‘It is a relief to release it’
Christopher Goddard Author of The England Coast Path
•What inspired you to write the book?
I had previously written a book about the Wales Coast Path, as well as several handdrawn walking guides to parts of the Yorkshire landscape, and learnt back in 2013 that a long distance path was going to be created around the whole coast of England.
While it was a daunting prospect at roughly 2,700 miles and the establishment of the path itself has taken a lot longer than expected to come to fruition, I saw it as a great opportunity to explore the whole country and produce a series of guidebooks. •How did you research it? As sections of the England Coast Path opened up, I travelled around the country in my camper van, walking these parts of the route and exploring the local area. I have spent a long time since digging up more information at home and putting it all together with my own hand-drawn maps.
It was only recently that I realised I had spent nearly 10 years on the project, so it is a relief to finally be able to release the first of what will be four books on the whole coast. Book 1 covers 706 miles of the south coast from the River Thames at Woolwich all the way to the River Exe in Devon and has been a particular joy to explore. I was already familiar with much of the south west, but the south coast is in many ways more varied and rewarding, mixing towering chalk cliffs with long beaches and richly wooded estuaries.
•Is it just for serious hikers?
Not necessarily. While the book can be used to walk the whole coast of England, I realise that most people will just want to duck into short sections. There are hand-drawn maps of the whole route, with details of parking, public transport and refreshments along the way.
There is also lots of interesting background information about local history, folklore and place names, as well as hundreds of colour photos, so hopefully it will appeal to armchair readers and day trippers too.
•Where did your passion for walking begin?
I grew up in Sheffield on the edge of the Peak District, so did lots of walking there with my family when I was young.
I loved it and used to draw maps of my local woods and hills, but never thought I'd make a career out of walking and writing about it. I've spent many years doing surveys of Public Rights of Way networks for local councils, though I'm now fortunate to be able to choose where to explore for my own writing projects.
•What's your next project?
I've still got a lot of work to do on Books 2, 3 and 4, after which I will probably return to Yorkshire, perhaps to tackle the wilds of the North Yorkshire Moors.
•Where can we find out more? The England Coast Path: Book 1 – The South Coast is available at www. christophergoddard.net, along with further information about my work.