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.
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