We decide to tackle the walk from Bideford to Westward Ho! despite the threat of rain in the air. We park on the quay in Bideford and, wearing full waterproof gear, head north towards Appledore starting at 0940. The path is interesting if somewhat muddy. It passes through housing developments, woodlands, fields, beach and cliff. Due to the heavy rain yesterday, there are frequent puddles and many that it is impossible to walk around.
By 1040 we have reached Appledore and stop for coffee and a toasted teacake in The Quay cafe - a very welcoming place with excellent service and good value. As it has stopped raining we remove our waterproof trousers and pack them in Liz's rucksack. Just as we leave it starts to rain again but only briefly.
We walk around the coast to Westward Ho! passing within half a mile of where we were on Friday last - 3 days ago! - across the estuary. The wind is relentless and cold (from the south east) and a few short rain showers keep us damp. At one point my hat blows off my head straight into a large puddle of water left over from yesterday's downpour.
As we walk around the sand dunes at Northam Burrows, there are a few hardy golfers out on the golf course braving the strong wind and occasional rain. We reach Westward Ho! at about 1300 after a walk of nearly 8 miles and sit on a bench on the sea front to eat our packed lunch. Afterwards, we walk into town seeking a hot cup of coffee and find the 1325 bus about to leave for Bideford. We decide to take it, leave our walking togs in the car and head into Bideford town centre for coffee.
Distance completed today: 9.3 miles
Total distance completed: 87.5 miles (13.9%)
We awake to the sound of rain on the roof light in the bedroom and get up late to a cooked breakfast. We decide to cancel our plans to walk today and head off to Atlantic Village to have coffee, buy a newspaper and do some shopping.
As the rain pounds down we go to The Thatched Inn at Abbotsham for lunch - roast beef with far too much to eat - washed down with a pint of Doom Bar. After a short tour of Westward Ho! and Appledore we return to Cobb Cottage and relax for the afternoon and evening.
We had hoped to watch an episode or two of The Killing but discover that the box we had brought from home contains no disks - then I remember I had removed them and put them in the DVD folder Toby gave me last Christmas. You have to laugh, don't you?
We rise early, before 7am, have a quick breakfast of cereal, make our packed lunch and head off towards Bideford at 0755. Having parked in the long term car park on the quayside we head off to catch the bus to Barnstaple only to see the 0815 bus drive off just as we get there! Liz notices another bus displaying Barnstaple as its destination on the other side of the road (facing the other way!) so we rush over and get on board. We discover it has come from Exeter (service 315) and takes the direct route over the bridge avoiding all the villages. We arrive at Barnstaple Bus Station at 0840 (some 15 minutes ahead of the bus we missed) and just manage to flag down a bus leaving for Braunton. This means that we are up and running by 0900.
The walk to Barnstaple is along the Tarka Trail, a disused railway line on the north shore of the estuary. It is very flat, tarmac all the way and, after we leave Chivenor is pretty boring. We complete the 5 miles to Barnstaple by 1030 and stop for coffee in The Old Bus Station Cafe. On the way we watch some guys - some looking older than us - launching a couple of 6-man gigs into the river and going off for a row.
After coffee we visit the Tourist Information Centre, purchase a new map covering the later sections of this week's walking and head off along the Tarka Trail towards Bideford. This time we are walking in the opposite direction about half a mile south of where we walked before coffee. The trek to Instow is pretty unremarkable. Flat and straight on tarmac all the way. The only excitement is when cyclists come tearing past with no warning. They are so quiet we can't hear them coming unless they shout or the ring their bell - and several don't bother!
Just before Instow we stop for lunch in a picnic site with wooden tables and benches. There is also a mud hut with seats built into the wall but we prefer to sit out in the open air. We get quite cold and head into Instow for a hot coffee in the local sea-front pub.
The walk from Instow to Bideford is still quite flat but far more interesting than before as the scenery is constantly changing and there appear to be a lot more people out for a stroll or a ride on their bike. We get to East-the-Water, cross the old Bideford Bridge and head back to the car. We arrive back at half past three (six and a half hours from Braunton) having completed 15.5 miles.
We dump our rucksacks, change our boots and head off into town to have a cup of tea and do a little shopping. We call in at Morrisons to buy some more provisions on the way back to Cobb Cottage.
Distance completed today: 15.4 miles
Total distance completed: 78.2 miles (12.4%)
We get up at 0640 intending to make an early start from Sherborne so that we can walk from Croyde Bay to Braunton before checking in to our cottage in the village of Littleham just west of Bideford. We manage to clear up breakfast, get everything packed in the car and away by 0855.
We stop for coffee at 11am in South Molton. One of the best toasted teacakes I have had for a long time. Best of all they put lashings of butter on for you whilst the teacake is piping hot so that it all melts and soaks into the cake. It rains briefly whilst we are there, but undeterred we press on through Barnstaple and park in the centre of Braunton.
We catch the 1215 bus to Croyde Bay (where we got to last September) and set off across the beach as the sun starts to appear. Lundy is bathed in sunshine and clear as a bell in the distance. The sea is relatively calm and there are a few keen surfers trying to make something of the piddling little waves.
We walk along the cliffs round towards Saunton and stop for lunch on a bench overlooking the sea. Soon the path crosses the coast road and we have to walk through gorse for about a mile. The gorse is in bloom and looks lovely but there are thousands of insects flying around in the warm April sunshine.
At Saunton we descend to the beach by the 4-star Saunton Sands Hotel and decide to walk along the beach rather than follow the official route through the sand dunes. The beach is 3.5 miles in extent and the tide is out so we have a lovely walk in the sunshine. We are surprised at one point as two young girls come galloping up behind us on horseback and startle both of us! Otherwise the beach is relatively deserted and we have the place to ourselves for most of the way.
At the southern end of the beach, with the village of Appledore seemingly within touching distance, we turn inland across the dunes to the White House and follow the path along the estuary for 3 miles up to Braunton.
We reach the car at approximately 1630, after walking 10.5 miles, and decide to move on as the parking ticket is close to expiry. We call in at the local Tesco superstore to get some provisions and head off to find our accommodation for the week - Cobb Cottage.
After a pleasant supper we tuck in for an early night as we want to start early tomorrow.
Distance completed today: 8.8 miles
Total distance completed: 62.8 miles (10.0%)
