dear Damon and colleagues,
Damon - such a pleasure to meet you in person and twice! Really great, after these years of corresponding.
First of all, thank you all SO much for making my walk this year possible. It really was the most wonderful break, especially after all the months of being restricted to staring more or less all the time at four walls.
Just viewing the sea, the open horizon and hearing the sound of the waves constantly in the background - all really did me a world of good. Very happy too to see lots of bird life. On one of my last days, I spent a fair bit of time with a young kestrel just meters away, sitting on a post. It was staring at me, as I was staring back! I also had the company of a trio of peregrine falcons overhead most of an afternoon. Such great memories to take back to the city.
I do realise and appreciate hugely how you had to organise everything twice, what with the necessary cancellation in the spring. I also understand that it must have been very challenging for your team as well as all the b&b’s, what with having to start up again after many months in lock-down and organise things quickly. Everything went really well and everyone was incredibly welcoming and helpful.
I hope the rest of the season goes smoothly for all of you and can provide your company with the necessary resources for the future. You are all doing an amazing job, providing a fantastic personal service.
Warmest regards, Carl
Helford Passage to Brixham.
Given how difficult it must have been to try and organise the walk so soon after “lockdown” - you did a fantastic job. As before, a good range of nighttime accommodation - and all the more so as I am aware how difficult it is to get accommodation for 'one night only' in August.
The baggage transfer again worked like a treat - and extra thanks to you for going the extra mile to get us, and out bags round all the Estuaries on the day between Wembury and Bantham….not made any easier by the first ferry man loosing his propeller on his way to the jetty!
Thank you again - it made the whole thing a lot easier and much more relaxing knowing we were in safe hands.
Dear Ellie - We had a wonderful time and really embraced what the weather threw at us! It was an adventure that we will treasure for many years to come.
Thank you so much for arranging everything and it was a real pleasure to book with yourself and your colleagues at Encounter Walking Holidays.
Kind Regards, Ian and Lauren
