Coast path's 50th anniversary paintings go on display

An artist who painted 50 scenes along the South West Coast Path is staging an exhibition of the works inspired by her time on the famous route.

The 630-mile (1,014 km) coastal path, linking Dorset's Studland Bay all the way to Minehead on the north coast of Somerset, takes in some of the UK's most spectacular scenery.

Emma Scattergood created 50 works to mark half a century since the start of efforts to create the complete coast path.

She said the experience was "absolutely brilliant and life-changing".

The challenge was a step back in time for the former university lecturer, revisiting stretches of the path where she walked and played as a child growing up in Devon.

It was also fundraising for Dementia UK in memory of her mother Nancy for whom she had cared and who shared a love for the coast path.

Walking the path in stages throughout 2023, among the more memorable moments, she recalled battling along the path in Cornwall through Storm Noa.

"It was utterly terrifying and slightly ill-advised. I was scared, but I did it," she said.

She said the "kindness of strangers" was apparent throughout - from a woman in Cornwall who lent her a towel for an impromptu skinny dip in, to a couple who offered her a bed in their B&B in Cape Hope.

"When I look back at what I set out to do, it was utterly brilliant and life changing".

"After years of being a carer, I felt I'd lost myself and my sense of who I was.

"Going out on the coast path, I feel I've been allowed to take the time and space to find my own voice - it makes you realise you are more resilient than you think.

From 1973, the South West Coast Path Association campaigned and gradually opened the path in sections before it was designated as a National Trail five years later.

Ms Scattergood who rediscovered her passion for art during the Covid lockdowns, was also fundraising for the South West Coast Path Association.

Walking along the path in Dorset and Devon meant she saw first hand the disruption and costly movements of the path following cliffs falls and landslides.

The walks also gave her the opportunity to develop workshops for individuals and groups to make a connection between creative activity and wellbeing through connecting with nature.

"I'd encourage people to take a notebook with them when they go out, look around and enjoy the benefits of being out in nature.

"It's opened so many doors - being able to create space in life to take time for nature - it's so important and makes things happen," she said.

An exhibition of Ms Scattergood's paintings of scenes from the coast path is on at Durlston Country Park near Swanage from 6-15 July.

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