Content Policy & Reporting

Last updated: 8 November 2026

South West Coast Walk hosts content created by our users ("user-generated content" or "UGC") in several places: the Trail Feed, Community Forum, Reviews of stages, places to stay and eat, and the guides, tour companies and other businesses listed in our marketplace, Trail Tags, Stories, profile photos & bios, Buddy Finder, the Lost & Found board, and messages (private messages and group chats). This policy explains what is allowed, what is not, and how to report content that breaks the rules.

1. Your content, your responsibility

You retain ownership of the content you post. You grant Pixelo Mobile Ltd a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use content you post on or after the date shown at the top of this page: to host, store, copy, display and distribute it on South West Coast Walk's websites and apps, on our other Trailivo websites and apps, and in the emails and notifications we send; to translate it (including with automated tools), keep the translations and adapt it as far as these uses need (for example, to crop a photo or shorten a post); to use it, with credit to you where practical, on our own social media and in promoting our websites and apps; to use the information in it (for example, a trail report) to keep our trail information up to date; and to let our service providers (including hosting, translation and AI providers) process it for these purposes. Content you posted before that date stays under the licence that applied when you posted it. We do not sell your content or let anyone else use it for their own purposes. You can ask us not to use a post of yours in our promotion, and we will then stop using it in new promotion. To the extent the law allows, you agree not to assert your moral rights against us or our service providers for the uses this licence allows (for example, cropping, shortening or translating your content). If you delete your content, we stop using it in anything new. Promotion we have already published with it may stay, unless you ask us to remove it (write to hello@walksouthwestcoast.co.uk); we then remove it where we control it, such as our own posts and pages. Copies of deleted content may stay in our backups until they are cleared, which takes a reasonable time, and in our legal or moderation records; this licence continues for those copies. If you delete your account, content you have already published may stay on South West Coast Walk, shown as by "Deleted User" (you can ask us to remove it, as our Privacy Policy explains), and this licence continues for that content, for copies in our backups and for our legal and moderation records — see Delete Account.

You confirm that you own the content you post or have the owner's permission to post it, that it is lawful and not defamatory, and that sharing it does not breach anyone's privacy or other rights.

2. What is allowed

Honest accounts of your hiking experience on the South West Coast Path
Honest reviews of providers based on a real booking or interaction
Photos you took, or photos you have permission to share
Trail observations (e.g. "waymark missing at km 7", "water tap dry in June")
Respectful questions, tips, warnings, and logistical help for other hikers
Constructive criticism of a provider where your experience justifies it
Lost-and-found posts with enough detail to be useful but not so much it identifies a stranger

3. What is NOT allowed

Not allowed — may be removed, and may result in account suspension or law-enforcement referral:

Illegal content — CSAM, incitement to violence, terrorism, hate speech, and any other illegal content
Harassment and targeted abuse — including doxxing, threats, bullying, or coordinated pile-ons
Non-consensual private content — identifying photos of strangers, recordings without consent, intimate images without consent
Defamation — false statements of fact that damage a person's or business's reputation
Copyright and trademark infringement
Spam, scams, fraudulent listings, phishing links
Fake reviews — reviews by someone who did not book or use the service, reviews solicited in exchange for money/benefits, competitor-posted reviews
Dangerous misinformation — knowingly false information that could cause hikers to be injured (e.g. falsely claiming a water source exists in a section)
Personal data of third parties — phone numbers, addresses, vehicle plates, close-up photos of identifiable people shared without their permission
Malware and exploit code
Impersonation — claiming to be South West Coast Walk staff, a provider, or another user

Buddy Finder — meeting other hikers safely

Buddy Finder introduces hikers who want to walk together. It is an introduction, not a background check: we do not verify anyone's identity or vet users. You decide whether to meet anyone, and we are not responsible for how other hikers behave. Nothing here limits our liability where the law does not allow it.

Profiles. The app asks for a profile photo and at least one social link (Instagram, LinkedIn or Facebook) before you post a request, so other hikers can see a little about who they'd be meeting. We do not check that either is genuine.
Report or block any time. You can report or block any hiker from their profile or the group chat.
No abuse. Harassment, hate speech, sexual harassment, scams, impersonation and threats are not allowed, and we may suspend or close accounts that break these rules.

In cases of abuse, harassment or threats, we may share information with the police where the law allows or requires it. When you meet, choose a public place the first time, tell someone you trust your plans, and leave if you feel uncomfortable. In an emergency, contact the local emergency services. We cannot arrange help, but you can report a member to safety@walksouthwestcoast.co.uk.

4. How we moderate

We have no tolerance for objectionable content or abusive users. South West Coast Walk uses a combination of automated filtering and human moderation:

Reviews: some reviews appear as soon as they are posted; others, such as reviews from new accounts and reviews of businesses listed in our marketplace, may be held until we have looked at them. That a review or post appears on South West Coast Walk does not mean we have checked, verified or endorsed it.
Stories: stories, and changes to them, may be checked against these rules before they go live. We check them against our rules; we do not check that what they say is accurate.
Posts: most posts appear straight away; some may be held for a check — for example, a post with links or contact details from a new account.
Outcomes: we may hide or remove the content, or suspend or close the account that posted it. A suspension may be temporary or permanent. A suspended account cannot sign in, and most of what it has posted is hidden while the suspension lasts. We do not use a fixed number of strikes; we look at each case.

We do not pre-screen every post. We act on reports and on our own discretion. We may refuse, remove or restrict any content, and suspend or close any account, at our discretion, including content that breaches this policy or our Terms of Service.

5. How to report content

If you see content that breaks this policy, please tell us.

Report email: report@walksouthwestcoast.co.uk

Please include: the URL or in-app location of the content, a description of what's wrong, and your relationship to it (victim, observer, rights-holder).

If your report concerns illegal content (CSAM, terrorism, imminent threats), please also report directly to the relevant authority — we may cooperate with law enforcement where the law allows or requires it.

Not for emergencies — we cannot arrange help, including for a hiker in danger. In an emergency, contact the local emergency services.

6. Notice-and-takedown procedure (copyright & trademark)

For content our users post, we may rely on the hosting defence in regulation 19 of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002.

To notify us of infringing content, send a written notice to abuse@walksouthwestcoast.co.uk including:

Your full name and postal address, and an email address we can reply to.
The work or right you say is infringed, and why the content infringes it (with evidence that you hold the right, where practical).
The URL or precise in-app location of the allegedly infringing content.
A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorised.
A statement that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the rights holder or authorised to act for them.
Your name at the end of the notice.

We review each notice and aim to respond within 5 working days. If a notice is valid, we will usually hide or remove the content. We may write to the person who posted it, at the email address on their account, and take their reply into account. Accounts that repeatedly post infringing content may be suspended. Repeated submitters of false notices may be blocked.

7. Right of appeal

If we ask for changes to a story or decline it, we tell you by email. If you think we were wrong to hide or remove your content or to suspend or close your account, write to appeals@walksouthwestcoast.co.uk within 30 days of finding out, from the email address your account uses if you can. Tell us which content or account it is and why you think the decision was wrong. We will look at the decision again and aim to reply within a reasonable time.

If someone tells us that a post is defamatory, we may deal with the complaint under section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013 and the Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013, which set out the steps and time limits for us, the poster and the complainant. We may also remove the post.

8. Transparency

We may publish a transparency report, for example the number of reports received, takedowns performed, appeals upheld and law-enforcement requests complied with. We do not publish individual users' personal data in it.

9. Changes to this policy

We may change this policy; the date at the top shows the latest version, and continued use means you accept it.

10. Contact

Pixelo Mobile Ltd trading as South West Coast Walk
Company number 10585806
Registered office: c/o Demsa Accounts, 565 Green Lanes, Haringey, London, England, N8 0RL
Content reports: report@walksouthwestcoast.co.uk
Takedowns (copyright/trademark): abuse@walksouthwestcoast.co.uk
Appeals: appeals@walksouthwestcoast.co.uk