Day 5 Woolacombe to Braunton

 I had a pretty poor sleep, mostly because my pitch wasn’t quite level and I kept slipping off my sleeping mat! I got up at 6:30 and left the campsite at 7:55. 


Rather than walk directly back into Woolacombe, I chose to walk up the side of Challacombe Hill before re-joining the coast path. I was surprised how busy it was, until I realised that a ‘Park Run’ was just about to start!I waited and let the runners set off rather than get stuck behind me! 

Eventually I reached the end of Woolacombe Bay at Putsborough, where the views were spectacular. 


There was then a nice walk along the Headland to Baggy Point. There was a white post with notches on it, at the promontory. Apparently, this was used to practice rescuing stricken crew person by passing ships, by firing a rocket at it with a line attached. The line was secured to the post and a zip line set up. 

A walk on the other side of the Headland took me to Croyde. 

What a shock from the peace and solitude of the past few days. It was absolutely heaving with tourists. I’d forgotten it was a Saturday. I was glad to leave them all behind and walk down the beach to the quieter end!

I then had to walk along a busy road, with no pavement for about a mile or so. It was a very unpleasant experience as all the tourist traffic seemed to consist of weekend drivers, who only looked 2m beyond their bonnet. I had to dive into the hedge more than once!

I was glad to reach Saunton, if only to get off the road! It was equally as busy, with hundreds of top of the range cars, parked here there and everywhere. The views from the top looking down onto Saunton Sands.





I left the maddening crowds behind and entered Braunton Burrows nature reserve.

By this point, my feet were really aching from carrying such a heavy pack. I really began to struggle and kept having to stop, to take the weight off them. The official route was still another 5 miles and I just couldn’t face doing that and then another mile back to the campsite. I decided to cut the day’s stage short and made my way to Lobb Fields campsite, with hardly an ounce of energy left to spare! 
I made a decision there and then to check in for two nights. The idea being to have a sort of rest day tomorrow,  by completing the bit I missed out this afternoon, but without carrying a heavy pack. I can then go to a pub and watch the final day of the Premier League unfold! 
As I arrived quite early (3pm) I was able to dry off and sort out some of my kit! 

Despite cutting the day short, I still walked over 13 miles today! 

I hope you are enjoying the blog so far.  Just a quick reminder that I am raising funds for MIND on this walk. If you could spare a couple of quid, please donate on line at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andy-hikes

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