david and friends dartmouth castle
Friends and Supporters cheered on David as he passed Dartmouth Castle
David Jones - Walking the South West Coast Path
Walking 630 Miles around the South West Coast Path during the wettest and most difficult weather the country has seen in a decade? This sounds like a challenge for Kingswear’s most unflappable chef…
David Jones, co-owner of successful cookery school Manna from Devon, and Chairman of Dartmouth Food Festival, has completed a mammoth 630-mile plus journey around the South West Coast Path to raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
The former Navy man and management consultant chose the charity for this challenge in memory of his two parents, Grace and Ray, who both succumbed to the debilitating and aggressive disease, which attacks the motor functions, robbing sufferers of the ability to stand or control their bodies.
“Since my mother’s death in 2005 I’ve been thinking about some challenge to raise funds,” he said. “I wanted to undertake something I wasn’t sure I could complete. So I decided to walk the Coast Path in the middle of winter and also set myself the target of finishing in 25 days, which meant I had to walk just over 25 miles a day.
“I didn’t even walk 25 miles in one day during my training – it was by no means a certainty I could finish.”
David’s wife Holly – who co-owns and runs Manna with him - provided unstinting support throughout his training and then on the walk itself: following him in a camper van, watching him walk away each morning and going to agreed meeting places to meet up later in the day.
“When the weather got very bad it was a bit nerve wracking to see him head off in the morning sometimes,” she said. “There was one morning on the Lizard in Cornwall when David walked off into a howling gale in the darkness - it was just after 6 - and it was just biblical. We kept in touch by mobiles, but there were often places with no signal, so there wasn’t much contact! David was amazing, kept on target and just kept going.”
Few people would have kept going in the face of the weather David had to contend with: one of the wettest years on record had left much of the pathway treacherous and landslides had made parts of it inaccessible, and though David did ignore some “Pathway Closed” signs to reach his goal, many detours added to the miles he had to walk.
The pair slept in the camper van – often waking to the sound of rain pounding on the roof - but also ‘foisted’ themselves on a number of friends who had homes along the route, said Holly.
“We tested the patience of anyone we knew who happened to be unlucky enough to have a home on the route!” she laughs. “We weren’t the best house guests when we arrived with David in soaking wet shoes and socks, and often with a soaking wet dog too. David would eat some food and be in bed when normally you would be breaking open the wine at a friend’s house! We are incredibly grateful for the wonderful support that all of these lovely people have shown – they made the challenge possible.”
Rex – the couple’s Springer Spaniel – accompanied David on much of the walk. The brave and obedient canine walked on 18 of the 25 walking days, managing to do two thirds of each of those walks.
“He was a very positive presence on the walk,” said David. “He must have walked more than I did even though he only walked on those 18 days – he charged around so much!”
Walking into Dartmouth, David was gratified to be met by many friends and supporters, who turned out for a special welcome at Dartmouth Castle. Mitch Tonks and Kingswear sailor Henry Bomby were there to cheer on David’s incredible effort.
“It felt lovely to be met by so many friends as we came into Dartmouth,” said David. “Some joined us at Start Point and did the walk into town. We had a stop-off at the Castle Tea Rooms and then caught the ferry across to Kingswear. Colin even opened the Ship early for us all!”
But there was no time to rest, and David, Holly and Rex were soon on the move again – following the path all the way to its end at Poole in Dorset.
“The last day was perfect,” said David. “It started in the dark and the wet, but it got consistently better as we went on. I was joined by my brother and Kit Noble of Nonsuch House, which made it all the more enjoyable. As we rounded the headland and started along Studland Beach, which is owned by the National Trust and absolutely beautiful – I felt like we were three mountaineers reaching a summit. Representatives of the Motor Neurone Disease Association met us at the finish, which was really great.
“There was this fantastic sense of achievement – I’d been thinking about this challenge for a long time and I was delighted I had done what I set out to do. We raised a lot of money for a good cause – we set the target of £5,000 but now have nearly £8,000. There was also a lot of publicity for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, which is brilliant as it’s not a well-known condition and hopefully that helps too.”
Holly said: “It’s an amazing, incredible achievement. I thought he could do it and every day he looked ok and confident. In the weather conditions it was amazing that he didn’t slip over once and didn’t have a single blister!”
“I had to change shoes early on as the wonderful waterproof ones I bought weren’t comfortable,” said David, “but apart from that I avoided all the things I could have done: no injuries, slips or falls. The weather was awful, but if I’m honest there are many types of weather that could have been worse: heavy snow would have completely stopped me in my tracks. So on balance I think we were lucky – and we knew it wouldn’t be warm and sunny all the time in December and January!”
I ask David what he will take away from the challenge - other than a massive sense of achievement and satisfaction.
“Although I’ve walked parts of the South West Coast Path I’ve been struck by its beauty and how incredibly lucky we are to have it on our doorstep,” he said. “There are so many places along it when the views are breath-taking – I’m planning to go back and walk some sections again with more time to appreciate them!”
First published March/April 2013 By The Dart
