Today was a great day to accept life’s pace. As I approach my sixtieth year, I continue to try and fill up time. The tenth day of our SWCP walk was about seven miles, but after an early start and no check-in before 4pm at our destination, we were forced to wander! And it wasContinue reading “SWCP Day 10 Mawnan Smith to Falmouth”
Author Archives: Peter Ireland
SWCP Day 9 Porthallow to Mawnan Smith
While our legs might be getting used to walking, I still found the place names wonderful. I had tried to picture what Mawnan Smith might look like before arriving, but did not come close, in neither a good nor bad way. Just different. Today’s 10.7 miles and 1800 ft ascent was a fine jaunt alongContinue reading “SWCP Day 9 Porthallow to Mawnan Smith”
SWCP Day 8 Coverack to Porthallow
In my planning for this walk, I thought of this day as our day off. At just five miles, it would give the legs some rest. However, we have found we are not very tired. The hikes so far have been 6.7, 9.4, 7, 11.2, 7.5, 9.7, 8.8, and today’s 7.2 miles. The distances hideContinue reading “SWCP Day 8 Coverack to Porthallow”
SWCP Day 7 Lizard to Coverack
Today’s lesson is you should not judge a day until it is over! Until we stopped for lunch in the middle of the day’s walking, today was not great. It was a day that contrasted to many of the great things we’d experienced so far on the SWCP, perhaps spoiling us! The breakfast was notContinue reading “SWCP Day 7 Lizard to Coverack”
SWCP Day 6 Mullion to Lizard
The most prominent peninsula that we walk around on this hike is the Lizard Peninsula. It extends southwards to the UK’s most southerly point. Many look very carefully at either the peninsula, or the many rocks, and decide they can see a lizard shape, but the name has nothing to do with the reptile! TheContinue reading “SWCP Day 6 Mullion to Lizard”
SWCP Day 5 Porthleven to Mullion
Each day on the SWCP is different. Today’s was shorter than many, which introduced some frustration, yet allowed for some contemplation. One of the great joys of these walks for nomads like us is the adventure of staying in a different place each night. Last night’s adventure was a small bedroom with en-suite bathroom, whichContinue reading “SWCP Day 5 Porthleven to Mullion”
SWCP Day 4 Marazion to Porthleven
This was our fourth of twenty days hiking from Land’s End to Plymouth in South West England. The previous three days had been completely different from each other. Not only was this one again very different, but its two halves were also quite dissimilar! At 11 miles and nearly 2,000 ft of ascent, it wasContinue reading “SWCP Day 4 Marazion to Porthleven”
SWCP Day 3 Mousehole to Marazion
This was a good day to have an easier day. While my Garmin recorded more steps than the previous two days at 20k, the walking was eassentially flat on pavement, so there was no rock hopping! We didn’t even use hiking poles. The day climaxed with a path we’d walked on going underwater! The post’sContinue reading “SWCP Day 3 Mousehole to Marazion”
SWCP Day 2 Treen to Mousehole
We were amazed at how different today was compared to the day before. While the scenery varied, the main change was the path’s ruggedness. We were ok with the ups and downs. The challenge was that the trail was often either steps, which we dislike, or scrambling around rocks. Our legs were happy when weContinue reading “SWCP Day 2 Treen to Mousehole”
SWCP Day 1: Land’s End to Treen
Placing one foot in front of the other while en route to a new destination feeds our souls. We were quickly reminded of this as we left the touristy bustle of Land’s End and headed east along the coast path. Quite simply, God’s creation is glorious! We could immediately tell that this walk was goingContinue reading “SWCP Day 1: Land’s End to Treen”
SWCP Day 0: Houston to Land’s End
“Your flight has been cancelled” is not the text message you want at 6:30 am on one’s day of departure. But it gave us enough time to change our flight to be via Newark, and soon we were heading off to IAH in our Uber. Day 0 of a trip to England is always theContinue reading “SWCP Day 0: Houston to Land’s End”
South West Coast Path: Here We Come!
This year’s walking jaunt in Britain takes us to the far southwest corner of the island. The South West Coast Path (SWCP) is the UK’s longest National Trail at 630 miles, and we plan to walk about 1/4 of it over 20 days from Land’s End, near Penzance, to Plymouth. The coastal path is oftenContinue reading “South West Coast Path: Here We Come!”
Five Days in the Flat Tops Wilderness
In August 2026, Samuel and I spent five days and four nights backpacking about sixty miles around the Flat Tops Wilderness in Colorado. This post is in two main sections: Highlights, to read for fun, and Details, to relive our adventure and use if planning your own adventure. Highlights The Flat Tops Wilderness is theContinue reading “Five Days in the Flat Tops Wilderness”
Summer ‘26 Trek: Days 25 & 26: Traveling Home
Odometer: 4,750 miles. To home: 901 miles. Driving the final 900-mile leg gave us lots of time to reflect on the trip and to ponder future ones. “What was your favorite place?” we were asked while visiting Janet’s brother in Monroe, Louisiana. We always struggle to answer such questions as we make the most ofContinue reading “Summer ‘26 Trek: Days 25 & 26: Traveling Home”
Summer ‘26 Trek: Days 23 & 24: Bailey and Jett in Nolensville
Odometer: 3,849 miles. To Nolensville: 345 miles. The final primary destination of our Summer ‘26 Trek was Nolensville, TN, where Bailey and Jett had moved six weeks earlier. We all had fun entertaining each other, with Janet serving breakfast in our van and the Motleys fixing us both a breakfast and a dinner. We alsoContinue reading “Summer ‘26 Trek: Days 23 & 24: Bailey and Jett in Nolensville”
Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 22: The Ark Encounter
Coming to see a true-size Ark replica had been on our bucket lists since we first heard about it. The Ark Encounter used an interpretation of 20.4 inches for the “cubit” in the description of the Ark in Genesis 6:14-16, which defines it as 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. ThisContinue reading “Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 22: The Ark Encounter”
Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 21: The Creation Museum
After dropping Saydee off at a fine dog sitter that we found through the “Rover” app (thanks Angel C.!), we spent a fine day at the Creation Museum. While a focus on the museum is a literal interpretation of the Bible’s description of creation in Genesis, it presented a broad range of topics around theContinue reading “Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 21: The Creation Museum”
Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 20: Four States and a Fine Farm
Odometer: 3,494 miles. Today: 425 miles. We completed our fourth day of driving east from the Flat Tops Wilderness in Colorado to a Harvest Host in Kentucky near Cincinnati. It was over 1000 miles as the crow flies, further than the complete length of Britain, over 5% of going all around the earth at 37Continue reading “Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 20: Four States and a Fine Farm”
Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 19: First Generation Missile Silo and Oz!
Odometer: 3,069 miles. Today: 414 miles. Part 2 of crossing Kansas was fun! We spent the night at the Atlas Ad Astra missile silo that was built in 1959 and was active through 1965, including the Cuban Missile Crisis. The silo cost $120 million to build in today’s dollars, and was one of 70 builtContinue reading “Summer ‘26 Trek: Day 19: First Generation Missile Silo and Oz!”
Summer ‘26 Trek: Days 17 & 18: Crossing Kansas Part 1
Odometer: 2,654 miles. Two days: 794 miles. A loop to visit our kids in Golden and Nashville necessitated the long drive between their locations. Our roundabout route resulted in these being the days! When Samuel heads from Golden to Denver airport, which is to the east of the city, he describes it as “being inContinue reading “Summer ‘26 Trek: Days 17 & 18: Crossing Kansas Part 1”
