South West Coast Path Packing List, With or Without Bag Transfer

Packing for the South West Coast Path is packing for a coast, not a hill. There are no mountains — the highest point on the whole route is the Great Hangman at 318 m — but the stage data rates shade as minimal on every one of the 52 stages, the wind comes off the Atlantic with nothing in its way, salt gets into zips and electronics, and on the south coast the day may be planned around a tide rather than a timetable. This guide is built from those four things, then split in two: the day pack you carry when a baggage company moves the rest, and the full pack when you carry everything.

The four things the coast asks of you

Wind. Open cliff-top for 630 miles. The stage page for Abbotsbury to Ferrybridge on Chesil Beach carries wind as its warning rather than hills, and the long Dorset shingle is the extreme case of what the whole route is like on a breezy day. A windproof shell matters as much as a waterproof one, and a hat that stays on matters more than a hat that looks good.

Salt. Sea air and spray. Zips, phone ports, cameras and anything metal need a wipe at the end of the day; a dry bag inside the pack does more than a rain cover, which the wind lifts anyway.

Tides. On the south coast the official route crosses drowned river valleys by ferry, and where there is no ferry, on foot. The River Erme on stage 37 is waded about an hour either side of low water; the Gannel at Newquay and Gillan Creek near the Helford are stepping stones or an on-demand boat; the Instow–Appledore ferry runs to the tide as well as the season. Woolacombe to Braunton warns of soft sand and tides at the Burrows. The ferries page has all 17 crossings; the packing consequence is footwear you are willing to get wet, and a tide table on the phone.

Sun. Minimal shade means minimal shade: there are wooded combes on Exmoor and the Undercliff between Seaton and Lyme, and almost nothing else. Sun cream, a brimmed hat, sleeves you can roll down and two litres of water are the July kit; even in May the reflection off the sea catches people out.

Add the fifth thing that is not coastal at all — the climbing. The path drops to sea level at every cove and river mouth and climbs straight back out, often on steps. The hardest sections guide ranks the stages by ascent; the packing rule it produces is simple: every kilogram is carried up 900 m on the worst day.

With baggage transfer — the day pack

Baggage transfer is common on this path: the site's FAQ says many walkers use one so they only carry a day pack. One company serving the route allows 20 kg per item, wants bags ready for collection by 9 am and delivers by 4.30 pm, or 5 pm in peak season, over a season of 1 March to 31 October. The cost guide has the prices. What it means for packing is two lists: a day pack of 20–30 litres that never leaves your back, and a main bag that never sees the path.

The main bag is everything else — evening clothes, wash kit, spare footwear for the pub, the guidebook, the charger — and it can be heavy because you never lift it on the path. Keep it under the 20 kg allowance and pack it with the morning deadline in mind.

Without baggage transfer — the full pack

Carrying everything changes the arithmetic, not the list. Every item above goes in, plus the overnight kit, and the camping guide adds the tent, mat, bag and stove if you are camping. What changes is the weight ceiling: the same rule that makes transfer attractive — 900 m of ascent in 22 km on Lynmouth to Combe Martin, 856 m over 25 km on Hartland Quay to Bude — makes a heavy pack expensive in hours and knees.

Weigh it before you leave. A full pack that feels fine on a flat walk is a different thing on the switchback combes between Clovelly and Bude, where the stage page warns you to carry supplies because there is nothing to buy on the way.

Footwear

The ground is mostly footpath — on Hartland Quay to Bude the surface breakdown on the stage page is 93% footpath — with steps, mud after rain, and short rocky sections such as Morte Point and the boulders and bog of St Ives to Pendeen. Well-broken-in boots or sturdy trail shoes both work; what does not work is new footwear on a 25 km day. If your section includes the Erme, or the Gannel or Gillan Creek at low water, bring something you can wade in and a small towel, and expect the stepping stones to be slippery.

What to leave out

• A second pair of boots. One pair, broken in, plus something light for the evening.
• A full set of paper OS sheets. The National Trails list runs to 17 Explorer sheets for the whole path; for one section carry the one or two that cover it, or a map booklet, or the offline app. The maps and GPX guide explains the options.
• Cotton base layers. Wet cotton in a sea wind is the quickest way to be cold in August.
• Gear for a crossing you will not make. Wading shoes on the north coast, a tide table for a section with no tidal crossing.
• Water treatment as your main plan. Fourteen of the mapped water points are springs and wells marked "treat first", but the reliable supply on this path is cafés, pubs, shops and taps, not streams. A small filter is a reasonable backup on the remote Hartland and Zennor days; it is not a substitute for two litres.
• A heavy camera setup if the bag is going by transfer. The camera is in the day pack all day, on your shoulders, up every combe.

Season adjustments

Spring and autumn: add gloves and a warm hat, and expect to finish long stages in the dusk — the head torch stops being optional. High summer: the sun list above, and more water than feels necessary, because there is no shade to wait in. Outside March to October the baggage company above is not operating, so the full-pack list is the only one. The best-time guide covers the months in detail.

The one-line version

Waterproofs, windproof, sun hat, two litres, poles, offline map, power bank, blister kit — in a day pack if the bag is moving, in a light full pack if it is not, and nothing you will carry up 900 m without using.