Day 4 of the Longest Walk
24/Aug/12 Filed in: South West Coastal Path
A Change of Scenery.
A Change of Scenery, well not completely.
Again the B&B we stayed in did us proud, with a breakfast that set us up for the walk ahead. We had anticipated that we would need to have sandwiches to take each day. But as it happened we had filling breakfast and some fudge and fruit, generally an apple and an orange, of along with plentiful supply of water, this seemed to be sufficient to carry us through until the evening meal. We ate at the Dolphin Inn in Combe Martin however I’m not sure I can highly recommend the restaurant, certainly compared to the wonderful home food we had during the week.
The morning started drizzly and we kitted ourselves out with wet legs and coats, however we were not long into the walk before we had to strip back to shorts. The walk out of Combe Martin was not inspiring at first, but the excitement started as we clambered along the edge of Watermouth Bay as the tide came in, this was preferential to walking along the road, which intact was where the people we had meet on previous days, seems that although to start off with nobody was walking along the SWCP* once you come across someone it’s difficult to shake them off.
From Watermouth Bay we climbed up and round Widmouth Head which gave some great views back down to Watermouth Bay, and also onward toward Ilfracome as we walked round. at this stage the weather was still overcast but dry’ish, luckily for us and in contradiction to the weather forecast for most of the week the rain stayed away and the sun shone more and more as we carried on along the walk, although the wind did increase. As we wandered around Widmouth Head we came across a herd of Alpacas.
The SWCP* heads into Ilfracombe and takes a route around Hillsborough Hill which gave some fabulous views back along the route we’d already walked along but also into Ilfracome. We had taken a short coffee rest in Hele bay before walking Hillsborough Hill and again at this point crossed path with the walkers we had meet continually along the route. We round the hill and headed down to Ilfracombe but on route took a diversion into a small sandy bay which overlooked St Nicholas’s Chapel, here we took off our socks and boots and did some paddling our feet thanked us for this excursion, and the scouring our feet took I’m sure did them good, (repeat to oneself).
We took our time through Ilfracombe which today seemed to be a Hop Skip and a Jump from Combe Martin, oddly enough there is a tribute to Johnathan Edward’s who currently (24-Aug-2012) still holds the world record for the triple jump, we remember watching him win Olympic Gold and going on to set what seemed an enormous jump at the time so effortlessly.
We climbed out out of Ilfracombe passing some victorian tunnels which had been created to reach some pools that had also been man made for people to enjoy swimming safely.
We carried on through the Tors out of Ilfracome to some stunning views back and onward with Lundy Island clearly in view.
The walk from the top of the Tors had spectacular views toward out final destination, at least for today, Lee. We made great time, we must have been getting good at this walking palaver and going down into Lee we found ourselves heading to the pick up point the Grampus Inn where we enjoyed a panini and several pints Exmoor Stag beer. As we sat outside and enjoyed the food and drink the couple we had been crossing paths with again turned up and we again enjoyed a chat before they had to move on as their schedule meant they couldn’t hang around.
The day turned out so much better than we were expecting considering the weather forecast all in all we had been lucky with the weather and with no injuries we are already planing the continuation walk.
The terrain did change today, to long climbs we sam to be getting used to changed to short sharp climbs and we came across our first lengthy set of steps, hard work if they aren’t matched to your stride.
If you have been thinking about doing a long distance walk, certainly in the UK then look online for a company like Lets Go Walking as they take the strain out of organising the accommodation and transfer of luggage and you, and the experience is well worth the effort of the walking.
*SWCP = South West Coastal Path
A few stats.
3 hours 38 mins walking. Total 19 hours 28 mins
9 miles Distance, including longer route taken, I may adjust those figures when I can accurately measure the distance. Total 47 Miles
Total time out including stops photo opportunity, enjoying tea and cake, 4 hours 55 mins. Total 26 hours 35 mins.
The end of the blog, well until we book the next bit, because be assured we will be carrying on as we loved the whole experience.
Again the B&B we stayed in did us proud, with a breakfast that set us up for the walk ahead. We had anticipated that we would need to have sandwiches to take each day. But as it happened we had filling breakfast and some fudge and fruit, generally an apple and an orange, of along with plentiful supply of water, this seemed to be sufficient to carry us through until the evening meal. We ate at the Dolphin Inn in Combe Martin however I’m not sure I can highly recommend the restaurant, certainly compared to the wonderful home food we had during the week.
The morning started drizzly and we kitted ourselves out with wet legs and coats, however we were not long into the walk before we had to strip back to shorts. The walk out of Combe Martin was not inspiring at first, but the excitement started as we clambered along the edge of Watermouth Bay as the tide came in, this was preferential to walking along the road, which intact was where the people we had meet on previous days, seems that although to start off with nobody was walking along the SWCP* once you come across someone it’s difficult to shake them off.
From Watermouth Bay we climbed up and round Widmouth Head which gave some great views back down to Watermouth Bay, and also onward toward Ilfracome as we walked round. at this stage the weather was still overcast but dry’ish, luckily for us and in contradiction to the weather forecast for most of the week the rain stayed away and the sun shone more and more as we carried on along the walk, although the wind did increase. As we wandered around Widmouth Head we came across a herd of Alpacas.
The SWCP* heads into Ilfracombe and takes a route around Hillsborough Hill which gave some fabulous views back along the route we’d already walked along but also into Ilfracome. We had taken a short coffee rest in Hele bay before walking Hillsborough Hill and again at this point crossed path with the walkers we had meet continually along the route. We round the hill and headed down to Ilfracombe but on route took a diversion into a small sandy bay which overlooked St Nicholas’s Chapel, here we took off our socks and boots and did some paddling our feet thanked us for this excursion, and the scouring our feet took I’m sure did them good, (repeat to oneself).
We took our time through Ilfracombe which today seemed to be a Hop Skip and a Jump from Combe Martin, oddly enough there is a tribute to Johnathan Edward’s who currently (24-Aug-2012) still holds the world record for the triple jump, we remember watching him win Olympic Gold and going on to set what seemed an enormous jump at the time so effortlessly.
We climbed out out of Ilfracombe passing some victorian tunnels which had been created to reach some pools that had also been man made for people to enjoy swimming safely.
We carried on through the Tors out of Ilfracome to some stunning views back and onward with Lundy Island clearly in view.
The walk from the top of the Tors had spectacular views toward out final destination, at least for today, Lee. We made great time, we must have been getting good at this walking palaver and going down into Lee we found ourselves heading to the pick up point the Grampus Inn where we enjoyed a panini and several pints Exmoor Stag beer. As we sat outside and enjoyed the food and drink the couple we had been crossing paths with again turned up and we again enjoyed a chat before they had to move on as their schedule meant they couldn’t hang around.
The day turned out so much better than we were expecting considering the weather forecast all in all we had been lucky with the weather and with no injuries we are already planing the continuation walk.
The terrain did change today, to long climbs we sam to be getting used to changed to short sharp climbs and we came across our first lengthy set of steps, hard work if they aren’t matched to your stride.
If you have been thinking about doing a long distance walk, certainly in the UK then look online for a company like Lets Go Walking as they take the strain out of organising the accommodation and transfer of luggage and you, and the experience is well worth the effort of the walking.
*SWCP = South West Coastal Path
A few stats.
3 hours 38 mins walking. Total 19 hours 28 mins
9 miles Distance, including longer route taken, I may adjust those figures when I can accurately measure the distance. Total 47 Miles
Total time out including stops photo opportunity, enjoying tea and cake, 4 hours 55 mins. Total 26 hours 35 mins.
The end of the blog, well until we book the next bit, because be assured we will be carrying on as we loved the whole experience.
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