12. Leg 4  - SW Coastal Path 12: Clovelly to Westward Ho!

20 August 2018

Clovelly estate is home to the Rous family and has been for over 400 years. From Elizabethan times until today, it has remained in private ownership. We had plenty of miles to walk so we'll have to visit another time! https://www.clovelly.co.uk/ 

Peppercombe Valley also looks like a lovely place to explore.

This walk took us along the coast to Westward Ho! which we reached on our last trek in May. A variety of paths took us through woodland, down to a beach with huge pebbles and to quaint villages. Once we'd had a very welcome cup of tea in Westward Ho! we just had a few more miles to walk to Abbotsham to catch the bus back to Higher Clovelly, where we'd left the car. 

1. The route

2. Higher Clovelly

3. View to Clovelly Harbour

4. Buck's Cross including statutory bridge photo!

5. Buck's Mills

6. Worthygate Wood

7. Peppercombe

8. Fairycross

9. Babbacombe

10. Babbacombe Mouth, Westacott

11. Abbotsham

12. Westward Ho!

 11. Leg 4  - SW Coastal Path 11: Hartland Quay - Titchberry circular

19 August 2018

We headed down to Devon to continue our expedition along the SW Coastal Path. We stayed in a lovely campsite, off the beaten track and with plenty of space. http://www.westcountry-camping.uk/

After a scorching summer the weather had now turned cooler which suited our walking, although a little less moisture at the beginning of the day would have been better!

Once we'd got the tent up we grabbed some pasties from a bakery in Hartland https://www.theoldbakery.co.uk/ and headed for the path. The rock formations were stunning. Just a short walk today as far as Titchberry then back cross country. We headed down to Hartland Quay in the evening for a meal at the 'Wreckers Retreat Bar' and a wander around the Quay.

1. The route

2. Campsite to Hartland Quay 

3. Rocks at Hartland Quay

4. Hartland Quay

5. Stoke

6. Hartland Quay

7. Blagberry ... bridge!

8. Hartland Point lighthouse 

9. Titchberry

10. Blagdon Hartland

11. Broad Beach

12. Hartland Quay

 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