Everything worked well. I particularly appreciated the tailor making of our walking stages which you did. Our first hotel at Lyme was a bit odd. Grubby. And we felt it was strange for a hotel catering to walkers who may be doing long days not to have breakfast at 8. We asked the night before for some cereal for our rooms for an early start and although it was provided it seemed a surprise!
We also tweaked our long day along the Ridgeway so that we got a taxi from West Bexington to Abbatsbury where we started walking - just to shorten the walk a tiny bit. We think Abbotsbury would have been a lovely place to stay!

Military Ranges and Old Harry Rock best places, and would recommend holiday to others

Everything was fine!!!!
An important information:
The trail along the first of the 2 golf-clubs, we passed, can`t be used any longer - you have to go around the golf club, that`s much longer now!!
There are 2 reasons for this: a cliff fell down
the golf club has a very big and new fence

Got pretty good weather, amazingly enough. All the places we stayed in were pretty good, some very good. The only one that wasn’t really up to scratch was in Abbotsbury - it was rather sad and run-down. Highlights were Golden Cap and the stretch from Weymouth to Lulworth Cove. Additional entertainment on this section from the many runners doing the Corfe Castle 100k race! I was a bit horrified to find so many diversions and closed sections after landslips, etc, just 9 years on from the last time I did this walk. Walk it while you still can!

what we enjoyed the most was meeting people along the path - all very happy , helpful with directions, places to eat. local history as we were on the path during D DAY honoring those who participated during WW II - stories from people who lived in the area during that time. we ate a lot of good food and drank a few good pints along the way. accommodations were placed well and very good, hosts were very helpful and most tried to adjust the breakfast times if needed. . ( 3 * and above B&B). company was very responsive to a concern we had and hoping that the feed back will help others in the future..

Encounter does a great job of providing daily details about each segment. We've used several walking agencies and Encounter sets a high bar in terms of providing important detail that is helpful for a successful walking experience. However, I suggest you rethink the time frames for the complicated day with transfer around the Erme and ferry to Bantham. Fortunately, our taxi driver was wonderful and suggested we don't start at Yealmpton and she drove us further down the Coast Path to another starting point. She was 100% right. I'm not sure we would have made the last ferry to Bantham and we're not a slow walking group.

One thing I suggest you consider is to check in with your walkers - especially those walking for multiple weeks.

Overall, we were pleased with our lodging except for a couple of places. The Hotel in Looe was a big disappointment. Also in Bantham. Staff were very unhelpful and not engaged. There was no cell coverage or Wi-Fi available, which was an issue for us as we didn't get an updated weather report for the start of our next segment. It was a very windy and difficult day. Fortunately, the path wasn't too much on the cliff side so we managed but if we had known about the conditions, we may have taken transport to the next town rather than walk. I would have preferred to have transport to Salcombe for lodging rather than the Inn at Bantham.

Hopefully, these are suggestions you can use for future clients. Overall, we had a great experience and would recommend Encounter Walking.

Enjoyed the walk especially the Golden Cap section which is wonderful. Some beach and back of beach sections which are good as you are close to the sea but hard work on the pebbles and very wet on some of the sections behind the beach. The walk to Lyme Regis on the undercliff is fascinating but prepare yourself for 2-3 hours of walking without being able to stop or get refreshments. On all the other sections of the route, refreshments were easy to find and enjoyable.

For the 3rd year running, we used Encounter Walking Holidays to take care of the logistics of our walk and were, once again, completely happy with all they did. The lodging was great, the luggage transfers completely reliable, leaving us to focus entirely on enjoying our walk of the entire South West Coast Path (in 3 separate trips). We recommend them without hesitation!

Final day 14 mile walk from Worth Matravers -Poole and 1st day Lyme Regis - Eymouth, and Lulworth Cove.
Paths amazingly muddy and quite a few landslides causing deviations.
The lady at the Worth Matravers B&B was so lovely and helpful, allowing me to wash my muddy clothes in the bath and even providing a sponge.!
The accommodation at East Farm House Abbotsbury was a very interesting house and had a lovely warm room and bathroom and log fire downstairs for drying boots. The lady was very helpful and had an outside hose where I could hose myself down, having fallen face down full length in mud on the way!

The planning of our walk was easy with Encounter Walking. The process happened over a number of weeks through emails after the initial itinerary was suggested. We are in Australia and email exchange was the easiest process for us. Encounter provided all the detail required so that we could plan our walk easily. The website was very useful for our planning. Showing the route in stages as well as the expectations of the walking route was essential to our planning. Frequently asked questions was helpful when some information was required especially when planning the walk from Australia. The SWCP from Plymouth to Poole is a tough walk a lot of the time. It has wonderful scenery and is generally well marked. There are days where ferry crossings were necessary and sometimes this required us to time our walking schedule to the timing of the crossings. Sometimes this meant that slowing down the walk was not an option however all this information was conveyed by Encounter Walking very clearly so this was not a surprise. The walking notes for the trip were excellent. They were very detailed and provided are the necessary information a walker needs. The information regarding the walking grade was essential and prepared our thinking before each walking day. Information on refreshments also helped with planning the day ahead with regard to food provisions. Excellent Luggage Transfer service for the duration of our trip. The Luggage was always on time and there was never a day where we arrived before the Luggage at our B&B or Hotel. The maximum weight is 20kg per person and we were slightly over on one of our pieces of Luggage, This was solved very quickly and simply after contacting the Luggage Transfer company and we were able to take out some of the weight out into a smaller bag for them to transfer each day. This was then sorted out between Walking Encounter and the Luggage Transfer company. Good accommodation all the way for our walk. It was always a surprise what accommodation was going to be provided each day. Each one provided something that was different and pleasing. It was interesting to see what the accommodation service was going to bring. Sometimes it was breakfast or it was the beds or it was the welcome on arrival. It was always different and appreciated by us. Excellent walk and services for the whole walk. Definitely recommend Encounter Walking as a company that provide bespoke Walking holidays.

We were aiming to complete the SW Coast path in May, but had to cut the walk short because of family circumstances. Encounter were brilliant, they sorted all the arrangements and provided us with a detailed letter for our Insurance claim. They then booked us in at short notice to complete the walk in September. Encounter timed our final week to ensure MOD firing ranges were safe and open to walkers, which saved us long detours. We have now completed the entire SW Coast Path in 4 sections over 4 years. Encounter have been helpful and professional on every holiday and made it so easy for us to just walk, knowing that everything else has been arranged and will be in place.

Due to a bit of a hiccup with the firing ranges , the last 3 days of the walk had to be re arranged. This was all done in the usual very friendly and efficient manner. We couldn't believe Encounter managed to re book us for the dates we wanted. There doesn't seem to be anything that can't be sorted or any query that can't be answered! Lulworth Cove to Worth Mactravers is tough and especially on a hot day. Allow plenty of time so you have time to visit The Square and Compass at the end of the day. A pint or two and pasty or pie is an absolute must. We were blessed with beautiful weather to finish' The Path 'on. The scenery was stunning .and we saw Dorset at its best. We even saw The Waverley both in Swanage and at Haven Point. We finished on a high. Thank you Encounter.

Your team are always so prompt, helpful and responsive to any requests. I especially appreciate the recommendations you make, for instance for rest days. It is also very useful that you provide alternative choices for accommodation, so that one can perhaps choose one or two upgrades - if one likes. Website... Provides a very useful sense of the itinerary so that one can make informed choices, for instance about rest days or optional stretches (in this case around Portland Bill). A wonderful range of options with a clear sense that your team know each of the routes well. I especially appreciated how you organised the wonderful Angela, the taxi driver, to take me to Worth Matravers. on the two last mornings. Really great to be able to walk back to Lulworth and not feel that I had to rush to meet a taxi. The combination of the notes, map and guidebook gives the walker a very good sense of the route, highlights, any diversions and any transport (ferries and buses) that might be needed. I especially like that you make a note of archaeological, historical and other sites of interest to keep a look-out for. I especially liked the Castle Inn at Lulworth. The new manager, Ian, and his partner plus staff were really welcoming. The Redcliff Guest House was very nice too - a very old-school classic seaside B&B with lovely hosts. My one piece of feedback concerns the Ilchester Arms in Abbotsbury. It feels like it is really on its last legs in terms management and organisation. I'm not terribly fussy about these things, but various things seemed to be going wrong - missed dinner reservation, no hot water in the bathrooms, etc. The staff were trying to manage as best as they could, but you might just need to keep an eye on this option for future bookings. Truly a magnificent walk and a memory I'll treasure for years to come. I've now completed the SWCP thanks very much to your excellent service and support.

The stretch between Lulworth Cove and Worth Matravers was testing and I was unable to make the pre-arranged rendezvous with the taxi at WM, unfortunately there was no phone signal to enable me to contact the driver. It is worth noting the lack of a phone signal in this area. I should stress that the failure to meet the taxi was entirely mine. Encounter were, as always, perfectly clear in their description of the ;route and its severity.

Really well organised experience, it all worked like clock work.

We were very lucky to be so perfectly guided by the expert team of Encounter Walking Holidays. From the beginning in 2015 until the finish in 2023 they drafted, planned and organized our walks on the SWCP and provided us with professional advice. We highly recommend them to anyone who’d like to enjoy a smooth and carefree walking holiday in the UK, especially when from abroad. Rumor has it, there is a new Cornwall circular walk (Tamara Coast to Coast), which is very tempting to us ????. A very big THANK YOU to the team of Encounter Walking Holidays, we couldn’t have done it without you. On our walk from Abbotsbury to Fortuneswell (Portland) just after the Army Training Centre and about a 3/4 mile before the Ferry Bridge the path was closed and there was no signposted diversion and so we had to walk in the sea bed to avoid a detour. Luckily the tide was out but don't ask about our walking boots - wellies would have been a better choice ... On the whole there are lots of steep ascents and descents and so many steps on the route from Exmouth to Poole. We did the part Lulworth Cove to Poole in two days, we'd recommend to split the milage up in three walking days. We started back in June 2015 with the section Padstow to Penzance, but we got only as far as St. Just due to a strained muscle. Back on the SWCP in June 2016 we covered Marazion to Fowey and finally in June 2017 we set off from the actual starting point of the SWCP in Minehead and walked as far as Padstow. In June 2018 we walked the Fowey to Exmouth stretch as well as St. Just to Penzance, which we missed out in 2015. Due to various circumstances, we only got back on the Path five years later in June this year and finally finished the 630 miles South West Coast Path covering the Exmouth to Poole segment on 26th of June – WE DID IT! Every part has its own unique features, sometimes more and sometimes less demanding and even some tedious and dull bits, but it’s so rewarding at the same time. The wildlife, the flora, the ever-changing landscape, the beaches, lonesome coves and charming villages, so many steep climbs and descents, and never-ending steps, the path at parts overgrown with stinging nettles, gorse and brambles – I’m not complaining - and especially the sea, all of this is the unique and wonderful South West Coast Path. In Austria we have high and steep mountains, lovely lakes and beautiful landscape but no sea and therefore no coast to walk along. To us it was an amazing experience and the last bit was quite challenging too after the long pause of 4 years, but we managed well in the end and that’s the main thing.

Loved our walking experience on the SWCP. We can't stop raving about it. The scenery was spectacular, accommodation fantastic. This was our fourth long distance walk over the years, and I would say that this was the best. I am more than happy to recommend Encounter Walking Holidays and Luggage transfers to anyone considering doing this walk. I can't thank the Encounter Walking Holiday Team enough for helping us to have such a wonderful experience.

Very helpful when clarifying issues and for a couple of alterations we needed to make. For each stop we were offered 3 alternative B&Bs to choose from which we appreciated. It was clear from the information provided, the room we would have and possible upgrades. We chose to stop 2 nights in Weymouth and did the Portland leg from there - this worked out well. Many others we spoke to were doing this too. Diversions on Portland were poorly (or not at all) signposted, we found a particular problem in Tout quarry. We would have preferred to receive the guidebook and map earlier - ideally as soon as we had paid the balance. The itinerary was clear and comprehensive, although there was one major change that we had not previously been informed of. This meant we walked the Lulworth ranges in the opposite direction to what we had expected to, ie from Worth Matravers back to Lulworth. Good to include estimated walking time for each leg and degree of severity. Our luggage always arrived before we did (which varied form 1pm to 3pm), so there were no problems. However we did notice that we had been told it would arrive by 4pm, but the label said 4.30pm. All the accommodation was excellent. However we were disappointed that most did not start serving breakfast until 8.30am, delaying the start of our days walk. In addition it meant we had to take our luggage down before breakfast. Our previous experience of long distance paths is that breakfast normally started at 7am or 7.30am. We were disappointed that one one B&B offered packed lunches. A great 8 days walking along the Dorset Coast. We endorse Encounter's recommendation about booking evening meals ahead, especially at weekends.

This is our fourth time working with Encounter, and as always, the preparatory experience was excellent. All of our requests (shorter day here, rest day there) were taken into consideration. Encounter provides the opportunity for a truly bespoke holiday, which we tremendously appreciate. We walked from Plymouth to Exmouth, and from Lyme Regis to Poole (we completed the Exmouth to Lyme Regis section in 2017). We were blessed with stellar weather (no rain over 21 days) and the views were consistently sublime. The condition of the Path itself was good, other than a section just past the Clavell Tower by Kimmeridge, which was TOTALLY overgrown with rapeseed - we had to push our way through shoulder-high plants. There are a number of required ferry crossings on this section (Yealm, Erme, Avon, Salcombe, Dartmouth, Teign, Exe Rivers) which we managed without difficulty (we were driven around the River Erme). We did NOT enjoy the 2 km walk along the shingle beach between Burton Mere and West Bexington, nothing to be done but persevere through it. We took the additional day to walk around the Isle of Portland which we thoroughly enjoyed. The trek through the Lulworth Ranges was fantastic, though that day (Lulworth Cove to Worth Matravers) was very long and we were very tired by day's end! We used the AZ Map and Trailblazer guide consistently, and referred to the GPS only when we were unsure (which was rare). Encounter's detailed information re how to find the night's accommodation was much appreciated. We had the opportunity to select the accommodations, so we had only ourselves to blame if we didn't like them! Other than one (Lyme Regis, the pub there has passed its best-before date) we were extremely happy: accommodations met and in many cases exceeded what we were expecting. The Smuggler's Inn in Osmington Mills, the West Bay Hotel in West Bay  and the Cricket Inn in Beesands were especially lovely. Absolutely fantastic. We are older walkers (ages 69 and 81) and have to plan our walking itinerary more carefully than in the past (we're now like Goldilocks, not too long, not too steep, not too much tarmac) to have a successful experience, but with Encounter's help, we have been consistently able to do that, and hope to do so again in 2024.

A terrific experience and one we will remember forever

From my very first enquiry I found everyone in the team incredibly helpful and friendly. Walking the whole SWCP in one go requires a lot of planning and, in the first instance, I was given a lot of free advice as well as a suggested full, detailed itinerary customised according to my wishes and desire only to stay one night in each place. All this information was given freely without any compunction on my part to go with the company. The team have invaluable information regarding the path and accommodation en route and use this to secure the best possible arrangements on your behalf. All the bookings were made (and checked) without any problems plus arrangement for baggage transfers. This saved me a lot of work. Communication was excellent throughout this process. Go prepared to be challenged physically and mentally as this is not an easy walk however the scenery, wildlife and wild flowers are stunning the whole way around. You won't be disappointed. Luggage Transfers... Invisible angels! 60 days of bags moving seamlessly from one place to the next. Only on 2 occasions did they arrive after me and them only by about 30 minutes. The majority of the accommodation was of a very good standard.

Our experience was incredible!! We sincerely appreciate all the work that Encounter Walking Holidays did on our behalf to make sure our adventure was enjoyable and trouble free.