FROM: Lynmouth to Trentishoe
The one with the grumps, the rain and the fuzzy crotch!
DISTANCE:- I’ve walked 12.5 miles today but only 8 of them were on the SWCP!
HEALTH:- Woke up feeling fresh and ready to hit the trail. No aches, pains or blisters and a great nights sleep. Let’s do this!
WEATHER:- Today we had a torrential downpour on the cliff edge which was not fun! The rest of the day was just right. A bit overcast but not too windy or chilly.
CAMPSITE: We cheated and stayed an extra night at last nights campsite. The lure of hot showers and flushing toilets won the day.
SUMMARY:
After lots of faffing around with car batteries and then shuttling cars back and forth, we didn’t get going on the trail until 10.30 am. We need a better plan tomorrow! Today’s walk was a mix of ups and downs in more ways than one.
HIGHLIGHTS:-
9 am – I’m an early bird so was up at silly I clock and was chomping at the bit to get going. There are three other ladies in this group Julia and you need to have consideration for the others. I tried not to let the impatient grumpy person out, but she kept tearing her little head (sorry girls, I’ll be better tomorrow). The car shuttling was also stressful as the roads were really narrow and I’m not a good passenger. Unfortunately, I constantly vocalised my fears as we were driving down these lanes and poor old Debby must have been rolling her eyes the whole time!
10.30 – and we are finally off. If you have ever visited the cliff cable car then you will know how steep it is. Well, the path goes straight up alongside it! We were distracted by the climb as we read poems that were scattered along the trail. The poem coastal path was quite inspiring. I soon felt my grumps leaving this world and I hope they wouldn’t return anytime soon!
Once the hard climb was done then we meandered through some open fields and then up onto another cliff edge walk towards the Valley of Rocks. The rock formation was amazing however we didn’t hang around as the heavens opened. Walking on a cliff edge with horizontal ice-cold rain being pelted at you was both scary and hugely uncomfortable! I’m not a fan of being wet or cold! My waterproof gloves were drenched through and my new rain skirt not only looked shit but also didn’t help much (although I was wearing it inside out!). The rain may have dampened our clothes but not our spirits. We passed a lovely old Abbey and then the sign for public loos was a welcome sight.
The rain stopped as quickly as it started but by now we all had wet underwear… not nice!
The water was tumbling down the cliffs today and Rebecca spotted her own little swimming pool! She has her costume with her but we could persuade her to take a dip today! The waterfalls on this trip are just beautiful.
2 pm – We stopped for a bite to eat with a fantastic view out to sea. My cooker has run out of gas already so it’s not as efficient as my Jetboil. I’ve had JetBoil envy on this trip. Oh no! Where is my sitpad? It must have fallen off my pack when I was trying to get my rain gear on. 💩 A sitpad is a great bit of kit and will be missed.
2.30 pm – and the headlands start! Boy, it’s windy & very steep!
3.15 pm – The Hunters Inn back to the car.
4.30 pm – “Let’s walk into town” for something to eat. The short 1 mile was actually nearly three by the time we reached the small town. Every single pub was fully booked and the fish and chip people were ignoring us. Rebecca declares “I’m walking back”. I could let her go on her own so we took the road back and Lou & Debs enjoyed a fish & chip supper. Eventually, Rebecca and I got to the campsite and the pub next door was also fully booked but they allowed us to have a takeaway. Thai food to take away… yum!
As I type it’s now 8.40 pm and everyone is tucked up in their tents. We don’t have much of a plan for tomorrow but I’m sure it will all work out fine. For now, I need to sleep. Night night.