Hello my TraceysTrek family!
When people hear that you’ve walked around the coast of Britain, they immediately think of long, flat beaches and beautiful sunsets. Well, there was a lot of that. But if you think “coastal” means “flat”, how wrong can you be?!
There was also a lot of scrambling up and down cliffs, winding around peninsulas and holding on for dear life in howling storms. A lovely view from a headland often came with one small catch: I had to climb up there first. Then down again. Then up the next one!
The miles tell one part of the story. The climbing tells another.
Almost twelve Everests — one coastal climb at a time
Over the course of the trek, Strava recorded approximately 103,898 metres of ascent — 340,873 feet.
That is a rather large number to get your head around. So I compared it with the heights of a few familiar mountains:
- Mount Everest: 8,848.86 metres / 29,032 feet — 11.7 times.
- Ben Nevis: 1,345 metres / 4,413 feet — 77.2 times.
- Yr Wyddfa / Snowdon: 1,085 metres / 3,560 feet — 95.8 times.
- Scafell Pike: 978 metres / 3,209 feet — 106.2 times.
Of course, I wasn’t climbing Everest. These were coastal climbs, spread over a year. But add all those ups together and the total is almost twelve Everests’ worth of height. No wonder my legs occasionally had something to say about it!
So where did all that climbing happen?
Using the county categories on my original daily blogs, Cornwall came out on top, followed by Devon and Pembrokeshire.
Cornwall accounted for an estimated 15,616 metres / 51,233 feet of ascent. Devon added around 10,004 metres / 32,822 feet, and Pembrokeshire another 8,755 metres / 28,724 feet.
Together, Cornwall and Devon contributed almost a quarter of all my recorded ascent. Add Pembrokeshire and those three counties account for roughly a third. Argyllshire, Dorset and Caernarfonshire complete the top six.
Beautiful? Absolutely. Flat? Not a chance!
Those long beaches and beautiful sunsets were very much part of the journey. So were the steep paths, the scrambles, the wind and the discovery that the next bay could involve another substantial climb.
Looking back, I love that these figures reveal something the mileage alone cannot. Walking around Britain’s coast meant going up and down it too. Again and again and again!
Thank you for being part of the journey.
Tracey x
Figures use cumulative recorded Strava ascent. County totals are estimates based on the categories on the original daily posts, with ascent divided equally on days tagged with more than one county; Day 248’s 211 metres remains unallocated because its original post is missing. Mountain comparisons use summit height above sea level. Feet are rounded to the nearest whole foot and comparisons to one decimal place. Mountain heights: Guinness World Records and Three Peaks Partnership, including its mountain profiles.
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