Day 8. Westward Ho! to Clovelly, 1 December 2022.

 I was away soon after 8.30 as I had a bus to catch. The Barnstaple bus leaves Clovelly at 2.45; if I missed it the next one was not until 6.30. After spending much of the previous two days walking along disused railway lines it was a surprise when the stage started with 2 km along another old railway. A little Googling revealed that this was a line that took a circuitous route from Bideford to Westward Ho! and Appledore, but was never linked to the main railway network, and closed in 1917 when Dr Beeching was only a small boy.

 Then came some easy walking along grassy cliff tops with a fine view of the route ahead, but the second half of the route is mostly in woodland. The photo shows the Landmark Trust property at Peppercombe, a 1920s wooden bungalow which must have a spectacular view from the verandah. Liz and I have stayed in over thirty Landmark properties and maybe this one should be added to our wish list.

 

 

 

The only village on today's route at Buck's Mills. 

The last 5 km of the walk follows the Hobby Drive, a scenic carriage drive constructed in the early 19th century, partly to provide employment for Clovelly men after the Napoleonic Wars. The stone seat in the photo commemorates the extension of the Hobby Drive in 1901. 

  

This bench gave a view down to Clovelly village and a sign that I was nearly at the end. I finished just before 2pm, in plenty of time to look round the Visitor Centre and have tea and cake before catching the bus to Barnstaple and a drive home.

Distance today, 20 km.

Day 7. Instow to Westward Ho!, 30 November 2022

 From Instow beach it is a short distance to Appledore on the other bank of the Torridge, and in summer you can skip most of today's section by taking the ferry, giving Coast Path walkers an ethical dilemma.

 

 

 In late November this was not an option, so I continued along the disused railway line and crossed the old  Long Bridge into Bideford.

 

 

 

  

In Bideford I found a cafe for coffee and cake, and enjoyed these two plaques commemorating local worthies (or maybe not so worthy in one case). 

From Bideford the path follows the river to Appledore with its working shipyard, colourful houses and guerilla knitting.

 The final section was a welcome escape into some open coastline around Northam Burrows before reaching Westward Ho!   

 

 Westward Ho! is the only place in the UK with an exclamation mark in its name. And it has a nice beach. But the village is a sprawl of modern buildings, holiday parks and fast food outlets, hardly the most attractive pit stop on the Coast Path. At least my room in the Waterfront Inn was comfortable and quiet.

 

 

Distance today 20 km. 

 

Day 6. Braunton to Instow, 29 November 2022.

 I left the car in Barnstaple again and took the bus to get to Braunton by 11 am. This section is mostly along disused railway lines that have now been converted into  the Tarka Trail. It's a shared footpath and cycle track and I had considered doing this section by bike, but the logistics were a bit complicated so I was on foot, trying to avoid being run over by the many cyclists.

 

At Barnstaple I took the new high bridge over the Taw, and followed the south bank. I had ridden this section a couple of years ago as part of a Devon coast-to-coast cycle trip from Barnstaple to Plymouth. At Fremington there is an old station with some interesting pictures of the railway in its heyday, and it was here where James May had tried to build the world's longest model railway for a TV programme. 

Nearing Instow the coast path leaves the Tarka trail for a path round the old power station, where these old ships lie decaying near to the old quay.

 

As I turned south along the Torridge estuary the low tide allowed a wander along the beach to Instow, where I passed the cricket ground with this thatched scorer's hut on the way to my digs in the local pub.

 

Distance today, 21 km. 

Day 5. Woolacombe to Braunton, 29 October 2022.

 

It was raining heavily when I got up but had eased off by the time I had eaten breakfast and caught the bus back to Woolacombe. Even so, it was rather a grey and miserable day, as evidenced by the fact that I only took a couple of photos all day.

My unwritten rules for the coast path allow me to use beaches and the foreshore rather than stick exactly to the official path, so I took advantage of low tide by following the 3 km length of Woolacombe beach before walking out to the headland of Baggy Point, familiar ground due to numerous rock climbing visits. The photo is taken by the rocket pole that was intended to mimic the mast of a sinking ship and used by the coastguards to practise breeches buoy rescues.

I stopped for a coffee and cake on the way into Croyde Bay and then took another short cut across the beach, surprisingly busy with weekend surfers braving the weather. 

 A new section of path has been set up to avoid the road walking to Saunton, and a rather confusing route down through a holiday park took me onto the huge beach of Saunton Sands.  I took the beach for about half its length before joining the official path through Braunton Burrows and round to Crow Point on the Taw estuary. You can see Appledore on the far side; about 2 km as the seagull flies but two days and over 30 km by the coast path.

From Crow Beach there is a path leading directly back inland to Braunton but the OS map shows the Coast Path following the sea wall round Horsey Island. It seemed easier to walk along the beach for about 1 km and then climb up onto the sea wall. There was a notice about a path closure but I tend to treat this sort of thing as a challenge rather than a command so I just carried on. Big mistake. The sea wall came to an abrupt end with a 50 m stretch of mud and deep water. I had to retrace my steps for 2 km and follow the inland path to Braunton where I could get the bus to Barnstaple and drive home.

Memo to self - always check the SWCP web site for up to date information on path diversions.

Distance today - 28 km (about 4 km more than it needed to be!) 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 4. Combe Martin to Woolacombe, 28 October 2022.

 A grand day with plenty of sunshine, good scenery and ground that was mostly new to me. The first section to Ilfracombe involved some road walking but with good views back to Watermouth and Great Hangman, and down into Ilfracombe.

  

 Ilfracombe was familiar territory as we had caught the ferry here on several trips to Lundy. The quay is now dominated by Verity, Damien Hurst's 20m tall sculpture of a pregnant woman with the foetus exposed. It's certainly a distinctive landmark though not to my taste.

After Ilfracombe the path follow low cliffs to the lighthouse at Bull Point and to Morte Point where the path changes direction from west to south.  

 

Woolacombe boasts a huge sandy beach but the village is a rather unattractive mix of modern houses and fast food outlets. I hadn't been able to find any suitable accomodation by the coast but had settled for a pub a couple of miles inland at Willingcott. This had the advantage of a regular bus link to Woolacombe but that was the only thing in its favour.

Distance today, 23 km. 

Day 3. Lynmouth to Combe Martin, 27 October 2022.

Transport for the next six sections of the path was going to be based in Barnstaple. I drove there in the afternoon and took a small bus over the top of Exmoor to Lynton. 

After booking into my friendly B&B I strolled down to the harbour where I had finished six months before and, for the sake of completeness, walked back up to Lynton by the steep zigzag path beside the cliff railway, a water powered masterpiece of Victorian engineering.  This was a tough section, with 1000 m of ascent and descent, but the first section was very easy along a tarmac path to the Valley of the Rocks, where I had been before to try a couple of its esoteric climbs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now things got harder, with continuously undulating terrain all the way to Combe Martin. This photo shows the biggest descent and reascent to cross the valley by Heddon Mouth.

 Near the end of the day I passed Great Hangman, at 318 m the highest point on the South West Coast Path. It is marked by a vast heap of rocks, as if someone had emptied a tipper truck on the summit. It needs a proper cairn; it's not as if there is a shortage of building material. Just below is a 250 m cliff that is supposed to be the highest in England, although it is vegetated sandstone that is not suitable for climbing. 

 

  The sun made a brief appearance as I descended into Combe Martin, and I arrived at my B&B before 4, having taken just over 6 1/2 hours from Lynton.

Distance today, 22 km.

Day 2. Porlock to Lynmouth, 9 February 2022.

The weather looked ominous as I set off but stayed dry for most of the day. By Porlock Weir I liked this sign for the toll road that provides a gentler alternative to the notorious Porlock Hill. 

 

For most of the way the path is in woodland, traversing the steep slope that leads from high ground down to the sea. Even in winter with no leaf cover the views are rather restricted. Not my favourite terrain as I prefer more open country, but I have met people who think this is one of the best sections of the path. I passed the small church at Culbone and this gateway where we had taken silly photos of Doug Pigg posing underneath the pigs on a WAGs trip to Porlock. 

Eventually the path emerged on open country above Foreland Point but now the rain started and I was rather wet by the time I reached Lynmouth. Fortunately I had brought a change of clothing for the drive home. I went to seek out a cafe by the harbour where this sign showed the difference between the distance that I had walked and what was still to come. 21 miles completed; 609 to go.

 

Distance today, 23 km. 

Day 1. Minehead to Porlock, 8 February 2022

When you are walking a few days at a time, transport to either end is often an issue, but in this case it was easy. I drove to Lynmouth, left the car (free parking in winter) and caught the open top bus to arrive in Minehead at midday. This was the sculpture that marks the start of the coast path.

The weather was dry though overcast. After a wooded start out of Minehead you are soon into typical Exmoor coast terrain, high moorland above steep grass slopes falling into the sea. The photo is looking over Porlock Bay near the end of the walk. It's much futher than 4 1/2 miles to Minehead by the coast path. I was in my B&B in Porlock village by 4.30.

 

Distance today, 15 km.