The day of the final walk arrived knowing that if all went well we would be able to take a photo of the team at the finish line ...
... but first we had to walk from Swanage to the end at South Haven Point! So an early start with a 2.5hrs drive from Bristol to the Main Beach car park near the sea front.
Following the SWCP leaflet instructions we followed the well signposted route ...
... up Ulwell road to reach the uphill path towards Ballard Point stopping along the way to take in the superb views back to Swanage Bay.
Following the clear, and very familiar path to David, along the cliff top to Handfast Point we said hello to Old Harry ...
... before stopping at Bankes Arms to meet up with Fiona for a drink and spot of lunch outside in the glorious October 20C sunshine.
Again with the tide out and the sand firm at the waters edge we chose to walk all the way along the beach from Middle Beach to just before South Haven Point where we turned inland to arrive at the National Trust car park at Shell Bay to meet up with Fiona again so that we could all walk together to the SWCP start/end marker. The latter was in our view not as impressive as the start marker at Minehead, nor the halfway marker at Porthhallow.
Nevertheless, after 9 elapsed years during which we walked the SWCP for 5 years, we finally arrived at the end of this most challenging, beautiful and rewarding walk of our lives. Thanks to Fiona who was magnificent in supporting us for the final 10weeks of walking and to David and Justine without whose help and encouragement we would not have been able to complete the challenge.
