SW COAST PATH ⋆ Pt 1 - ST IVES - PENZANCE ⋆ Wild camping/backpacking/bivouac

Phoebe’s first time on the SW coast path. For me, the second.

When I was younger I took a backpack, an army blanket and a bivvy bag and walked from St Ives to Penzance. I remember I was so cold at night because I had such inadequate gear - no mattress and no sleeping bag. Nevertheless, I persevered and walked hard and long days to make it Penzance. Now I have much better gear so it was relatively comfortable to bivouac. I enjoyed returning to this path, it felt like some sort of a nod to my younger self.

Our plan was to walk this section over three days like I did before - but it was rainy and miserable halfway through the second day so we set up in a campsite for one night to try and wait out the weather. Otherwise the conditions were perfect - not too hot so we made good progress walking every hour of daylight.

Our bivvy set up needs a little work - the British Army one Phoebe was using proved to be much more comfortable, it kept the rain off better than my lightweight Snugpak one. Every day my down sleeping quilt was soaking wet either from brief showers or the morning dew seeping through the bivouac into the quilt. Phoebe managed to stay relatively dry. However the weight of the army bivvy puts me off using it. I think carrying one of those each would be heavier than a tent which would be more comfortable.

The great advantage of the bivvy bag however is how stealthy and inconspicuous they are for wild camping. There was such a sense of freedom from walking knowing you can just bed down more or less anywhere, any time. We set up camp as the sun goes down and then are out before the sun rises. We are respectful of the land and make sure to leave the place exactly how we found it.

I’d encourage everyone to walk on this path because it’s so beautiful - we were often saying how we couldn’t believe we were in England.

Timestamps:

0:00 ⋆ Day 1 - St Ives - Zennor ⋆
09:08 ⋆ Day 2 - Zennor - St Just ⋆
13:47 ⋆ Day 3 - St Just - Treen ⋆
22:30 ⋆ Day 4 - Treen - Penzance ⋆



If you’re new to my channel, I make slow, atmospheric walking films. I shoot third-person tracking shots as we move through the landscape. I make the focus of the video the pure experience of walking - observing, listening - tuning in to nature.

Most of my films follow pilgrimage routes, long-distance paths, or hidden trails through the UK and Europe.

Some notes for the algorithm:
Slow walk
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No talking walk
Urban nature walk
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Walk with natural sound
Third person walking video
Slow TV walking
Mindful walking
Pilgrimage video
Camino de Santiago
Long distance walk
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Nature sounds only