RETIRED teacher Mike Alexander from Bovey Tracey has learned a valuable lesson after traipsing around all 630 miles of the South West Coast Path... it’s worth revisiting the best bits pronto.

He is resting up after his arduous trek from Minehead in Somerset to Poole in Dorset which he completed in just under a month.

He managed to ramble eight hours a day during the epic stroll, and the high points for him were Hope Cove to Salcombe and the Old Harry Rocks near Swanage.

But he was not alone in his quest to complete Britain’s longest national trail.

Sharing the foot-blistering adventure with him was his faithful border collie Benjy.

Mike revealed that he climbed some 115,000ft along the way – the equivalent of scaling Mt Everest four times.

‘The scenery was fantastic and so varied. Walking around every headland brought different views and surprises,’ said Mike afterwards.

His hardships were eased by family and friends taking him home some nights and returning him the following day to continue his lone voyage.

One unexpected annoyance was timing walks to catch the 16 ferries that had to be used at specific and limited hours of the day.