I’ve been surprised how far I have walked on the coast path in 2025. I know I need to ignore the fact I started in Rye in late November 2024, and finished in Lyme Regis in January 2026. Nevertheless, as a winter project, I’m very pleased with progress and completed walking the coast of four counties.

I’ve covered 615km (380 miles) in 23 walking days and climbed a total of 6,500 metres. Both Hampshire and Dorset had the longest coast with Hampshire at 197 km being 15 km longer than Dorset. Both took seven days of walking. That said, Dorset had the most climbing at 3,547 metres, against Hampshires 1,166 metres. East and West Sussex were a doddle and really flat in comparison.

I’ve only had three overnight stays and completed it all using public transport. It has cost me an average of about £32 per day for transport (with a railcard) and accommodation.

Looking forward to 2026, the south Devon coast is the next obvious stretch to attack. However, while I think it should only take six days, it is very dependent on foot passenger ferries across a few estuaries, or the distance will extend considerably. These only tend to run during the summer, so I will park Devon for a week of walking later in the year.

This project always started as a way of getting out in the winter, so I am looking at Kent next. The big question is, should I start in Rye (my Sussex start point) and walk anticlockwise, or start in London and continue to walk clockwise. Looking at logistics (mainly public transport travel times, and railcard restrictions) I have decided to keep walking in a clockwise direction. I can start walking in the winter from central London (I’ve chosen Tower Bridge as the Kent/ Essex border) with good transport links while the days are short. Then knock the rest of Kent off in the spring – I make that sound easy but my initial planning estimates 16 days and over 440 km of walking. If I finish that, I can start on the Essex coast at Harwich and start walking towards London. With a bit of luck, I can get to the coast path served by better transport links before the shorter days next winter.

So I have a plan. If I add a desire to circumnavigate the Isle of Wight, fill in the Lulworth Ranges section in Dorset, and walk the South Devon stretch in a week in the summer, that should keep me busy.

If any London friends fancy walking sections on the Thames Estuary (or any further bits) just let me know as I’ll be travelling up through London for more than three quarters of Kent.