Wales Coast Path10
Paddy Dillon celebrates a decade of Welsh wanderings
Ten years ago the Wales Coast Path opened and I was furious . People had been talking about creating a coastal path , but I thought negotiations would drag on for years . It opened so suddenly in 2012 that I was caught on the back foot , believing that any hope of lobbying for a guidebook contract was lost . To my surprise , Cicerone asked if I would write and illustrate one , and the rest is publishing history . As Jonathan Williams said , ‘ I am delighted Paddy Dillon agreed to take on the project . His ability to describe long distances accurately and concisely makes him exactly the right writer for this project .’
I have a back-story with the coast of Wales , beginning in the early 1970s with a school �ield trip , closely followed by an exploration of north Wales as a teenager on an early solo backpacking trip . In later years I walked along the north Wales coast and made a circuit of the Anglesey Coast Path , followed by a couple of treks along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path , as well as chipping away at other coastal paths .
To cut a long walk short , I covered the 870 miles of the Wales Coast Path in 57 days , in exactly the same way as I offer the trek to prospective walkers in my guidebook . I added four more days just for myself in order to visit the islands of Bardsey , Ramsey , Skomer and Caldey , which aren ’ t included as part of the Wales Coast Path . I ’ d never visited any of them previously , so I thought I might as well make the effort in passing . After walking all the way from Chester to Chepstow around the coast , I couldn ’ t resist adding the Offa ’ s Dyke Path to make a complete circuit of Wales , but I don ’ t expect my readers to feel obliged to do the same .
It ’ s one thing to get a guidebook published , and quite another thing to get it sold , but the Cicerone sales and marketing team ensured that the initial print run sold out quickly , with the book being reprinted a couple more times in succeeding years . Every reprint gave me an opportunity to revisit Wales , checking for new coastal paths and re-routings , as well as keeping on top of all the services and facilities that walkers might use when they ’ re walking for days , weeks or even months at a time . Some stretches of the coast path are also designated cycle-ways , and I always envied cyclists speeding past me while I trudged out the miles , so I took a bike one time and did some of my research at speed .
4 outdoor focus / summer 2022