10. Leg 3  - SW Coastal Path 10: Barnstaple to Westward Ho!

31 May 2018

We drove again to Barnstaple and this time walked on the southern bank of the River Taw. We had originally planned to do this walk in 2 parts but ended up walking 32.7 km with a break at Instow for lunch! The first section followed the Tarka trail and was popular with walkers and cyclists. Towards Instow we broke away from the crowds as the route took us around a more rugged headland with more abandoned boats! We had a tasty pub lunch and a beer in Instow before heading up to the crossing point at Bideford. From here the route became a little more varied as we took narrower paths through National Trust woodland towards Appledore. Westward Ho! (isn't it great that a place actually has an exclamation mark!) was in sight but our tired legs still needed to walk around Northam Burrows. Luckily the beautiful landscape distracted us to a certain extent from our weariness and for the final straight we paddled in the sea which was just what our feet needed! We didn't need to wait long for the bus back to Barnstaple and this time hobbled through Mortehoe for Fish & Chips! 

1. The Route