John O'Groats to Land's End - Day 061 - Barnstaple to Clovelly

Day: 061

Date: Sunday, 31 July 2022

Start:  Barnstaple

Finish:  Clovelly

Daily Kilometres:  39

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1701

Weather:  Overcast all day, with a lot of drizzle in the morning.

Accommodation:  AirBnB

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pastries/Flapjacks

  Lunch:  Tuna & sweetcorn sandwich/Chicken salad sandwich

  Dinner:  Fish, peas & chips/Pork belly & vegetables

Aches:  Dave - a lot of trouble with the left ankle today (arthritis?).  Julie - partially broke a nail.

Highlight:  Joining the South West Coast Path, our final long-distance trail for this trip.  It was really nice to be back on the coast with the sound of the surf, the smell of the sea air and the spectacular views.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We got going at 6:30am on a very grey morning with a light drizzle falling.  We knew we had a big day, distance-wise, and decided to walk to Bideford, 16 kilometres away, without a break along the old road linking Barnstaple with Bideford.  It proved to be a good choice with very little traffic on the mildly undulating road and we made good time, reaching the picturesque Bideford on the tidal River Torridge a little before 10:00am.  We walked through the town to a supermarket on the outskirts where we bought some breakfast, which we ate on a bench outside, and some supplies for the day.  On the way, we passed the clubrooms of the Bideford Amateur Athletic Club and we certainly noticed a lot of people out running during the morning, some of them looking pretty fast.

Following the guidebook route, we left Bideford and ended up on some damp overgrown field paths which made sure we were wet before we climbed to Kipling Tor, with great views over the Bristol Channel, the town of Westward Ho! and a large holiday park below.

We soon joined the official South West Coast Path, which was initially easy walking, but soon we left the dog-walkers behind and began the repetitive and steep  ups and downs of the real Coast Path.  The sweeping views along the coast were impressive, but the trail tough, and this was the way it was for most of the afternoon.  Although easy to follow, there were still plenty of brambles and nettles impinging on the path, and some parts, especially where damp, were quite slippery.  For much of the time, the path passed through peaceful (apart from the sound of the distant surf) and beautiful National Trust protected woodland, though it occasionally crossed into the pastures behind the woods and cliffs.

We detoured off the path a little to go through a huge holiday park just inland from the track around 4:00pm to visit its small convenience store to buy supplies for tomorrow on the assumption that we wouldn’t be able to buy any supplies in Clovelly (which proved to be true).  The last few kilometres into Clovelly followed an old cart road, before a steep descent through the picture-book village on its narrow cobbled road.  No cars are allowed in the village, which still has a small fishing fleet, but is mainly a tourist centre these days.

We found our AirBnB in the middle of the village, checked-in and showered before wandering back up the steep lane to one of the two village pubs for dinner.  After dinner, we walked down the steep lane to the harbour and had a look around before returning to our room.

It had been a long day, but we managed it well, and saw lots of interesting scenery.

John O'Groats to Land's End - Day 060 - Barnstaple

Day: 060

Date: Saturday, 30 July 2022

Start:  Barnstaple

Finish:  Barnstaple

Daily Kilometres:  0

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos from her afternoon run/walk

Total Kilometres:  1662

Weather:  Mild and overcast with occasional drizzle.

Accommodation:  Guesthouse

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pastries

  Lunch:  Egg mayonnaise baguette/Chilli chicken baguatte

  Dinner:  Fish & chips/Sausage & chips, Strawberry trifle.

Aches:  Nothing significant

Highlight:  None really

Lowlight:  None really

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Another day off, another Parkrun.  This time the Barnstaple Parkrun which was at nearby Rock Park beside the River Taw.  We walked down from our guesthouse in plenty of time to walk a few kilometres around the park in the drizzle before the Parkrun started at 9:00am.  Although we both ran OK, Dave is starting to wonder whether running off no training is really a smart idea at his age.

After the run and the usual chat with some friendly fellow runners, we walked into the centre of Barnstaple, which was quite busy as the shops opened, to buy some new bootlaces for Dave and some baked goods for breakfast before walking back to our accommodation.

Later, we made use of a nearby and much-needed laundromat and in the afternoon Julie went for a 15km run while Dave spent time on his laptop catching up on some admin and rehabbing his body.

John O'Groats to Land's End - Day 059 - Simonsbath to Barnstaple

Day: 059

Date: Friday, 29 July 2022

Start:  Simonsbath

Finish:  Barnstaple

Daily Kilometres:  32

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1662

Weather:  Mild to warm and mostly sunny

Accommodation:  Guesthouse

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Full English breakfast

  Lunch:  Ham, cheese & salad sandwiches

  Dinner:  Sweet & sour pork & rice/Chocolate mousse

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles and left ankle particularly troublesome.  Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Late in the afternoon, we followed an old bridleway, Smoky House Lane, for about 5 kilometres.  It was like walking through a circular tunnel that had been drilled through the earth and foliage.  The high earthen walls, topped by hedgerows and trees that closed over the top were responsible for the effect with a little bit of sunlight finding its way through here and there to dapple the trail.  It was very pleasant and easy walking.

Lowlight:  We encountered a delivery van coming the other way while walking down a very narrow lane and as usual we stopped and got off the road surface as best we could to let it pass.  It slowed a bit but made no effort to give us any clearance, with its wing mirror clipping the top of Dave’s pack frame, just above his shoulder and to the left of his ear, and slamming back against the van.  While Dave banged the side of the van as it drove past, Julie fell back into the brambles and nettles mixed in with the hedgerow to avoid being hit, and had to be pulled out.  The van stopped but the driver showed no concern before driving off while Dave shouted that he was calling the police and photographed his van and licence plate..

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We enjoyed our full English breakfast at the hotel, even though it was later than we would have liked.  This was our most expensive accommodation of the trip, but we had little choice in the middle of Exmoor.  Having said that, the accommodation and food was excellent, delivered with friendly service, so the higher prices didn’t hurt quite so much.

We started walking at 8:45am after conversations with some interested fellow guests and with the “Walk for George” charity walkers and support crew (see yesterday’s post).  To get back to the guidebook route, we decided to take a road, for 6 kilometres, that we feared may have been busy, but turned out to be relatively quiet and a beautiful walk.  Along the way we were cheered by some of the “Walk for George” supporters in several vehicle convoys that passed.

When we left the road to rejoin the guidebook route, following some field paths along a ridge, we were treated to “dress circle” views across Exmoor and into the valleys below including the village of Challacombe on an absolutely perfect day.  We dropped down off the ridge near the village and then had some challenging ups and downs as we crossed some valleys before stopping for a break in the late morning.  More undulations followed, though generally the walking was good, before a longish roadwalk descent from Exmoor to the village of Bratton Fleming, where we stopped and had a cold drink and ice cream from the village store while we waited for sandwiches to be made to take with us.

It was on the descent from the village that we had our encounter with a delivery van (see above) but, after we recovered from our surprise (we have become used to very courteous drivers on the narrowest of roads), we carried on down into the valley.  At the bottom, we began walking downstream through an attractive pine forest before finding a spot to eat our late lunch.

After a stressful one kilometre roadwalk on a very busy and winding road, the balance of our journey into Barnstaple was on lovely trail through woodland and along Smoky House Lane (see above).  At Barnstaple, we had to journey through the suburbs on a complicated route using our navigation app before eventually reaching our guesthouse accommodation at 5:45pm, happy with our day’s work and having enjoyed more superb scenery.

Day off tomorrow.

John O'Groats to Land's End - Day 058 - Torre to Simonsbath

Day: 058

Date: Thursday, 28 July 2022

Start:  Torre

Finish:  Simonsbath

Daily Kilometres:  35

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1630

Weather:  Low overcast with periods of drizzle and rain in the morning and partly sunny in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Hotel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Breakfast sandwich/Breakfast bar

  Lunch:  Beef & pickle sandwich/Breakfast sandwich

  Dinner:  Pork sausages, spinach & mash/Burger & chips

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles and sore feet.  Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Near the end of the day, after an unexpected and brutally steep climb up from the River Exe, we gently descended towards our hotel across a vast newly mown lawn-like field in the peaceful late afternoon light.

Lowlight:  It was disappointing not to get the views we had anticipated from the summit of Dunkery Beacon, at 519m the highest point in southern England, after the long climb to get there.  We had hazy glimpses of what might have been, but missed out on the best of it.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Another 6:00am start followed by a long steady climb up onto the Brendon Hills.  It started out dry, but it wasn’t long before a light drizzle set in as we followed an old cart road, Blindwell Lane, up to a conifer forest near the crest of Black Hill.  The views on the ascent were good, but marred by the drizzle, haze and low cloud.  As we began our descent through the forest it began to rain in earnest, which meant some of the later overgrown paths were very wet and, soon, so were we.  Just after a creek crossing we struck a really boggy section and, leading the way, Julie’s feet (and shoes) sank to her calf level (allowing Dave to manoeuvre and avoid the same fate).

More solid climbing across rough fields took us to the hamlet of Cutcombe, where we stopped and ate our breakfast on a bench in the old churchyard.  From there, we began the long ascent to Dunkery Beacon (see above), first through some lovely forest and, later, across heath-covered moorland.  Quite a lot of people were making the last part of the climb from the carpark at Dunkery Gate, perhaps a good alternative outing for those vacationing at beach towns along the coast.

We were disappointed not to get the views the guidebook recommended, but that’s the way it is when you are hiking.  Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t, but the high Exmoor hiking was still worth the effort.  We had lunch on the crest of another moorland hill, and then made a poor navigational choice which saw us bashing through wiry, scratchy heath trying to follow an invisible path for a couple of kilometres.

In fact, we had quite a lot of difficult walking today, which probably accounts for Dave complaining of tired/sore feet.  Apart from the heath, we had long sections through tussocky paddocks that wear you out and give your ankles and feet a beating.  The weather cleared a little during the afternoon and the views improved.

The last leg of the day involved a steep descent to cross the River Exe and then an unwelcome and unexpected steep climb up the other side, followed by a gentle descent across fields and along a busy road to our hotel.

Just behind us, for the last kilometre, were some “Walk for George” charity walkers raising money for a children’s charity in honour of 5-y-o George who had recently succumbed to a brain tumour.  They had a big travelling support crew, including George’s grandfather who walked with us for a while telling us all about it.  It’s their last day tomorrow and they are staying in the same hotel as us.

John O'Groats to Land's End - Day 057 - Bridgwater to Torre

Day: 057

Date: Wednesday, 27 July 2022

Start:  Bridgwater

Finish:  Torre

Daily Kilometres:  35

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1595

Weather:  Mild, sunny in the morning and overcast in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Hotel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pastries/Breakfast bar

  Lunch:  Tuna & sweetcorn sandwich/Beef & horseradish sandwich

  Dinner:  Chicken, salad & chips, chocolate.

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles.  Julie - nothing.

Highlight:  The Drove Road, a track dating from Mediaeval times, along the ridge of the Quantock Hills was fantastic.  Bordered by ancient oaks in places, and giving panoramic views in others, we felt on top of the world on a perfect day.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We set out at 6:00am from Bridgwater, and were soon crossing fields on little-used paths as we headed towards the Quantock Hills.  We think it is likely that the only people who use some of these field paths are people using the same guidebook as us (The End to End Trail), and that doesn’t add up to many people each year.

We had a number of ascents and descents across scenic and peaceful farmland, and through magical tunnel-like bridleways, as we climbed to the main ridge of the Quantocks, apparently the first region in England to get the “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty” designation.  After seeing nobody, apart from a few farmhands and the odd motorist, on our ascent, there were walkers and mountain-bikers everywhere on the ridge (and, of course, a couple of carparks).  There were many different trails to follow, but the main trail, the historic Drove Road, was clearly the most popular, and it was easy to understand why (see above).

Early on, we passed over the moorland summit of Wills Neck, at 384m, the highest point of the Quantock Hills and paused to enjoy the 360 degree views and chat to a couple of mountain-bikers.  It took us a few hours to traverse the whole ridge, which had great views all along, including to the Bristol Channel and the Welsh coast in the distance.  We could even see the forest of cranes at the construction site of the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station far below on the coast.

Our descent took us down the beautiful Bicknoller Combe, at first a bracken-sided valley then, further down, a wooded glen.  In the village of Bicknoller, we found a picnic table outside the village hall and had a late lunch.  Up to that point, we had been following the guidebook route, but our accommodation was off the route and we used our navigation app for the last leg of the day.  It took us on a pleasant route across fields, along lanes and through the pretty village of Sampford Brett to Williton, where we bought supplies for tomorrow, knowing that there would be no stores tonight or tomorrow.

From there it was another 4 kilometres to our hotel, set in a picturesque rural area, where we checked in around 4:30pm, after an excellent day.

John O'Groats to Land's End - Day 056 - Cheddar to Bridgwater

Day: 056

Date: Tuesday, 26 July 2022

Start:  Cheddar

Finish:  Bridgwater

Daily Kilometres:  30

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1560

Weather:  Mild to warm and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Hotel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg mayonnaise sandwiches

  Lunch:  Tuna & sweetcorn sandwich/Beef & pickle sandwich.

  Dinner:  Pizza, trifle.

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles and a heel blister.  Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  None really

Lowlight:  We had a few kilometres of walking along busy roads with little or no verge, today, and it’s not much fun, especially with trucks and other traffic coming from both directions at once.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We left the hostel at 7:00am and stopped by a small grocery (opened at 7) on our way out of Cheddar to buy supplies for the day.  At first we followed the Cheddar Yeo, a small river bordered by levee banks on a beautiful mild sunny morning.  It was a pleasure to be walking through the countryside on such a morning.

The guidebook hadn’t been particularly complimentary about today’s walk, so we followed a route that blended the guidebook route and suggestions from our navigation app.  We were keen to avoid the little-used rough and overgrown field paths if there was a quiet road alternative, especially if it saved some distance.

For most of the day, we were crossing what had once been marshes/swamp, and we saw a lot of drainage channels.  The guidebook said that they first began draining the marshes 1,500 years ago, and while the land is now dry and productive, channels and levees were everywhere.

Of course, this meant much of the land was flat and the scenery unremarkable with a couple of exceptions.  While we were having our mid-morning breakfast, resting up against a farm gate along a minor road, a farmer came along in an ATV and suggested we move behind the gate because some cattle were coming and they would not go past us.  Having encountered quite a few cattle during our hike, and having just settled down for our break, we were reluctant to move, so stayed put.  The cattle did arrive, about twenty of them, herded by another ATV rider and lured forward by a guy driving a pickup and shaking a feedbag out the window.  Sure enough, the cows stopped when they got to us and about ten of them just lined up along the edge of the road, a metre or two from us, and stared at us eating.  For a moment there was a stalemate, but then the honking of the ATV, literally pushing a bull, broke the impasse and the herd moved on. 

There were also some very pretty villages, and some higher ground, to break the flatlands, but the walking was monotonous at times.  We even got our headphones and listened to something to help the time pass, which we have rarely done.

Bridgwater is a big town, and we had a few kilometres of suburbs to walk through before we reached the centre and our hotel at 3:30pm.

Not a very exciting day, but you have those.

John O'Groats to Land's End - Day 055 - Easton in Gordano to Cheddar

Day: 055

Date: Monday, 25 July 2022

Start:  Easton in Gordano

Finish:  Cheddar

Daily Kilometres:  41

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1530

Weather:  Cool, overcast and showery in the morning.  Breezy with some drizzle and some sun in the afternoon.

Accommodation:  Hostel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Egg & cress sandwich/Muffin

  Lunch:  Egg salad roll/Coronation chicken roll.

  Dinner:  Tuna & pasta bake/Bacon carbonara pasta, apple turnover and custard.

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles and tired feet.  Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  The Mendip Hills provided excellent views of the surrounding countryside and towns and were an oasis of hills, moorland and forest in a closely settled area.

Lowlight:  Limestone regions make for trails that are hard on the feet - rough and rocky, with sharp edges, it’s hard to walk evenly.  Although the last part of the day, spent around Cheddar Gorge, was very interesting and scenic, the trail was punishing on tired feet.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

With a long day in prospect, we left our hotel at 6:00am, picking up breakfast supplies from the nearby service station on our way out.  There had been a rain shower just before we left, with more on the way, and we were hoping that our route did not include any grassy fields or overgrown paths.  Wrong on both counts!  Before long we were wading through wet grass or easing our way through sopping nettles and brambles.  There were a few woods and lanes where we got some relief but, despite Goretex, we both soon had wet shoes, socks and feet, and they stayed damp for the rest of the day.

There were more rain showers and, at times, it was quite a miserable morning as we followed the complex route our navigation app had chosen for us.  It did a pretty good job of keeping us off busy roads and away from towns and villages, of which there seemed to be many, so close to Bristol, but a lot of the paths were seldom used.

Regardless, we were on a mission today, knowing we had to cover the kilometres, and didn’t take our first break, for breakfast, until after 9:30am.  There were more relatively flat and not particularly interesting hours spent walking after breakfast, and we eventually reached our lunchtime goal, the village of Sandford, around 12:30pm, having walked the last five kilometres along a rail trail.

We bought some lunch from the Sandford village store and immediately began our climb into the Mendip Hills.  In the woods, when the trail levelled out, we found a couple of logs to sit on and had lunch, happy with our morning’s progress, but knowing that the afternoon’s walking would be slower.  The scenery, however, was much more interesting as we climbed higher into the hills along a long ridge, eventually reaching grassy moorland with wide mown paths for walking.

Around 3:00pm, we reached the broad summit of Beacon Batch, at just over 1,000 feet, the highest point in the Mendips and, after a few moments to savour the 360° views, began our descent.  We were now following the guidebook route which took us to Long Wood, which turned out to be closed because of advanced dieback and the risk of trees falling without notice.  After a few nanoseconds pondering the longer detour route, we carefully climbed over the barb-wire-topped locked gate and walked through.  There were trees down in the quiet and eerie wood, but none fell on us.

The last part of the day saw us following the Gorge Trail, a rocky, difficult and, in places, steep path that followed the rim of Cheddar Gorge downwards towards the town of Cheddar.  The views were great and it was well worth the effort it took to get there.  Nearer the town, we descended the long Jacob’s Ladder staircase into Cheddar.  You have to pay to go up the ladder, though the office was all closed by the time we got there, but you don’t have to pay to descend, which was fine by us.

It was around 6:00pm by the time we reached town, and we planned to buy some cookable dinner from a small store en route to the hostel, but it was so small it had nothing to offer.  Plan B was to check in to the hostel and then Julie, after showering, journeyed down to a larger store and bought dinner which we ate in the hostel dining room.  It was late for us, but we had had a good and satisfying day.