The Southwest Coast Path

 I had a fairly good sleep last night, despite my inflatable pillow having a puncture and the seagulls making a racket  all night!  I left camp at 8:30 and almost immediately had a stiff climb over ‘High Peak’, which despite the dire warning from an old chap in the campsite, wasn’t that bad!  Soon, I was walking over the headland looking down into Sidmouth.  It didn’t take long to walk down into Sidmouth. I was able to buy a new pillow in a independent shop that sells everything!  The climb out of Sidmouth was quite steep but it did give a lovely view!  The views from the tops towards Branscombe were quite spectacular!  However, this picture probably doesn’t do justice to how steep the steps down were into this valley!  The path then took me down to the beach at Weston Mouth.  The only problem with dropping down to sea level means that you have got a climb ahead. Then when you see the height of the cliff, it can be quite daunting initial...

I had a lovely stay at Farthings B&B in Shaldon. It was a bit quirky but I had the best cooked breakfast so far and what I couldn’t eat, was converted into a lunch for me!  I walked across the bridge to Teignmouth and joined a path to the town centre. There wasn’t much to see and soon the path brought me alongside the railway line.  That was a long level path pretty much all the way to Dawlish, other than a climb over Hole Head. The two ‘stacks’ are called the Parson & Clerk and were named after an old folk tale involving an ambitious parson, who wanted to be a Bishop and his clerk. Allegedly the Parson was tricked by the Devil and cast to stone!  I stopped in Dawlish for a quick cup of coffee, then continued on. The stayed following the railway line and it was this bit of the line that was washed away in storms a few years ago.  Eventually, I reached Dawlish Warren, which is essentially a village. However, it was a real trip down memory lane, because it so r...

 The good thing about Premier Inn’s is you know what you are getting! I was able to have a relaxing bath both last night and this morning!  After a fat boys cooked breakfast, I set off at 8:30. It was very blustery as I walked along the sea front to the marina.  After that, there was the first climb of the day behind the Imperial Hotel and then a glimpse of a view of ‘London Bridge’.  There then followed a period of woodland walking with a brief view of West Shag rock.  However, the path eventually broke out onto grassed headland with a lovely view of the ‘Thatcher’ rock.  There was then quite a lot of undulating walking in woodland with very little to see until I reached Oddicombe Beach I had a coffee at the cafe on the end of the beach, then had a steep climb up alongside the cliff railway.  The path then took me into more woodland where there were a lot more ascents & descents, with few views to see. After a couple of hours, I made it to Maidenc...

 I had a lovely evening with the Pullen’s and slept soundly  in their spare room. I was also treated to an egg & bacon butty for breakfast. Thank you both for your generosity and hospitality. It meant a lot.  I set off from Sharkham Point and headed towards Berry Head. Firstly I had to walk around St Mary’s Bay which was very pretty.  A nice walk along the headlands ensued. I bumped into a lady called Pauline, who immediately asked me if I was walking the coast path. I explained what I was doing and she kindly donated £10 towards my fundraiser. Thank you Pauline.  I reached Berry Head, which is an old military fort. I didn’t venture around the whole place, but it was still very interesting.  I then walked down into Brixham Harbour, which is England’s busiest fishing harbour. There were also a lot of sailing boats moored.  However, as I walked around to Churston Cove, I discovered that some sailors prefer not to pay the harbour fees!  There the...

 I met up with Steve & Anna last night at Radius 7 ( Restaurant/Bar) where we had a lovely meal and copious beers! I stayed at the Caravan & Camping Club campsite which was very peaceful and fully facilitated.  I set off this morning at 8:30. The first part of the ‘coast’ path, was nowhere near the coast, but a quiet country lane. Eventually I got a view of the coast, with the sun shining on the sea surface at compass cove.  There was some lovely walking towards Dartmouth with a mixture of headland walking and shaded woodland walks!  There were few views of the Dart available but it did happen occasionally.  I stopped for a quick cup of coffee at Dartmouth Castle  before walking down to the town of Dartmouth. I caught the lower ferry across to Kingswear, with the stunning views of Dartmouth Naval College in the distance.  Once across into Kingswear the path entered an area of woodland that was quite extensive, with some steep ascents/descents....

 After I updated the blog last night, I had a few pints in the Cricketers pub in Beesands and then got some Fish & Chips from  Brittania on the beach cafe. I then walked another 3/4 mile to the Beryl’s campsite at Beeson.  I’d emailed the proprietor from the pub because I had no phone signal ( it turned out my phone had stopped searching for a signal and I had to switch it off and back on again!) and was given directions as to where to pitch. I left my money in an honesty box. Talk about not fitting in. It was full of young families from London, who looked alarmed at seeing a half-drunk scruffy backpacker turn up. As I began erecting my tent, one 6 year old called ‘ Hector’ shouted out “What does he think he is doing?” in a condescending tone! I didn’t bother trying to engage any of them in conversation, but climbed into my tent and stayed there!  I had a rubbish sleep last night, even though I went out like a light. I awoke to a rain shower at 01:00 and struggle...