11.1 miles, 3100 feet ascent, 6 3/4 hours walking, 36.5 mins per mile.
Today’s walk was a tale of three halves (as they say?). Beginning with an average breakfast and the B&B lady making us tuna sandwiches (no choice) for later in the day, an intriguing selection given the soggy bread that results. The cats of Clovelly then escort us from the village (it’s like the cat neighbourhood from Only Forward).
Once we’re properly underway, the first half reminded me of the walks between Minehead and Lynton, maybe beacuse both face north to the Bristol Channel. Very lush and forested, with the path taking steep drops into valleys and back out. The valleys make for a slow pace and very hard going. Intermittent rain didn’t help. We have a quick stop at Black Chuch Rock (look at the photos) which was an amazing view.
The second half was after about four miles of only 1.5 mph. This allowed us to stretch our legs a bit, across fields on the clifftop, fast moving but with views hard to come by. We then slow down a bit as the signage and directions are poor, resorting to the traditional fallback of keep the sea on the right and keep going until things start making sense again. Also to note, quite a lot of cow-fields in this section which may be off-putting to some walkers.
By this point we’re hungry and Helen is overheating, so we manage to find a bench at a headland for a lunchtime break. I manage to eat my soggy tuna sandwich without complaining too much (I’m really not keen on tuna).
The third half starts around Hartland Point, a rocky outcrop where the path turns the corner out of the Bristol Channel and Barnstaple Bay to South along the Atlantic Coast. Great views from the promontory, but the rain sets in soon after unfortunately. The terrain immediately becomes more wild and severe as we move to the Atlantic Coast, with several steep valleys to cross taking its toll on tired legs. The scenery is rugged and unrelenting, I’d have liked to have taken more photos of it but the rain made it difficult.
We finally almost fall into the Hartland Quay hotel, with the feeling of having undergone an ordeal but successfully made it through. The main worry now is tomorrow which is like the end of today’s walk only longer, and steeper, with ten steep valleys to cross.
In the hotel for dinner we have a chat with our fellow walker, Jelmers who is from the Hague and seems like a thoroughly nice chap. We then demolish the last two racks of ribs in the hotel for dinner and feel replenished, before nipping out into the hotel garden to watch a wonderful sunset.
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