Tag: long distance path

Thames Path – Shepperton to Staines

Walking and wading along the Thames.

Looking back in my Thames Path guidebook I can see that it’s over 11 years since I arrived in Shepperton on the Kingston to Shepperton leg of my Thames Path walk. I left London almost 11 years ago and so this was one of the last walks I did before I left. Since then, on brief visits back, I’ve filled in a few of the gaps I had on the London stretch of the walk but I’ve done nothing further up river. Part of the reason for this is feasibility. Once out of London public transport connections get a lot more tricky. Also I can’t do the walks as part of a day out in London as they’re too far away, so I have to have the time to factor in an extra day just for this.

Over New Year I had just such an opportunity. I stayed with friends in Kent for New Year and had a day in London using their house as a base. The following day I was due to leave, but rather than driving straight home I decided to spend the night with another friend who lives in Buckinghamshire. The logistics of getting from one friend’s house to another (basically a drive round the M25) meant I could have a day walking the next section of the Thames Path without having to go much out of my way.

The length of the walk I could do was determined by rush hour traffic, bus timetables and early dusk. I didn’t leave Kent until 9.30am as to leave any earlier would only have meant me sitting frustratingly in traffic and probably not arriving any earlier in Shepperton despite my earlier start. I’d planned to walk to Staines as from here there is an hourly bus back to Shepperton where I could pick up my car. However, rather than driving straight to Shepperton I detoured to Runnymede to see if it would be possible to leave my car in the National Trust car park there, catch a bus to Shepperton (possibly via Staines) and then do a slightly longer walk by walking to Runnymede instead of having to finish in Staines.

However, as I drove along what seemed to be a main road to get to the NT car park I didn’t spot any bus stops or any buses. When I arrived at the car park a sign informed that the gates would be locked at 5pm. I really needed to finish my walk by 4pm as after that it would be too dark, but I like to have a safety net of extra time if need be (and I did have a head-torch) and so the 5pm gate-locking worried me. Reluctantly I realised I’d have to stick to my original walk of only about 6 miles.

Old Shepperton

I drove to Shepperton and found the car park I’d earlier googled. It wasn’t too far from the river and the old part of Shepperton and only cost £1.50 for the day. Booted up I left the car park and had my first look at the village and a wander round the outside of the church (it was locked so I couldn’t get inside). This old part of the village is quite quaint with a few pub/restaurants. According to the Domesday Book Shepperton originally belonged to Westminster Abbey and has had a church for many centuries. The original church was destroyed by flooding in 1605-6. The present church is its replacment and was built in 1613. The rectory behind the church was often visited by Dutch theologian Desiderius Erasmus who was a friend of the rector.

It’s not possible to walk along the river from here, so I backtracked along the road for a few minutes and then back down to the river by the ferry pier.

The ferry takes passengers and cyclists across the river on a regular basis throughout the day. Usually. When I’d arrived in Shepperton 11 years ago and needed to get across the river it was the end of the day and the ferry had stopped running, so I’d needed to detour over a bridge. This time the ferry wasn’t running because of flooding. The heavy rains meant the river was in full spate and the little jetty leading out to the ferry was well under water. Fortunately, for this leg of the walk I was on the right side of the river and so it didn’t matter.

For most of the walk I was wandering along a path with the river on one side and very large houses with equally large gardens on the other. As the trains into London only take 48mins from Shepperton this is well within the wealthy commuter belt. The first point of interest I came to was Shepperton Lock. There were no boats in sight and so I continued walking.

Pharaoh’s Island

Pharoah’s Island soon appeared on my left. It was named after the Battle of the Nile when it was given to Lord Nelson. It is a relatively large island for the Thames, with 23 houses built along the water’s edge; apparently they all have Egyptian themed names such as ‘Sphinx’ or ‘Thebes’. There is no ferry or bridge and so access is only by personal boat or dinghy. Two years ago a dinghy capsized here, costing two people their lives. Today the high water was lapping at the edges of the residences and they didn’t seem quite as desirable as they probably do in summer.

Pharaoh’s Island
Flooded path

The path became very flooded and I waded through glad I’d re-proofed my boots before Christmas. The locals had decided the flooded path was not enough of a challenge and had arranged the ropes tying their boats across the path at various heights meaning I had to work out whether to go over or under whilst still picking the shallowest part of the path and walking on tip-toe to keep the water from flooding over the tops of my boots. 

This challenge surpassed, the path then became a track through a meadow which was very flooded and I had to pick my way through the driest bits detouring away from the river a little. 

Which bit’s the path?
The path’s this way

As I reached Chertsey Bridge the signposts for the Thames Path directed me to walk underneath it. This was impossible as the water was lapping high up the sides of the bridge. I walked up onto the bridge and looked down at the river, taking some photos of the benches that would normally be quite pleasant to sit on alongside the river. Today, only the tops of the back of the benches could be seen. Similarly, only the very tops of the litter bins could be seen. I took the opportunity to cross the bridge and follow the road 100m or so towards Chertsey to a garage where I bought a sandwich for lunch.

Spot the benches and the bin
Water park

Back on the path I walked towards Laleham. Laleham is home to the Lucan family; as in the family of the missing Lord (this site has the story and conspiracy theories). The road ran alongside the path and as it was quiet I found it much easier to walk along the road as the path was a quagmire of slippery mud and water. I stopped in the park at Laleham to have lunch at a sole non-waterlogged picnic table. I took photos of the swing park which had become a  water park and was amused by the frog shaped bin whose open mouth seemed to express surprise at suddenly finding himself in a pond. 

Penton Hook Lock (island on the left)

At Penton Hook Lock I was able to walk over the lock and briefly explore a couple of little islands. The river loops so much here that it actually takes half a mile to travel 20 yards. The lock opened in 1815 thus saving boats tedious journey time and in the process creating the islands out of the land inside the loop.

From Penton Hook I could feel I was getting closer to Staines as the path became busier and busier with people out strolling, pushing prams, walking dogs, jogging, cycling and so on.

Staines itself is a modern, built-up town with ugly shopping malls full of chain shops and teenagers hanging around in groups smoking. After a quick walk around I headed for the bus station and the bus back to Shepperton. 

Welcome to Staines

The bus dropped me near the train station which is in the modern part of Shepperton and I followed the busy main road back down towards the old town and my van. 

Ilfracombe to Woolacombe

A beautiful day and a beautiful walk to finish my week on the South West Coast Path.

Saturday 9th June, 2012


My last day.

I had planned to leave in the morning and stop off somewhere along the way home. But as it dawned a gorgeously sunny and warm day, and as I still had what should have been the first part of my walk to do, I couldn’t resist sticking around and completing the missing link in my South West Coast Path wander.

Mortehoe

It didn’t take long to pack up and I was soon on the road to Woolacombe. I wanted to park in Woolacombe and catch the 8.30 bus to Ilfracombe and walk back from there. However, the big car park was closed – it didn’t open till 9 o’clock. I drove west along the front to the next car park which was open, but I knew I wouldn’t want to walk the extra distance on the way back. The roadside parking was all limited time only and so was of no use. Instead I drove to Mortehoe, a small village about mile to the east of Woolacombe and parked in the small car park there. It was about half the price of the car parks in Woolacombe and meant I got to see the village which I would have otherwise bypassed. It’s a quaint place with a few little shops, a pub or two, a church and a museum. I hoped to get back in time to have a look around the museum but in the end was too late.

Morte Point
Woolacombe

I bought a croissant for breakfast and walked down a lane at the side of the church to reach the coast path. Morte Point was to my right and Woolacombe to my left. I set off towards Woolacombe musing on the back-to-front-ness of my walk: I was walking the first day’s walk on my last day and the last bit of the day’s walk first. It might not be ideal but at least I didn’t have any annoying niggly bits missed out.

Ilfracombe

There was a bit of a steep downhill into Woolacombe and I was glad I was getting this over with and not having to do it when my knees were tired and sore at the end of the day’s walk. I was in good time for the 9.30 bus which took about half an hour to get to Ilfracombe.

Once in Ilfracombe I bought a sandwich for my lunch and wandered down to the seafront to look for the coast path. I could see where I’d finished walking when I arrived in Ilfracombe last year, but couldn’t see where the path continued. After a bit of wandering I got the map out and figured it out properly.

Leaving Ilfracombe
Tunnel Beach

The path left Ilfracombe by winding up through a residential area with regular panoramic views back to Ilfracombe. At one point, peering over the wall, I could see down to one of the tunnel beaches. These beaches are only accessible via a series of tunnels for which there is a charge. The beach I could see looked very nice with a decking area and loungers. It would probably be quite nice to spend a lazy few hours here on a hot day, so maybe I’ll check them out properly sometime.

Seven Hills
Walking towards Lee

The path then wound up towards the Seven Hills and zig-zagged quickly to about 140m. I stopped frequently to stare at the view and take photos. Leaving the Seven Hills behind the path followed the coast to join a lane leading into the hamlet of Lee. I got tantalising glimpses of the little shingle bay as I threaded my way down the lane and into Lee itself. I found a bench and sat here for a while chatting to a couple from Dorset. They usually walk the South West Coast in their own area and this was their first time on this part of it. They were very impressed.

A glimpse of Lee Bay
Bull Point Lighthouse

Leaving my bench I climbed steeply up the road out of Lee and onto a path following the rocky coastline. When I reached the gleaming white Bull Point lighthouse I knew I was on the last stretch of walk for his holiday. First I had Morte Point to go though. This juts out on the north side of Morte Bay and shelters Woolacombe Sands. It’s along here I’d been told I had a good chance of seeing seals so I walked slowly and spent a lot of time peering at rocks in the sea in case they moved and became seals.

Seal
Oystercatcher

Part way round I spotted my first seal. I watched it for a while bobbing about, disappearing and reappearing some way away. Then a second one appeared. They were lovely to watch, but moved far too fast for me to take a good photo. They seemed to sense when I was about to press the shutter and would duck under the water so I’d either get a picture of empty sea or a picture of a blurred blob.

An elderly man stopped to chat to me and pointed out an oystercatcher nest on the rocks. Both the male and female were around and taking it in turns to sit on the nest.

Morte Point looking towards Woolacombe Sands

Eventually I had to draw myself away and walk the last stretch along the coast before turning inland and heading back to the village of Mortehoe and my van. Turning back I had one last lingering look and one last photo before leaving the coast for this year.

Last look

Back in Mortehoe I treated myself to an ice-cream before starting the long drive back to Manchester.

Clovelly

A village so perfect they have cats strategically placed for stroking. They even seem to control the weather.

Friday 8th June, 2012

The weather was horrendous today. I heard on the radio that because of the gales and torrential rain, campers all over Devon had packed up and gone home. I had my campsite to myself. My tent has survived far worse storms than this in Shetland and Iceland and I was nice and snug inside it. So snug, I didn’t emerge until the afternoon. I had a lazy, relaxing morning reading, writing and playing with my new Kindle.

By mid-afternoon the weather was clearing up a bit and I thought I really should do something. As it was too late to start a walk (and still not the weather for a coastal, cliff-edge walk) I thought I’d drive out and recce some of the places I want to walk next year on my next bit of the coastal path. The man I’d met in the bus shelter in Westward Ho! had said he was staying in Clovelly and that it was nice, so I thought I’d head there, see what it was like, and then decide what to do next.

Turning off the main road towards Clovelly I drove past some chocolate box style thatched cottages and down a narrow lane to a large car park. There were signs up informing me that I couldn’t drive into the village and had to go into this car park. A large visitor centre was situated at the back of the car park. I parked up, looked around to see if I had to pay, but it seemed to be a free car park. I made use of the toilets and then wandered into the visitor centre. I had no idea what to expect and was quite surprised when I got inside. There seemed to be a cafe and shop, but to get to them I had to pass by a cashier and stump up £6.50. From what I could make out this £6.50 then entitled me to walk round the village.

I wasn’t very impressed with this and wondered if it was like Land’s End where if you turn up with a car you pay, but if you’re walking it’s free. It is on the coastal path after all. As is Clovelly. I was thinking of walking back to the lane and seeing where it took me, when an irate Irish family came towards me through the cashier point. The man said his family had just got their money back as they felt ripped off paying to walk round what turned out to be a village that you could walk round like any other if you didn’t enter via the visitor centre. He advised me to just walk along the road. So I did.

The lane emerged at the top of the village and it was only then that I realised how high up I was. The village clings to the cliff side and narrow lanes wind their way down to the bottom. The buildings are very quaint and at some points are joined over the path to make short tunnels. There are numerous holiday cottages, cafes and little shops. One cottage was open to show what it would have been like many years ago when Clovelly was a fishing village rather than a tourist attraction. There are also a couple of tiny one-room chapels that it’s possible to go inside.

Clovelly was a childhood home of Charles Kinglsey and he is credited with bringing it to the attention of the outside world. He got the inspiration to write ‘The Water Babies’ here and later wrote his novel ‘Westward Ho!’ in which the village is featured. A mock-up of his study can be seen in the small museum.

The whole village seemed so perfect it didn’t seem quite real. Flowers were blooming, scents were heady, numerous very strokable cats were strategically placed, paintwork were fresh, windows were crystal clear. Even the weather was beautiful. How do they do that? Everywhere else in Devon is a complete washout, but in Clovelly it’s lovely, warm and sunny!
 

At the bottom of the village is a small harbour, a pub and a pebbly beach with a waterfall. I slowly wound my way down to the bottom, stopping to take lots of photos. Then I slowly wound my way back to the top again, taking even more photos. From what I could see the coast path passes through the top of village and so when I walk here I won’t get to see the village unless I made a detour. Because I’ve seen it now, I won’t feel that I’m missing out if I don’t get time. Also, I know that there’s a car park and a bus service that I could use. I didn’t have time to do anything else on my recce, but still felt it had been very worthwhile and I’d enjoyed my few hours in the sun.

The lane to the village
First glimpse of the sea

 

Nice gardens and cottages

 

I want a mobile like this
Narrow streets
A cottage as it would have been
Charles Kinglsey in his study
A glimpse of the sea
One of many cats
A long way down, still a long way to go
Boats
Sheltered harbour
There’s even a waterfall
A pretty front door
Sleepy cat
Here’s a link to Clovelly’s website.

Barnstaple to Instow

River walking, a disused train station and a lot of rain.

Thursday 7th June, 2012


On Thursday morning I was up and ready very early so I could drive to Bideford and catch the ferry to Lundy for the day. Because of the gales the ferry was cancelled. Even though I’d phoned the night before and on the morning itself, the voicemail message just said to turn up and then they’d let us know if the ferry would be sailing or not. As it wasn’t, I was up early with no plans for the day. I decided to walk from Barnstaple to Instow. I should have done this on the same day as my Braunton to Barnstaple walk but had cut it short due to sore knees.

I drove to Barnstaple and parked up at the Leisure Centre. I’d decided to walk to Instow and catch the bus back. Usually I like to leave my car at the end of a walk so I’m not clock-watching, but the bus timetable showed that buses run every 15 mins throughout the day so catching one back shouldn’t be a problem.

Leaving the car park I walked through a retail park past a big Tesco Extra and turned towards the train station. Following the road past the station I went through a subway to emerge on the path proper. This path is a former railway track and runs alongside the River Taw in pretty much a straight line all the way to Instow.

It was raining quite heavily but there were still a few people out and about. I was passed by several cyclists as well as a few walkers. There was not much to see along the path (maybe due to the misty rain) and it could have got monotonous, but I was quite enjoying the freshness of it.

River Taw

After about 2½ miles I came to Fremington Quay. This quay was used to load boats with clay that had been transported across Devon by train. It was then exported around the world. The former train station is now a cafe. I wasn’t in particular need of rest stop but it looked inviting and I had plenty of time. I went in and plonked myself on a comfy sofa after balancing my dripping jacket on my walking poles.

The cafe was quite busy which surprised me until I realised there was a car park at the back of it. The walls were adorned with old black and white photos picturing the former industry. One photo showed a group of white workmen with what seemed to be a black workman at the end of the row. This would probably have been unheard of then. The caption explained that the man was actually covered in coal dust disguising his appearance. In the old black and white photograph it wasn’t really possible to tell the difference.

Fremington Station

The station building has a low lookout tower adjoined to it. I went up to the top but couldn’t see much because of the weather. There were information boards on the birdlife that could be seen, but I didn’t see much of that either.

 

After an un-needed, but much enjoyed, cream tea I set off into the rain again. I walked about a mile and a half further before turning off the old railway and into a wilder area known as East Yelland Marsh. This is the area where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet to finish their journey to the sea together. A firm, but narrow path winds through the marsh sticking as close to the river as possible. It passed a jetty that was no longer in use and was being reclaimed by vegetation.

Finally the path led through sand dunes and on to the beach which I then walked along to reach Instow. I found the bus shelter which had been warmed by the bit of sun and had a very comfy bench and waited about 10 minutes for a bus to take me back to Barnstaple.

When I arrived in Barnstaple I walked down to the river but instead of crossing over the main bridge to get back to the car park I walked along the river bank to the bridge further down and crossed here. I still wasn’t sure if this was the bridge I should have crossed when I walked here from Braunton and I didn’t want to miss out on a bit of the walk.

The walk took me past a park and playing fields and was quite scenic. When I walked back along the other side I walked through trees and then alongside a building site. The views to the other side of the river were lovely though.

Barnstaple

Miles walked = 7.5 plus the extra bit in Barnstaple at the end.
 

Braunton to Barnstaple

River walking, swan yoga and Marines doing sit-ups.

Wednesday 6th June, 2012

I had been planning to walk from Braunton to Instow but felt that I had to cut it short as my knees were really sore after the last couple of days’ walking. This is often a problem for me and so I’m used to having to re-jig my plans. I decided to walk only as far as Barnstaple and as this is mainly flat it would give my knees a chance to recover.

I parked at the Leisure Centre in Barnstaple (£1.60 for the day) and crossed the river to the town and the bus station. I got the bus to Braunton getting off at the stop where I’d got on on Monday when I caught the bus to Woolacombe. I went back into the lovely deli and bought a spinach pasty for my lunch. I also sat inside with a coffee and a piece of delicious apple cake before starting my walk.

I backtracked along the river and the Tarka Trail to where I’d finished on the Coast Path on Monday. Today the whole walk was inland and I wouldn’t get to see the coast at all. It was still a lovely walk though, along the former Brauton to Barnstaple Railway. The path is shared with the Tarka Trail Cycleway and so is very easy to walk along.

I’d only just started walking on the official path when I spotted a a hidden pond to the left. I followed a boardwalk down to it and found this lovely oasis with ducks, swans and coots. They had their young with them and I spent some time trying to get a good photo of the cygnets. A family was stood on the boardwalk throwing bread to them and they were all over the place trying to snap it up. Fun to watch, but not easy to photograph. One of the cygnets seemed to have a leg growing out of its back. I worried that it was deformed but maybe it was just resting it. A search on google reveals several pics of cygnets with a leg like this so hopefully it was just relaxing and practising a bit of swan yoga.

Next the path passed the Chivenor Barracks. These stretch for quite a way and are a base for the Royal Marines. I could see houses, buildings and an assault course through the wire fencing. A seat had been conveniently placed so passersby could stop and watch the Marines training. A few were exercising and running but I didn’t get to see them use the assault course.

Moving on from the barracks I came alongside the River Taw which was wide and full of sandbanks, similar to the Torridge yesterday. The weather was much better though and I stopped several times just to sit and enjoy the view.

After 5 miles on this path I reached Barnstaple. I followed the river into town and crossed what I thought was the Long Bridge and the official path bridge. Looking at my map later I realised it might actually have been a bridge a little further up that I should have crossed. I could see the thick dotted green line on the map going as far as this further bridge but was unsure as to whether this was the coast path or the Tarka Trail or both.

I wasn’t too worried at missing part of the path as by this time by knees were sore and I was ready to take my boots off and get in my van.

Instow to Westward Ho!

Rain, rain and more rain (and a pint of lager)

Tuesday 5th June, 2012


This should have been the last of my walks as Westward Ho! is my final destination for this trip. But due to Bank Holiday bus times it made sense to do this walk today as this was the walk with the most convenient buses.

I awoke to a rainy, misty day so made sure I had my waterproofs packed before heading to Westward Ho! It’s only a small place and I soon found the car park opposite the bus stop. The car park was quite expensive though, so I drove a few hundred metres down the road and parked for free on the roadside. It only took five minutes to walk back to the bus stop.

There was a man, a bit older than myself, in the bus shelter pulling on his waterproof trousers. A pint of lager sat on the bench beside him. He said he was based in Clovelly for a few days and walking different parts of the coast path. The stretch from Westward Ho! to Barnstaple was a niggling gap in what he’d already walked and so he wanted to get it done today. As I was getting the bus to Instow and walking back we expected to cross paths part way through the day.

Trousers on, he set off leaving the pint behind. Mustn’t have been his. As I was now the only person in the bus shelter I did wonder if any newcomers would think it was mine. A couple of minutes later a well-dressed woman arrived, tutted at the pint and gingerly picking it up, tipped the contents into the gutter and put the plastic glass in the bin. She didn’t ask if it was mine.

Instow

The bus arrived and then wound it’s way round to Instow. Instow is almost directly east of Westward Ho!, but Westward Ho! is on the coast and Instow is across from Appledore on the far side of the River Torridge. Looking at the bigger section on the map, the estuary of the Rivers Taw and Torridge cuts in from the coast in an easterly direction. Saunton Sands lies to the north of the estuary and the long expanse of sands leading down to Westward Ho! stretch to the south. Following the estuary in a roughly easterly direction leads to the River Taw and Barnstaple. Well before Barnstaple though the River Torridge heads south from the estuary. Huddled in the corner of the estuary and the western banks of the Torridge is Appledore. On the opposite bank is Instow. If this all makes no sense whatsoever you’ll just have to look at the map.

Instow – looking across to Appledore

I arrived in Instow to a light drizzle; I had my waterproof jacket on, but was resisting putting my waterproof trousers on because I’d knew I’d be too hot and rustly in them. A quick wander round and I’d seen most of the village. I called into a deli/takeaway/grocery shop to buy something for breakfast and lunch. I was a bit spoilt for choice but eventually decided on a cheese, salad and onion chutney baguette for lunch which was made up freshly for me. I bought a ‘Jubilee’ flapjack with white chocolate topping and a coffee for breakfast. I also found peanut butter Kitkats and so bought a couple. I love anything peanut butter flavoured and had been looking for these ever since I first heard of them a couple of months ago, but this is the first place I’ve actually seen them for sale. There was nowhere to sit down inside and by this time it was raining really heavily so I didn’t fancy sitting on a bench along the seafront. Instead I stood under the awning of the shop and ate my flapjack whilst balancing my coffee on a box of oranges.

Following the River Torridge to Bideford

The rain showed no sign of letting up so, pulling my hood up, I set off into it. Turning right off the main road I picked up the path which followed the banks of the Torridge to Bideford along the former railway line. This part of the path is also the part of the Tarka Trail; a 180 mile trail following the journey of the fictional Tarka the Otter.

This stretch of the path is flat, straight and easy-going. I got a good rhythm going and made good time. I could see the big road bridge crossing the river at Bideford from quite a way back. The river was sandy and didn’t look particularly deep. I assumed this was low tide and at other times of day the river looks quite different. If not, I don’t see how the ferries to Lundy are able to get from Bideford.

Almost in Bideford

The rain was easing off, or maybe I was just getting used to it. As I came into Bideford the path passed behind buildings and arrived at the former train station. An old train was parked up and had been turned into a cafe. It looked cosy inside and was doing quite a good trade, but I wasn’t ready for a break at this point and so turned right to cross the bridge into Bideford. The Tarka Trail at this point, carries straight on. 

Crossing Bideford Long Bridge

I walked along the quay in Bideford and reached a big car park with a park to the side of it. There are two interesting sculptures here: one a statue of Charles Kingsley, local and author of The Water Babies and Westward Ho!; and the other of a carved wooden ‘helping hand’ supporting a branch of a tree.

Charles Kingsley
‘A Helping Hand’

The path hugged the river to the side of the car park before winding round houses and eventually reaching the river again. I then had a long straight stretch before coming to the outskirts of Appledore. Along here I crossed paths with the man from this morning. He was now reassessing his plans and considering stopping at Instow instead of continuing to Barnstaple.

Leaving Bideford and walking towards Appledore
Walking to Appledore

As the path closed in on Appledore it left the river to go round the large shipbuilding yard and followed the main road into Appledore. I sat on the quay and ate my sandwich and then went for a wander round. Appledore has quaint, narrow streets with pretty, coloured buildings. There’s a ferry running from here across to Instow but I didn’t see it running today. I stopped for a pot of tea in a little teashop that had some good local photographs on the wall. It was crowded and busy as everyone was trying to avoid the rain and so I was quite lucky to get a table.

Quaint colourful streets in Appledore
Leaving the teashop I picked up the path again and walked round the edge of Appledore. I could follow the road west and go straight to Westward Ho! from here, but the path goes north into the sandy, marshy areas of Northam Burrows. There was quite a good road and cars can pay a toll to drive and park here. A few people were out walking their dogs and children, but it was nowhere near as busy as I imagine it would be on a sunny, warm day.
View from Northam Burrows

The rain stopped though there were still very heavy clouds. It was quite pleasant walking here in the stormy light and as I rounded the top of the peninsula the road petered out and became grassland. I walked as close to the water as I could and tried to take dramatic and atmospheric photos of the estuary and the opposite bank. I sat for a while on a bench just enjoying the dark skies and water.

Brooding skies

I left my seat reluctantly knowing I still had a way to go and wanting to avoid the heavy storm that seemed sure to strike at any moment. The path headed south along the third side of the peninsula and led past the golf course back into Westward Ho! and my car.

NB: Westward Ho! is the only place in the UK spelt with an exclamation mark. The name comes from title of Charles Kinglsey’s 1855 novel which was set in Bideford. Entrepreneurs jumped on the bandwagon of the novel’s popularity and saw the chance to develop a new seaside resort to meet the desires of the Victorians who enthused about the benefits of seaside holidays. Charles Kingsley is not the only famous writer associated with Westward Ho! Rudyard Kipling also spent several of his early years living here and wrote ‘Stalky and Co’ about his time at the local college. Of course, Henry Williamson, author of Tarka the Otter, is also connected with this area.

Distance = about 9 miles
Difficulty = easy

Woolacombe to Braunton

A beautiful day for walking along the coast, through sand dunes and on river banks.

Monday 4th June, 2012


Today was my first day of walking. I’d intended to start yesterday by walking the first leg of my planned stretch of the coastal path – Ilfracombe to Woolacombe. Ilfracombe was where I got to last year and so it made sense to start from there this time. However, it was so rainy and misty that I spent the day in Lynton and Lynmouth instead just being a tourist. I didn’t want to walk along the coast and miss out on seeing the wonderful views. It would have been so frustrating knowing they were there but not being able to see them.

Today the weather was much better and it would have been quite nice to walk along this part of the coast. But yesterday I’d picked up a North Devon bus routes timetable booklet in the Exmoor tourist info portakabin in the Lynmouth car park and realised if I jigged my days around a bit I could make much better use of the bus services. Monday and Tuesday were not good days for buses as they were both bank holidays. If I’d left my car in Woolacombe and got the bus to Ilfracombe to start my walk I would have had to change buses and wait for an hour at a junction in the middle of nowhere. Saving this walk for later in the week would mean I could get a direct bus and the journey would only take about 20 minutes.

So instead I started by walking part 2 first. I drove to Braunton and parked on the road just down from the main crossroads. Right by the bus stop was a shop by the name of ‘Devon Made’. I would have assumed it was some kind of craft shop but the smell of baking and coffee enticed me inside and I realised it was much more than this. What a wonderful place. The front part was a bakery, cafe, deli, ice-cream parlour selling local Devon produce. Long tables and benches ran the length of this part of the shop. At the back there were lots of locally made crafts, jars of chutney, chocolates and so on for sale. I bought lunch and breakfast to take away and had a quick cup of coffee inside which I drank whilst looking around. I only had 15 minutes before the bus was due which would take me to Woolacombe, but I was back outside in plenty of time for it.

As the bus rounded the hill above Woolacombe a stunning vista of glittering sea, long sandy beach, houses clutching to the hillside and a massive traffic jam greeted me. By now the day was really hotting up and as it was a bank holiday EVERYONE seemed to have decided that Woolacombe was the place to be. It took a while for the bus to make its way down the hill to the stop at the bottom just by the car park and beach. What had seemed like a nice quaint place from the top of the hill, looked a bit tacky from the bottom and I didn’t want to linger. A quick look around was enough and I set off west along the road running at the top of the beach towards Putsborough Sands. The beach is about 2 miles long and popular with surfers as well as families.

Woolacombe Beach


The path led along a quiet lane with several laybys in which many small campervans were parked. As the laybys overlooked a much quieter part of the beach I could understand why so many people chose to park here.

Looking back towards Woolacombe
Looking fowards towards Baggy Point



From Putsborough Sands the path turned right and up. I was now walking on grass along the top of Napps Cliff and climbing steadily towards Baggy Point. Baggy Point is National Trust land and this part of the SWCP follows the same route as the Tarka Trail (the long-distance trail named after book ‘Tarka the Otter’). Looking back I got great views of the beach all the way back to Woolacombe.

Baggy Point

From Baggy Point I got quite clear views towards Lundy as well as views westwards along the North Devon coast. Walking back along the southern side of this small peninsula led me fairly quickly towards Croyde Bay. The path becomes the main street leading through Croyde and passes the remains of a whale skull that had been washed up on shore in 1915. It looked like rock, but tapping it I could tell it was bone. Shortly after this was a National Trust cafe with a lovely tea garden. I didn’t stop as I wasn’t particularly hungry or thirsty, though if I hadn’t been conscious of the fifteen miles I had to cover today, I probably would have stopped anyway as it looked so inviting.

Remains of a whale that was washed ashore in 1915

Continuing down the main street of Croyde most of the properties I passed seemed to be holiday cottages. As the road became a bit busier the path rose above it, through a gate, to become completely separate. Through a gate at the other end I turned right to head down to the beach and the sand dunes.

Croyde from a distance
The beach here is much smaller than Woolacombe beach, but seemed to have just as many people crammed on to it. There was no real room to walk without feeling that I was intruding on people’s personal space. Multi-generational families were laid out over every inch of the beach baking themselves an unflattering shade of puce. The sea was just as crowded with surfers and boogie boarders. I felt hemmed in and out of place and wanted to get away quickly. On a quieter day it would probably be quite nice here.
Sand dunes at Croyde
I couldn’t find the path at first, but then spotted a small sign pointing behind a hut and up into the sand dunes. The dunes rose up and down with no clear way through them. Children were playing in hollows sliding up and down having great fun. It can’t have been that good for the conservation of the dunes but there were no signs asking people to stay off them and the coast path sign actually pointed straight through the middle of them. It was hard going on my legs and particularly my knees clambering up and down the sand but eventually I could see where I needed to be. I couldn’t get there though, as there was a bit of a stream leading on to the beach blocking my way. I had to backtrack a bit but then found my way onto the far side, joined the beach and, narrowly avoiding stepping on picnic blankets, made my towards steps which I climbed back up to the road.
Saunton Sands
Following the path along the top of a grassy cliff, Saunton Sands soon came into sight. The path rejoins the road here and backtracks a little way. Crossing the road I climbed above it on the opposite side and followed a rather overgrown path parallel to the lengthy beach. I was high enough and in enough overgrowth to be unaware of the road for the majority of the time. The path then dips down, back across the road and leads into the Saunton Sands Hotel car park. Passing through this and winding down around the hotel grounds leads to the beach car park. I got lost in this car park as there were no signs. After doing a tour of the car park I asked someone at the entrance and was pointed in the direction of the road. There was quite a bit of traffic and so it wasn’t too pleasant to walk along and I was glad when the path turned onto Saunton golf club and crossed the edge of the green.
Braunton is not too far from here, but the path heads south past Braunton, then east and north to form a big ‘U’ before finally reaching the outskirts of the town. Tempting as it was to cut straight into town (my knees were getting very tired by this time), I stuck with the path and was glad I did. The path follows an easy track behind the dunes that separate it from Saunton Sands. Part of the dune area is a military practice zone and is fenced off and labelled as a ‘danger area’ on the map.
When the path turned east it became wider before turning north onto a narrow strip of overgrown path along the bank of the river Caen. There were a few boats on the river including one speedboat towing a child behind on a giant tyre. A lone cyclist passed me but I was the only walker here.
The Caen
Eventually I was deposited on a main road on the edge of Braunton. I could have continued following the coast path by almost doubling back on myself and going past the sewage works, but my walk was done for today. Instead I followed the Tarka Trail along the narrowing Caen back into the centre of Braunton and my van.
15 miles
Moderate, mostly flat with the most strenuous bit being the sand dunes

Norfolk Coast Path day 3

A long walk on the shingle, an ugly caravan park and a carpet from the 1970s.

Monday, 24th October, 2011

The final day was our earliest start yet. We had to pack the car up and drive to Cromer at the end of the walk in time to get parked, buy lunch and catch the first bus back to Blakeney.

The path took us straight back out onto the sea defences through the marshes, which followed in a big loop to Cley next the Sea. This is a lovely, little village with the windmill at which we’d orginally hoped to stay.

autumnal village shop
Autumn harvest for sale

pumpkins

It was then back across the marshes to get to a very long shingley beach. We walked for 4 miles along here straight into a constantly strong headwind. The going was hard enough on the shingles without having to battle against the wind as well. The beach felt like it went on forever; it stretched out as far as we could see in both directions. Apart from a few fishermen we had it all to ourselves.

A very long beach
beach

beachboatsbeachAt Weybourne the beach reached a grassy area that soon climbed up to become high sea cliffs (well, high for Norfolk). We followed the path along the top of these cliffs until it dropped down into Sheringham. Our first view of Sheringham was of a vast ugly caravan park. I’m not a fan of these parks at the best of times, but at least the one where we were staying in Wells had lots of trees and so the caravans didn’t stand out so much. This one had nothing. Really ugly.

Sheringham
A very ugly caravan park

We walked through Sheringham looking for a nice place to get coffee. Everywhere seemed to be plastic tablecloth, egg and chips type places and nowhere appealed. Eventually we settled on old fashioned tea shop with a carpet from the 1970s. The coffee was good and the staff were friendly, so despite the carpet it was ok.

The final stretch took us up over Beeston Hill and then inland through fields and woods, past farms and caravan parks, to arrive at the back end of Comer. We then walked down through the town to the pier and the end of walk.

Cromer pier
Cromer pier

For such a lovely walk the start and finish leave a lot to be desired.  Hunstanton and Cromer are both shabby seaside towns long past their heyday. And, disappointingly, neither end has a nice sign to mark the start or finish of the walk.

Norfolk Coast Path day 2

Birds, bogs and sea banks.

Sunday, 23rd October, 2011

cowsAnother early start. As the buses don’t start running till later on a Sunday morning, we decided to drive to Burnham Overy Staithe and leave the car there. Then we could get a bus back in the evening to pick it up.

We were walking before 9am and path through marshheaded back out to the marshes. We saw a group of birdwatchers with their telescopes all set up and stopped to chat. They were from Switzerland and watching a spoonbill which isn’t particularly common. Also it was awake and apparently they’re usually asleep. They offered to let us have a look, but it flew away before we could get to the telescopes.


We walked for a long time over the sea banks. As Norfolk is so low it needs these sea defences to prevent flooding. It reminded me a lot of walking in the Netherlands. We saw lots of joggers and lots more birdwatchers. It’s a lovely place to run and the marsh atracts lots of birds, particularly now that we’re going into migration season.

Nudist beach
We found a nudist beach

After a few miles we were walking on beach again. We walked for quite a way along the tree lined beach before turning inwards to have a look at a bird hide in the woods. We then walked through the woods which were lovely with several pools and more marsh. The actual path followed the path further along the beach before turning into the woods, but we were ready for something different.

Path into Wells

path into Wells

Finally the path led to the beach at Wells and we walked the long straight road back into the town. This was my first chance to look around Wells and it is a really nice little town. There’s one main street which is narrow and pedestrianised. We sat outside a small cafe for lunch before heading out of Wells back on the path again.

Wells
Wells

Although we were walking at the edge of the ‘land’ the sea was far away in the distance. Between us was a vast expanse of marshland. We bypassed Stiffkey (pronounced ‘Stewkey’) and came to a stop at Morston. This is a National Trust place with toilets (yay!) and a place to get drinks. It was a lovely day again and I was really in need of a long, cold drink by this time, so it was a very welcome stop. It’s also possible to do boat tours from here out to Blakeney Point to see the seals. They have their pups with them at the moment so now is a really good time to go out there. There were crowds of people waiting for the boats so no doubt it’s something that has to be booked in advance. We had no time anyway as we were on such a tight schedule with the walk.

signpostsFrom Morston we followed the path through the marshes to Blakeney. We were about hour early for the bus, but didn’t think we could risk going further as the path loops far from the road and if we didn’t make it back to the road in time we would miss the last bus. We wandered round Blakeney – more boat trips to the point – and then sat in the courtyard of the Blakeney Hotel having coffee. It was very posh, but quite reasonable prices.

studio in the sky
This strange building in Wells in some kind of studio

Once we picked the car up we drove back to Wells for dinner. There’s a lovely area with houses and a couple of pubs set around a green. We had a drink in one of the pubs and then went for food in the other one. It was nice, but I preferred the pea soup we’d had the night before. We couldn’t go back to the boat though, as there was a private party on. After dinner it was nice to be able to drive back to the caravan instead of having to walk along the long dark road.

Norfolk Coast Path day 1

Pretty villages, marsh, lunch on a sewage pipe and the best pea soup ever.

Saturday, 22nd October, 2011

We were up early to make sandwiches and walk the half mile to the main road in Wells to catch the 8.15 bus to Hunstanton. It was a lovely sunny morning with just a slight nip in the air. The early light was so lovely over the harbour. It had been pitch black last night when we arrived at the caravan so I hadn’t seen any of it.

Early morning light over Wells harbour
The boat where we later ate pea soup


The bus arrived and we bought 3 day passes for £15 each. This means we can hop on and off the coasthopper buses as much as we like. The journey took us through some lovely villages and it seemed a shame that because of having to do the walk in 3 days instead of four, I wouldn’t get time to explore them. Ah well, just have to come back then.


We got off the bus at the lighthouse in old Hunstanton, then realised we should have been in the main part of Hunstanton about a mile up the road. We walked along the road to it and hunted for the sign to mark the beginning of the walk. The best we could find was a rusty old way marker. It was so inauspicious we really weren’t sure we were at the start and so walked further back along the coast to make sure we’d definitely included the start.


Soon after the leaving the town we had the chance to walk along the beach below some dramatic stripey cliffs. The stripes are white limestone, red limestone and carstone. We chose to do this even though the route took us along the tops. We walked for ages along the beach, all the time being aware of the saltmarsh that kept threatening to cut us off from the mainland and the path. We kept seeing paths through and so didn’t worry too much until it was too late and we could get no further. We either had to cross a fairly deep channel to continue on the beach or pick our way through the marsh to get back to the path. We opted for the marsh and pulled off our boots and socks so we could wade through it barefoot. Each way we tried the mud got too deep and gooey to continue. We ended up having to backtrack even though the path was so close. Frustrating, but we’d had fun doing our ‘barfuss’ walking in the marsh.

By this time we were ready for lunch and so perched on a sewage drainage thingy at the edge of the car park to eat our sandwiches. Not the nicest of places to sit on a nice walk, but there was a distinct lack of places to sit down and this was the best we could do.

The path then took us inland through Thornham and across the busy A149. It climbed (yes, I know this is Norfolk, but it really did climb) up away from the coast and we walked inland for quite a way before dropping back down into Brancaster. We wended our way along narrow lanes and paths through farmers’ fields and got some quite good views of the coast and the wind farm out at sea.

Narrow boardwalks through the marsh

From Brancaster we were back to walking along the coast, through saltmarshes on a boardwalk. It took quite a bit of concentration as the boardwalk was narrow, generally only two planks wide, and had some drops of at least a foot on either side straight into the bog. It was strange to see boats stuck in what looked like fields, but what we knew was really marsh and would get flooded at high tides.

At Burnham Deepdale we came back to the road and stopped for a coffee at the White Horse pub. This doesn’t look much from the road but was lovely inside. At the back was a verandah with a half-height glass wall. We sat here with a really good cup of coffee, looking over the small harbour and feeling completely sheltered.

After our coffee break we were on our last stretch of the day. The path wound over sea banks in a big loop away from the road. We felt like we were on this stretch for ages, though it was probably only felt like this because it was the end of a long day and we were getting tired. We could see the windmill which was on the road just before Burnham Overy Staithe and knew we were heading for it. For a long time it never seemed to get any closer. Finally, with fading light, we made it and walked alongside the road into Burnham Overy Staithe to catch our bus back to Wells.

As we knew that once we got back to the caravan we wouldn’t want to come out again, we stopped for dinner whilst we were in Wells. There’s an old sailing boat in the harbour which has been converted into a pub. It’s owned by a Dutch guy and has a large pancake menu, and Dutch pea soup on offer. It was getting a bit chilly to sit on deck so we went down the very steep steps to sit inside. It’s very basic with a tiny bar with 3 small beer barrels sitting on it. There are a few tables and benchs and the walls are papered with old maps.

We spent a really nice couple of hours here eating the best pea soup ever and of course we had to have a pancake. I didn’t think much of the Norfolk beer though. Maybe it’s something to do with the water which is really horrible. If I’d known I’d have brough a car load of Manchester water down with me.

Finally we walked the last half mile back to the caravan in complete darkness. Luckily I had my head torch in my pack. My body felt like it had seized into postion which I blamed on all the flat walking. It might seem easier than hills, but it’s a whole different impact on the body to just keep doing what is essentially the same step over and over for a whole day. A hot shower and bed helped to sort me out though and I felt fine the next morning.