Day 41 Stoke Fleming to Brixham

 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. 

It was quite challenging walking, but very rewarding. Eventually we broke free of the trees and got some stunning views.

There were some very steep hills climbing up from Man Sands. 
Eventually, I reached Sharkham Point and phoned my friends and ex-colleagues Andy & Sally, who very kindly offered to put me up for the night. Not only have they provided me a bed but have fed and watered me, as well as taking me down to the breakwater. 
Today I walked 13.5 miles and climbed over 3,000 ft! 

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