Day 48 Burton Bradstock to Wyke Regis

 I stayed on the large campsite at Burton Bradstock last night. It had all the facilities including a cabaret nightclub! Needless to say, I didn’t use that, but Steve & I did find a quieter bar hidden away upstairs! 

I left the site at 8:30, in the full knowledge that today was going to be a tough one. 

After a climb out of the campsite,


then another after Burton Bradstock village, it was a flat few miles. 
The only problem was the for 3/4 of a mile just before West Bexington, the path took you onto the edge of the shingle bank. If any of you have tried walking on the shingle, then you’ll know how difficult it is! It’s like wading through treacle whilst filling your boots with marbles! I was beginning to curse and swear by the time we eventually got back onto firmer ground! 

When I reached the beach car park just outside Abbotsbury, there was a cafe , so I stop for a coffee and bacon butty! 

The path then skirted around Abbotsbury and Chapel Hill. 

As you can see, the clouds rolled in and it looked like it was going to rain, but thankfully it didn’t. 

There was then a couple of climbs onto the downs, where views of West dFleet were spectacular! 


I then walked through a lot of farmland, which was similar walking to back home. 
The path then took me around the northern shore of East Fleet, which seemed to go on forever! Hi
Eventually I reached Moonfleet Manor Hotel, which had a sign outside saying that non residents were welcome. I was parched so went inside. A nice lady refilled my water bottle, so I thought I’d better buy a drink. What a mistake! £7.80 for a 500ml bottle of beer! 

Needless to say, I only had the one then quickly went on my way! 

The last few miles were a bit of a struggle if I’m honest. I was tired and they weren’t particularly inspiring! After walking around a firing range and another military compound, I got a decent view back down the Fleet lagoon. 

I then made my way to  Martleaves Farm campsite, where I booked in for a couple of nights, so that I can walk around the aisle of Portland tomorrow. 

Today I walked 19 miles, so looking forward to not having a heavy pack on tomorrow!

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