Exmoor NP Anniversary

Day 70: Half way between Porlock and Lynton (Wild Camp) to Combe Martin 

? 34.35 km

?1425m

We had a pretty poor night’s sleep with the sloped spot. It had rained through the night and was still raining when we woke.  Just after we ‘got up’ (sat up is more appropriate in a tent!) it stopped and by the time we packed up the tent it was almost completely dry.

The SWCP continued along the coastal path through woodland and in the end we didn’t really see a camp spot for another couple of hours so our sloped pitch didn’t seem as bad an option.  We passed a couple of quite remote houses around Gurney Wood, one with fun wild boar heads on pillars at what I presume was an old driveway entrance.

By the time we got to Lynmouth about 1030, the weather had brightened up, enough for a morning ice cream stop, although dark clouds loomed.

The route out of Lynmouth was steep, zig zagging up the same steep slope as the Cliff Railway, which we crossed a few times on the way.  At the top we continued on tarmac and gravel paths to the popular Valley of Rocks.  At this point we decided to apply some suncream which of course meant it rained a few minutes later as we followed the Lee Abbey toll road, but only a short shower.

This part of the coast path through the Exmoor National Park is really beautiful in a dramatic way, the cliffs are steep and high, the woods seem tropical (especially when it’s humid) and when the woods give way to views, they are incredible.  The coastal path has some long ascents and descents which took us past Woody Bay, then Hunters Valley which I know parts of from one of my favourite trail races, the CTS Exmoor Marathon.

We eventually caught a glimpse of Combe Martin, climbed Great Hangman, passed Little Hangman, and started our decent.  It was busy and we walked half a mile in to the town to our accomodation, The Pack o’ Cards pub.  Our last night of luxury before the end of our journey walking the length of the UK.  It was our second wedding anniversary after all!

We showered and washed a few things then had dinner.  It was decent pub grub, a bit over priced but they were kind enough to make us a packed lunch instead of the included breakfast that we didn’t have time to wait for as they didn’t start serving it until 0830.

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Day 71: Combe Martin to Croyde

? 34.68 km

?1255m

We got up at 0600, aiming to be out for 0700.  We were just about to leave a bit later than planned at 0715, when it started to heave it down outside so we paused and waited for the shower to pass, about 10 minutes.

Showers were to be the order of the day but we did get about 30 minutes into today’s walk before it rained and we had to get waterproofed up.  This was fine when it was raining as a combination of the cool winds that accompanied the rain and the rain itself on jackets helped keep temperatures down.  When the rain stopped things soon got pretty hot and sticky inside waterproofs.  As a result we spent a lot of the day taking waterproofs on and off.  On the plus side we could see the clouds and rain heading towards us from out at sea so were always ready when it came, although some over eagerness might have meant we put waterproofs on but the rain missed us on a couple of occasions.

The paths were a lot busier today as we were passing through more busy towns.  First, Ilfracombe, where we stopped off for food at Lidl and then on to Woolacombe.  In between we went up and down, up and down, lots of short steep ascents and descents compared to the previous day’s longer ascents.  In between showers, the sun shone and there were more amazing views, some cool rock formations along the coast, and some seals hanging out between Bull Point and Morte Point.

We walked a nice path in a valley of sorts between sand dunes, covered in ferns, behind Woolacombe Sand.  After passing Putsborough Sands we walked around Baggy Point headland and headed in to Croyde which was heaving .  The lifeguards had just finished for the day so there was a max exodus of swimmers, surfers and body boarders leaving the beach as we walked on to it, and then half way across turned inland alongside a stream to find our campsite for the evening.

It was 1830 so we got the tent up whilst boiling some water for our noodles.  A short shower caused a panic as we piled our belongings into the tent, but we did eat outside with the sun shining on us which was nice.

Day 72: Croyde to Yelland (8km past Barnstaple)

? 32.85 km

?174m

Neither of us had the best nights sleep due to heavy rain showers accompanied by gusting winds.  Apparently there were also some party goes making a lot of noise around midnight but I didn’t really register them I was so whacked.

It was the coldest start to a day we’ve had for a while as we walked back on to Croyde Beach and headed back on to the coastal path towards Saunton Sands, passing the mid-construction Grand Designs building on the way.  After using the facilities at Saunton Sands we followed a path  behind the huge sand dunes and through Braunton Nature Reserve before turning inland to continue along the estuary to Braunton.

After Braunton things took a rather tarmac turn for the worst.  The views weren’t great either and we shared the path with a lot of cyclists.  This continued for around 8km to Barnstaple.  The only highlight was meeting another end to ender, Danielle, who was 2 weeks into her adventure headed north.  We chatted for a while before wishing each other luck and continuing on our way.

At Barnstaple we made a trip to Boots, then M&S since it was next to Boots, and then Asda for a couple of things that M&S couldn’t provide us with (instant noodle dinners!).

Unfortunately the drudgery of a tarmac path and zillions of cyclists continued out of Barnstaple for another 8km which would take us to our campsite for the night.  On the plus side, Katie’s friend Em had parked up at our campsite and endured the walk almost as far as Barnstaple to meet us and walked back with us to Yelland.

We just got the tent pitched before the first big shower of the day and grabbed a shower before Em drove us in search of some pub grub in Fremington just down the road.  It was nice to have another friend meet us and hang out.