John O'Groats to Land's End - Day 063 - Stratton to Tintagel

Day: 063

Date: Tuesday, 02 August 2022

Start:  Stratton

Finish:  Tintagel

Daily Kilometres:  37

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

Total Kilometres:  1783

Weather:  Overcast most of the day, periods of drizzle and very windy.

Accommodation:  Hostel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Cereal, toast & jam.

  Lunch:  Egg & cress sandwiches

  Dinner:  Chilli con carne/Chicken korma, icecream.

Aches:  Dave - now on the anti-inflammatories for left ankle and right calf problems, and some more nasty chafing on the hips.  Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Endless spectacular and wild Cornish coastal scenery.  Jagged cliffs descending steeply into a wild green ocean, with occasional protected tiny grey-sand coves.

Lowlight:  A very strong and gusty wind made hiking quite unpleasant for much of the day.  Whenever we were up high, which was often, we were buffeted to the point where it was difficult to walk in a straight line, with our packs acting like sails.  It was scary on one narrow ridge where the cliff edge was only a metre or two to our right and the wind was trying so hard to blow us off the cliff that we were both visibly leaning sideways into the wind as we carefully made our way forward.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

Although we were very late going to bed, we woke at 6:00am and were walking by 7:30am after making ourselves breakfast in the hotel guest kitchen.  We knew we had another day of arduous terrain, though hopefully not as far as yesterday, and didn’t want to start too late.  It was quite a miserable morning with a heavy grey sky and periods of light drizzle.  We stopped in at the same supermarket as last night and picked up supplies for the day before following roads for 6 kilometres to Upton where we rejoined the Coast Path.

The miserable start to the day seemed even more so when we reached Widemouth Bay, a windswept and forlorn-looking beach resort.  We plodded across the beachfront grey dunes, blasted by wind-blown sand and passed shuttered ice-cream kiosks and a cafe where people huddled out of the wind.

The serious climbing and descending then began as we ascended to cliff-tops and then descended to cross streams at the bottom of narrow ravines, on one occasion passing through a beautiful protected woodland, and on others to some lovely little coves and hamlets.  Inevitably, our progress was slower than hoped, and we didn’t reach the pretty, but touristy, village of Boscastle until nearly 5:00pm, much later than hoped.

We still had 7 kilometres to go, with more ups and downs and, after an ice-cream, we set off hoping to reach our hostel in Tintagel before 7:00pm.  This last leg was enlivened by Julie treading in an unseen hole on the edge of the trail on the descent into a ravine.  With a little yelp, she disappeared off the side of the trail into the ravine, falling a couple of metres and landing on her back (and pack), like an upturned tortoise, in some vegetation on a ledge, holding grimly on to some other vegetation.  One more roll and she would have dropped another couple of metres into the rocky stream.  Some people on the other side of the creek witnessed the fall and one ran around to help, but Julie was OK and with some help from Dave climbed back up onto the track and we resumed our hike.  Lucky!

We reached our hostel a little after 7:00pm and checked in, later getting some microwavable dinner from a nearby store and having a late meal.  It had been another very tiring day, with another 2,000 metres of ascent and descent, and we were very happy to finish.

John O'Groats to Land's End - Day 062 - Clovelly to Stratton

Day: 062

Date: Monday, 01 August 2022

Start:  Clovelly

Finish:  Stratton

Daily Kilometres:  45

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

Total Kilometres:  1746

Weather:  Mild to warm and mostly sunny.

Accommodation:  Hotel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Cereal, toast & jam.

  Lunch:  Ham, cheese & chutney sandwiches

  Dinner:  Egg & cress sandwich/Chicken salad sandwich, lemon meringue pie

Aches:  Dave - usual niggles and some nasty chafing.  Julie - nothing reported.

Highlight:  Too hard to pick

Lowlight:  We intended to join a running club committee videocon at 10:00am and planned our departure time to be in a location, Hartland Point, that British Telecom said had good mobile coverage.  Alas, it did not turn out that way and we frustratingly lost the connection after a few minutes and could not reconnect despite much effort.. 

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We rose early and helped ourselves to cereal and toast at our AirBnB, before quietly leaving at 6:45am, time enough to reach Hartland Point, 11 kilometres away, for a videoconference we had committed to at 10:00am.  We based our timing on the guidebook which described the terrain as relatively level, but that was misleading as there were a few very tough and slow climbs and we only just made it in time.  However, we also spent time taking in the absolutely spectacular early morning views along the rugged coast on a calm and clear morning.  Unfortunately, the videocon turned into a bit of a debacle (see above) and we ended up spending an hour at Hartland Point at a picnic table.  A small cafe nearby opened at 10:30am and we bought some lunch sandwiches to take with us before leaving.

The rest of the day was spent following the Coast Path westwards.  It was like the labour of Sisyphus, with us completing one steep and sweaty climb to a headland with spectacular views to have the next steep descent and steep climb revealed and so on.  The guidebook said this was the most arduous day of the whole trip, and it wasn’t wrong.  Our total elevation gain (and loss) was about 2,000 metres, and most of that was very steep.  That said, it was one of our best days, scenery-wise, with never-ending magnificent views.  The trail was easy to follow and spent time in some lovely woodlands and fields as well as passing some picturesque little coves where people were swimming and playing.  There were quite a lot of walkers out as well, some clearly finding the conditions very tough.

It was a long day, distance-wise, and also a slow day, because of the terrain, and we did not get to Bude (and Stratton) until around 8:00pm.  We navigated our tired bodies to a supermarket on the way to our accommodation and bought some food and drink for a late dinner.  We eventually checked into our hotel just before 9:00pm after a very long, but satisfying, day.

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.