Day 39 Bolberry to Beesands

 I slept well, despite being cross about how much I was being charged to stay at Karrageen Campsite. 

I left at about 8:15 and made the steep climb back up to the coast path. 

The first few miles of today’s stage were quite tough, with some steep ascents/descents to negotiate. 

The weather was quite overcast with the threat of rain. 

Consequently, the views were not as spectacular as normal, but still impressive! 


After a couple of hours, I made it to Salcombe. I couldn’t afford to hang around too long, so caught the ferry across to East Portlemouth. 



The walk after Salcombe was generally quite easy, being mostly on a level keel. 
Firstly I walked to Prawle Point, 
Then onto Start Point, which was a slightly tougher stretch as there was a bit more boulder scrambling. 

By this time, I had light rain. Enough to put the waterproof’s and rucksack cover on, but not that bad! 
I made my way to Beesands, where the first available pub appeared!  I managed to contact a campsite and also had a great chat with Gail and Jill, who were also staying on the same site! 

Today, I will have walked just under 20 miles by the time I reach the campsite. Mostly, it was easy walking, even if the last few miles did require me to summon the strength from somewhere! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 5 Woolacombe to Braunton

Image
 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 ...
Read more

Good News and Bad News

Today's the day I planned to start my epic walk. The overnight accommodation in Minehead has been booked for the last 3 months and rough schedules worked out.  The Good News is that I have fully recovered from my hip problems. I have also recovered from the snot fest of Covid! Unfortunately, the bad news is that my achilles tendon  has failed to recover in time. If you have ever suffered from problems with your achilles tendon, then you'll appreciate how frustrating they can be. Several times I have thought it had got better, gone for a short walk, only for it to become inflammed and painful again. I could just try to walk through the pain, if I was just going for a one off trek. However, as I am planning to spend at least 50 days consecutively walking, with a heavy pack on my back, then the cumulative effect would be excruciating and likely to risk rupturing the tendon!  As well as being quite sore, I have been unable to practice carrying additional weight and climb any ...
Read more

Day 8 Bideford to Westacott

Image
 Despite it being the lumpiest bed I’ve ever slept in, I actually had a good night and woke up quite refreshed. As I paid for it, I was under contract to eat the full English breakfast. I tried to refuse, but you know how difficult it is to wriggle out of these T&C’s 😜 I set off at 9am and crossed the bridge into the West Side. I’d stayed in the east end last night, but didn’t hear a single dramatic drum roll or “leave it, he’s not wurff it” all evening!  I followed the coast path along the banks of the River Torridge, before we headed on a more circuitous route, due to access permissions I assume. However, I quite enjoyed this part of the walk, as it took me past some quite nice houses.  After a while, I reached the outskirts of Appledore. As I approached the Harland & Wolf Shipyard I was quite surprised at how many old boats were just left to rot in the river. In today’s more environmentally conscious times, perhaps it’s time to stop the practice.  I had a...
Read more