Day 52 Steeple Leaze to Swanage

 I’m going to be honest with you, today’s walk was quite tough!

I slept soundly at the ‘rustic’ campsite and had a hot shower at 6:30 to wake myself up. I packed up and hit the path by 7:45.

There was a steep climb and immediate descent to get to Kimmeridge Bay. 

It was strange walking around the bay, without a soul in sight! I climbed up to the Clavell Tower, which was dismantled and moved about 30m inland to protect it from cliff erosion!
The path from this point until Chapmans Pool was incredibly taxing. It was very overgrown in places, resulting in a few minor cuts and abrasions! 
If things trying to scratch you or sting you wasn’t enough, the path tried desperately hard to break your ankle, with deep drought/subsidence ruts to try and avoid!

It was like this for 2-3 miles and I was mentally tired from it all, by the time I got through it. The worry of injuring oneself so close to the finish, really played on my mind! 

I was glad that it came to an end, but not so delighted by the reason! Houns Tout Cliff! If you’ve ever walked this part of the coast you may know what I mean. If not, then it’s a bl**dy steep climb up, followed by a near suicidal descent down a series of steep steps! 


However, as with nearly all these hills, you are rewarded with some lovely views!


After the horrid descent, which made my knees creak and groan, there was a nice stretch of walking inland to West Hill, amongst fields of sheep!

After climbing up West Hill onto the ridge opposite Houns Tout Cliff, there were some lovely views back along the coast I had just walked. 

As you walk along, it looks a level ridge all the way to St Aldhelms Point. However, there’s a sneaky steep sided valley in between that can’t be seen until you are right on top of it! K


There 219 steps to climb up the other side, so even after all this time, I was puffing like a steam train pulling out of the station, by the time I reached the top! 

Thankfully, that was the last of the really steep climbs for the day and there then followed quite a lot of cliff top walking towards Durlston. 
By the time I reached Anvil Point Lighthouse, I was really starting to flag. This section of coast is quite remote and there are no eateries until you reach Durlston Head. I dived into the cafe there and had a cheese & ham panini. 

After lunch, it was a nice downhill walk to Swanage (mostly) and views of tomorrow’s walk! 
 By the time I reached Swanage, the sun came out and the temperature shot up. I was therefore forced to stop for a refreshing cold pint of beer before making my way to my B&B. 

I have walked just under 15 miles today. My body is slowly starting to say that it’s had enough of this hiking malarkey! Thankfully, I’ve only got to walk about 8 miles tomorrow and I will have finished the SWCP! 

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