Today's walk, from Westward Ho! to Clovelly was described as "strenuous" in the guide book and it most certainly was. Apart from about a mile at the start and the last 2 miles at the end we were either climbing up or sliding down steep sided valleys.
We park the car at Bideford and get the bus to Westward Ho! I have forgotten my bus pass and have to pay full price for the journey. At Westward Ho! we set off along the old railway track which once ran from Westward Ho! to Bideford. When that turns inland we continue along the coast path. In many places it is possible to pick our way around the mud but not always and our boots and gaiters soon become wet and covered in a layer of oozing mud. After that we don't try too hard to avoid the mud and often walk straight through it.
The sun soon appears and it starts to get quite warm. We soon dispense with our waterproofs. We stop for coffee on a bench with a glorious view of the bay as far as Saunton with Lundy to the left. At one point we have to walk along the beach for about 50 yards and there is a stream flowing into a large pool which is dammed by the beach and draining through the shingle out to sea. Liz bravely walks across the top of the dam, I worry that the dam might give way and cross the beach lower down well away from the dam!
Continuing onwards, the underlying rock turns to the familiar red Devonian sandstone and the mud becomes particularly slippery. We both take tumbles. I manage to avoid falling over completely by grasping a nearby tree but poor Liz ends up with mud on her knees and, soon afterwards, on her backside.
We reach Peppercombe where we say hello to some National Trust foresters. We miss the sign showing us the coast path and end up on the beach. We decide to stay and eat our lunch before climbing back up the cliffs.
We meet 6 people walking in the opposite direction - the first walkers we have met so far. One couple had caught the bus and are walking back to Abbotsham where they are staying.
We cross another steep-sided valley at Bucks Mill and carry on through the mud, eventually coming out near the end of The Hobby - a track along the cliffs built at the end of the Victorian period by two local worthies, Frederick and Christine Hamlyn. This brings us out by the Clovelly Visitor Centre some 7 hours after we set off from Westward Ho!
Despite our muddy and disheveled appearance we are able to get a cup of tea and a piece of cake and to visit the local shop. We have to hang around for another hour for the bus back to Bideford which leaves at 1828 and we don't arrive back at Cobb Cottage until well after 8 pm.
Distance completed today: 11.2 miles
Total distance completed: 98.7 miles (15.7%)
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