Over the years, the series Coast has made a fairly thorough presentation of the UK’s edges, but there is always more. In the new series Coastal Path (BBC2), the explorer Paul Rose patrols a particular subsection on foot: the South West Coast Path, all 630 miles of it, from Minehead in Somerset to Poole in Dorset. As he set off scaling the heights of Exmoor, I found myself trying to get a good look at his shoes.
This was not, it turns out, a contemplative stroll. There is a briskness to Rose’s step, and to his presenting style, which is enthusiastic but terse. He likes to march out to a craggy point, say a single, mildly interesting thing, then march back. I got the impression he is rarely late for appointments.
Obviously, with hundreds of miles to account for and only five half hours to do it in, whole swaths of coast were going to get skipped – but even when Rose chose to stop he didn’t care to hang about. At one point, he took a break to ride the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway. “It’s been here since 1888,” he said, neglecting to mention its most interesting feature – that it’s powered by water. “There’s barely time to get comfortable before I’m back on the path,” he said at the top. I didn’t understand this self-imposed rush.
That said, I’ve much enjoyed the recent vogue for slow TV. I’ll happily spend two hours watching a boat drift down a canal. Coastal Path seemed to do the very opposite – a spirited attempt to cover too much ground. When it did slow down (there was a hang-gliding detour, and a quiet moment watching a dog herd some sheep) it had the meditative quality one might expect from a show about a bloke walking along a cliff all day.
As much as I enjoyed it, Coastal Path might have benefited from more faith in the viewer’s patience. Don’t race to the finish line on my account – I’ve already been to Poole.
