Instow to Westward Ho!

Tuesday 5th June, 2012


This should have been the last of my walks as Westward Ho! is my final destination for this trip. But due to Bank Holiday bus times it made sense to do this walk today as this was the walk with the most convenient buses.

I awoke to a rainy, misty day so made sure I had my waterproofs packed before heading to Westward Ho! It's only a small place and I soon found the car park opposite the bus stop. The car park was quite expensive though, so I drove a few hundred metres down the road and parked for free on the roadside. It only took five minutes to walk back to the bus stop.

There was a man, a bit older than myself, in the bus shelter pulling on his waterproof trousers. A pint of lager sat on the bench beside him. He said he was based in Clovelly for a few days and walking different parts of the coast path. The stretch from Westward Ho! to Barnstaple was a niggling gap in what he'd already walked and so he wanted to get it done today. As I was getting the bus to Instow and walking back we expected to cross paths part way through the day.

Trousers on, he set off leaving the pint behind. Mustn't have been his. As I was now the only person in the bus shelter I did wonder if any newcomers would think it was mine. A couple of minutes later a well-dressed woman arrived, tutted at the pint and gingerly picking it up, tipped the contents into the gutter and put the plastic glass in the bin. She didn't ask if it was mine.


 

Instow

The bus arrived and then wound it's way round to Instow. Instow is almost directly east of Westward Ho!, but Westward Ho! is on the coast and Instow is across from Appledore on the far side of the River Torridge. Looking at the bigger section on the map, the estuary of the Rivers Taw and Torridge cuts in from the coast in an easterly direction. Saunton Sands lies to the north of the estuary and the long expanse of sands leading down to Westward Ho! stretch to the south. Following the estuary in a roughly easterly direction leads to the River Taw and Barnstaple. Well before Barnstaple though the River Torridge heads south from the estuary. Huddled in the corner of the estuary and the western banks of the Torridge is Appledore. On the opposite bank is Instow. If this all makes no sense whatsoever you'll just have to look at the map.

Instow - looking across to Appledore

I arrived in Instow to a light drizzle; I had my waterproof jacket on, but was resisting putting my waterproof trousers on because I'd knew I'd be too hot and rustly in them. A quick wander round and I'd seen most of the village. I called into a deli/takeaway/grocery shop to buy something for breakfast and lunch. I was a bit spoilt for choice but eventually decided on a cheese, salad and onion chutney baguette for lunch which was made up freshly for me. I bought a 'Jubilee' flapjack with white chocolate topping and a coffee for breakfast. I also found peanut butter Kitkats and so bought a couple. I love anything peanut butter flavoured and had been looking for these ever since I first heard of them a couple of months ago, but this is the first place I've actually seen them for sale. There was nowhere to sit down inside and by this time it was raining really heavily so I didn't fancy sitting on a bench along the seafront. Instead I stood under the awning of the shop and ate my flapjack whilst balancing my coffee on a box of oranges.

Following the River Torridge to Bideford

The rain showed no sign of letting up so, pulling my hood up, I set off into it. Turning right off the main road I picked up the path which followed the banks of the Torridge to Bideford along the former railway line. This part of the path is also the part of the Tarka Trail; a 180 mile trail following the journey of the fictional Tarka the Otter.



This stretch of the path is flat, straight and easy-going. I got a good rhythm going and made good time. I could see the big road bridge crossing the river at Bideford from quite a way back. The river was sandy and didn't look particularly deep. I assumed this was low tide and at other times of day the river looks quite different. If not, I don't see how the ferries to Lundy are able to get from Bideford.

Almost in Bideford

The rain was easing off, or maybe I was just getting used to it. As I came into Bideford the path passed behind buildings and arrived at the former train station. An old train was parked up and had been turned into a cafe. It looked cosy inside and was doing quite a good trade, but I wasn't ready for a break at this point and so turned right to cross the bridge into Bideford. The Tarka Trail at this point, carries straight on. 

Crossing Bideford Long Bridge

I walked along the quay in Bideford and reached a big car park with a park to the side of it. There are two interesting sculptures here: one a statue of Charles Kingsley, local and author of The Water Babies and Westward Ho!; and the other of a carved wooden 'helping hand' supporting a branch of a tree.

Charles Kingsley

'A Helping Hand'

The path hugged the river to the side of the car park before winding round houses and eventually reaching the river again. I then had a long straight stretch before coming to the outskirts of Appledore. Along here I crossed paths with the man from this morning. He was now reassessing his plans and considering stopping at Instow instead of continuing to Barnstaple.

Leaving Bideford and walking towards Appledore

Walking to Appledore

As the path closed in on Appledore it left the river to go round the large shipbuilding yard and followed the main road into Appledore. I sat on the quay and ate my sandwich and then went for a wander round. Appledore has quaint, narrow streets with pretty, coloured buildings. There's a ferry running from here across to Instow but I didn't see it running today. I stopped for a pot of tea in a little teashop that had some good local photographs on the wall. It was crowded and busy as everyone was trying to avoid the rain and so I was quite lucky to get a table.

Quaint colourful streets in Appledore

Leaving the teashop I picked up the path again and walked round the edge of Appledore. I could follow the road west and go straight to Westward Ho! from here, but the path goes north into the sandy, marshy areas of Northam Burrows. There was quite a good road and cars can pay a toll to drive and park here. A few people were out walking their dogs and children, but it was nowhere near as busy as I imagine it would be on a sunny, warm day.

View from Northam Burrows

The rain stopped though there were still very heavy clouds. It was quite pleasant walking here in the stormy light and as I rounded the top of the peninsuala the road petered out and became grassland. I walked as close to the water as I could and tried to take dramatic and atmospheric photos of the estuary and the opposite bank. I sat for a while on a bench just enjoying the dark skies and water.

Brooding skies

I left my seat reluctantly knowing I still had a way to go and wanting to avoid the heavy storm that seemed sure to strike at any moment. The path headed south along the third side of the peninsula and led past the golf course back into Westward Ho! and my car.


NB: Westward Ho! is the only place in the UK spelt with an exclamation mark. The name comes from title of Charles Kinglsey's 1855 novel which was set in Bideford. Entrepreneurs jumped on the bandwagon of the novel's popularity and saw the chance to develop a new seaside resort to meet the desires of the Victorians who enthused about the benefits of seaside holidays. Charles Kingsley is not the only famous writer associated with Westward Ho! Rudyard Kipling also spent several of his early years living here and wrote 'Stalky and Co' about his time at the local college. Of course, Henry Williamson, author of Tarka the Otter, is also connected with this area.


Distance = about 9 miles
Difficulty = easy

Flying Lessons and Duke of Edinburgh

I've just booked a flying lesson! Well, I've almost booked one. I was flicking through my emails and noticed an offer for reduced price flying lessons on Living Social so I've bought the voucher. When it comes through I can book the 90 minute lesson. The small print says I have to give availability for four weekends over a 12 month period and they will contact me when I can have my lesson. So I won't know exactly when I'll be having my lesson until just before it happens, but the anticipation will be lovely.

I love the idea of being able to pilot my own small aircraft, but it's expensive and so is something I can't really contemplate doing at the moment. If I enjoy this one-off lesson I'll know that it is something I really want to do and is worth saving for, and if not, I can take it off my list.

As for the Duke of Edinburgh, I'm talking about the award not the person. I keep trying to get involved in this but it never works out. This year I seem to have a really good chance of being involved. I went to a meeting last night where we planned for the coming year. As long as we get enough students interested I'll be able to be part of the facilitating team. I've already said that my strengths lie in walking, camping and orienteering, and so I could work with the students on the expedition. Of course what's in it for me is that it will count towards my walking group leader's qualfication.

So, after a bit of a lull, things seem to be picking up again.

Woolacombe to Braunton

Monday 4th June, 2012


Today was my first day of walking. I'd intended to start yesterday by walking the first leg of my planned stretch of the coastal path - Ilfracombe to Woolacombe. Ilfracombe was where I got to last year and so it made sense to start from there this time. However, it was so rainy and misty that I spent the day in Lynton and Lynmouth instead just being a tourist. I didn't want to walk along the coast and miss out on seeing the wonderful views. It would have been so frustrating knowing they were there but not being able to see them.

Today the weather was much better and it would have been quite nice to walk along the coast. But yesterday I'd picked up a North Devon bus routes timetable booklet in the Exmoor tourist info portakabin in the Lynmouth car park and realised if I jigged my days around a bit I could make much better use of the bus services. Monday and Tuesday were not good days for buses as they were both bank holidays. If I'd left my car in Woolacombe and got the bus to Ilfracombe to start my walk I would have had to change buses and wait for an hour at a junction in the middle of nowhere. Saving this walk for later in the week would mean I could get a direct bus and the journey would only take about 20 minutes.

So instead I started by walking part 2 first. I drove to Braunton and parked on the road just down from the main crossroads. Right by the bus stop was a shop by the name of 'Made in Devon'. I would have assumed it was some kind of craft shop but the smell of baking and coffee enticed me inside and I realised it was much more than this. What a wonderful place. The front part was a bakery, cafe, deli, ice-cream parlour selling local Devon produce. Long tables and benches ran the length of this part of the shop. At the back there were lots of locally made crafts, jars of chutney, chocolates and so on for sale. I bought lunch and breakfast to take away and had a quick cup of coffee inside which I drank whilst looking around. I only had 15 minutes before the bus was due which would take me to Woolacombe, but I was back outside in plenty of time for it.

As the bus rounded the hill above Woolacombe a stunning vista of glittering sea, long sandy beach, houses clutching to the hillside and a massive traffic jam greeted me. By the now the day was really hotting up and as it was a bank holiday EVERYONE seemed to have decided that Woolacombe was the place to be. It took a while for the bus to make its way down the hill to the stop at the bottom just by the car park and beach. What had seemed like a nice quaint place from the top of the hill, looked a bit tacky from the bottom and I didn't want to linger. A quick look around was enough and I set of west along the road running at the top of the beach towards Putsborough Sands. The beach is about 2 miles long and popular with surfers as well as families.

Woolacombe Beach

 The path led along a quiet lane with several laybys in which many small campervans were parked. As the laybys overlooked a much quieter part of the beach I could understand why so many people chose to park here.

Looking back towards Woolacombe

Looking fowards towards Baggy Point

From Putsborough Sands the path turned right and up. I was now walking on grass along the top of Napps Cliff and climbing steadily towars Baggy Point. Baggy Point is National Trust land and this part of the SWCP follows the same route as the Tarka Trail (the long-distance trail named after book 'Tarka the Otter'). Looking back I got great views of the beach all the way back to Woolacombe.

Baggy Point

From Baggy Point I got quite clear views towards Lundy as well as views westwards along the North Devon coast. Walking back along the southern side of this small peninsula led me fairly quickly towards Croyde Bay. The path becomes the main street leading through Croyde and passes the remains of a whale skull that had been washed up on shore in 1915. It looked like rock, but tapping it I could tell it was bone. Shortly after this was a National Trust cafe with a lovely tea garden. I didn't stop as I wasn't particularly hungry or thirsty, though if I hadn't been conscious of the fifteen miles I had to cover today, I probably would have stopped anyway as it looked so inviting.

Remains of a whale that was washed ashore in 1915

Continuing down the main street of Croyde most of the properties I passed seemed to be holiday cottages. As the road became a bit busier the path rose above it, through a gate, to become completely separate. Through a gate at the other end I turned right to head down to the beach and the sand dunes.

Croyde from a distance

The beach here is much smaller than Woolacombe beach, but seemed to have just as many people crammed on to it. There was no real room to walk without feeling that I was intruding on people’s personal space. Multi-generational families were laid out over every inch of the beach baking themselves an unflattering shade of puce. The sea was just as crowded with surfers and boogie boarders. I felt hemmed in and out of place and wanted to get away quickly. On a quieter day it would probably be quite nice here.

Sand dunes at Croyde

I couldn’t find the path at first, but then spotted a small sign pointing behind a hut and up into the sand dunes. The dunes rose up and down with no clear way through them. Children were playing in hollows sliding up and down having great fun. It can’t have been that good for the conservation of the dunes but there were no signs asking people to stay off them and the coast path sign actually pointed straight through the middle of them. It was hard going on my legs and particularly my knees clambering up and down the sand but eventually I could see where I needed to be. I couldn’t get there though, as there was a bit of a stream leading on to the beach blocking my way. I had to backtrack a bit but then found my way onto the far side, joined the beach and, narrowly avoiding stepping on picnic blankets, made my towards steps which I climbed back up to the road.

Saunton Sands

Following the path along the top of a grassy cliff, Saunton Sands soon came into sight. The path rejoins the road here and backtracks a little way. Crossing the road I climbed above it on the opposite side and followed a rather overgrown path parallel to the lengthy beach. I was high enough and in enough overgrowth to be unaware of the road for the majority of the time. The path then dips down, back across the road and leads into the Saunton Sands Hotel car park. Passing through this and winding down around the hotel grounds leads to the beach car park. I got lost in this car park as there were no signs. After doing a tour of the car park I asked someone at the entrance and was pointed in the direction of the road. There was quite a bit of traffic and so it wasn’t too pleasant to walk along and I was glad when the path turned onto Saunton golf club and crossed the edge of the green.

Braunton is not too far from here, but the path heads south past Braunton, then east and north to form a big 'U' before finally reaching the outskirts of the town. Tempting as it was to cut straight into town (my knees were getting very tired by this time), I stuck with the path and was glad I did. The path follows an easy path behind the dunes that separate it from Saunton Sands. Part of the dune area is a military practice zone and is fenced off and labelled as a 'danger area' on the map.

When the path turned east it became wider before turning north on to a narrow strip of overgrown path along the bank of the river Caen. There were a few boats on the river including one speedboat towing a child behind on a giant tyre. A lone cyclist passed me but I was the only walker here.

The Caen

Eventually I was deposited on a main road on the edge of Braunton. I could have continued following the coast path by almost doubling back on myself and going past the sewage works, but my walk was done for today. Instead I followed the Tarka Trail along the narrowing Caen back into the centre of Braunton and my van.

15 miles

Moderate, mostly flat with the most strenuous bit being the sand dunes

Mobile phones and not going to Lundy

Lundy Island is about three and a half miles long and half a mile wide. It lies off the coast of North Devon towards the end of the Bristol Channel and is reached by ferry from either Bideford or Ilfracombe. It's owned by the National Trust and although it has a shop and accommodation is a bit of a wilderness. Going there has been at the back of my mind for a long time, but it was last year when I was walking the Exmoor part of the South West Coast Path and came across ferry timetables that I decided I would definitely visit this year.

I decided to go on the Thursday as the ferry times on this day would give me the maximum amount of time on the island. I hoped to walk right the way round and so wanted as much time as possible so that I could achieve this without feeling rushed and whilst still having plenty of time to sit and absorb the views and watch any wildlife.

I emailed the ferry company to see about booking. They emailed me back advising me to book in advance and informing me that I would have to do this over the phone rather than online or by email. Easier said than done as I get in too late to ring during the week. I tried phoning on Saturday morning before I left but each time I rang I got a voicemail message telling me the booking office was closed and informing me of the opening hours. As I was ringing at a time the message was saying the office should be open, this was a bit strange. Stranger still was the second part of the message advising me to ring the number I was actually already ringing. I tried one last time right before I left and this time, hallelujah, got through. I booked my ticket and arranged to pick it up from the booking office on Thursday morning. I even got a discount because I'm a member of the National Trust. The woman told me to be at the office for 7.45am and gave me directions for where to park and how to get to the office and the ferry. She also told me to phone the office after 8pm on Wednesday evening to check that the sailing was going ahead. I left home relieved I'd got it sorted out and knowing I'd be able to indulge my island habit whilst I was away.

All was well until Wednesday. I listened to the weather forecast: gales, storms, thunder, rain, gusts of wind up to 70 miles per hour. Maybe I wouldn't be going to Lundy after all. I listened to the forecast a couple more times in case they changed their minds but they didn't. Unless I was told otherwise by Lundy officials though, I still needed to turn up for the ferry the following morning. So it was important I made that after 8pm phone call. This is where I hit my next problem.

I rarely use a mobile phone. In fact I've never actually bought one, I just use other people's cast-offs. I've been using my current phone for a couple of years and it's an old one of my brother's. As he lives in Germany this is a German phone and so the charger doesn't fit English plug sockets. Not a problem because German plugs fit the shaver socket in my bathroom and so I can charge it in there. I can also charge it in the car and when I'm travelling in mainland Europe the charger fits the sockets fine and is much smaller and lighter to carry than an English size charger and adaptor. So I'm very happy with my German phone.

Now however, my phone decided to die. Each time I tried to switch it on it said auf wiedersehen and switched itself back off. And yes, it was fully charged. I took the battery out and wiped it and put it back in. I shook it. I held it in different positions. All to no avail. If I was going to make this phone call I was going to have to get a new phone. A trip to Tesco was called for.

I found a phone for £11 that seemed perfect. They did have one for £9 but I needed to buy a car charger to go with it and there wasn't one to fit the £9 phone. Buying a phone is far more complicated than I ever realised.  I had to charge it, then ring a number to register it, then put credit on it, then learn how to use it so I could actually make my phone call. I sat in my car in the car park with the phone plugged into the cigarette lighter trying to go through everything in the right order. Finally I was able to make my phone call. Only problem now was that I couldn't hear anything. I played with the volume but still couldn't hear anything. The only way I could hear was to have the phone on loud speaker. I assumed I was doing something wrong and resolved to play with it a bit more when I got back to the campsite.

As for my phone call? Well, I felt like I'd completely wasted my time because all I got was a voicemail message saying that because of the weather forecast the ferry may or may not go and they'd decide in the morning so passengers should still turn up at 7.45am. What was the point in having to ring to be told that? After my experiences with their voicemail messages on Saturday I really think they need to think a bit more about how to word their messages so they actually tell callers something useful and meaningful.

So next morning I had the alarm set before 6am to make sure I had enough time to get to Bideford and find the parking and the ticket office and the ferry. I tried calling again before I left but it was still the same message as the previous evening. I drove the half hour to Bideford, put my car in the car park and bought an all day ticket (luckily it was only £3) all with the knowledge that I was probably doing all of this for nothing and could have had a nice lie-in.

I walked along the quay to the ticket office. The ferry was docked alongside looking inviting. A queue of people were snaking outside the booking office door and along the quay next to the sign saying 'cancelled'. I had to join the queue to fill in a form to claim a refund. I wasn't the only person pointing out the inadequacy of the voicemail messages. The woman in the office said they'd only just made the decision to cancel. I really don't understand the point of having to ring the night before (ok, phoning the night before probably wasn't as much palaver for other people as it was for me, but even so ...) if they don't make decisions until just before the sailing is due even when there are such severe weather warnings. I was rather miffed at having got up early, wasted an hour's worth of diesel (return trip) and the parking fee all for nothing, as well as being disappointed at not getting to Lundy. The next sailing was not until Saturday and that would be too late for me.

At least it was still early and I still had the whole day ahead of me. So I went for a walk. But that's another story.

2012 Twelve May Review

A bit of a rubbish month as far as this list goes. Looking over it, I can't think of anything I've actually done towards it. Ah well, must try harder next month.

1. Floating in a floatation tank (I'm hoping to do this in London during the February half term)
2. Reading at least 10 books from the BBC Big Read list (if I read 10 a year, I'll have the whole 200 knocked off in the next 12-13 years!)
3. Taking at least one photo every day of the year (this will improve my photography skills, be a photo-diary of 'year in my life', and help me to learn to use my new camera)
4. Coming up with a fitness plan and sticking to it (the start of my training for Kilimanjaro, though I may not actually climb it for several years yet)
5. Leading at least 4 of my own walks (good practice for my walking group leader's qualification)
6. Buying another house (need to get my finances in order first)
7. Learning to use at least 3 new pieces of technology or computer programmes (not counting my new camera)
8. Doing a writing course (depends on the length of the course whether I'd complete it in the year or not)
9. Getting at least one piece of writing published (paid or unpaid, as long as someone else makes the decision to publish it and it's not self-published)
10. Making a start on sorting out my photos (putting the prints that are currently still stuffed in packets into albums and getting all my photos scanned into the computer - no way will this be completed in a year, but I'll feel good even if I get started on it)
11. Buying a car/van that I can sleep in (and doing any necessary conversions/adaptations)
12. Getting into cycling (even if it's just short cycles along decent paths)

Home

I arrived back very late last night from my week walking the North Devon part of the South West Coast Path. It was a gorgeous day - hot, sunny - and after a week in which I'd had lots of rain and wind I didn't want to waste any of it. I also had one bit of my walk left to do, which would have really niggled at me if I hadn't been able to complete it. So I walked all day, watched seals, ate an ice-cream, and only left at 5pm. Now I have to spend today sorting out my camping gear, getting everything dry and put away, and then I can think about writing up my walks and sorting out my photos.

This isn't going to be as easy as it sounds as the whole thing is rather muddled in my head. I'd wanted to walk from Ilfracombe to Westward Ho! and of course it would make sense to start at the beginning and walk to the end. But with the combination of Sunday and the two bank holidays affecting bus services, stiff knees and the poor weather, I ended up walking the route in a really hodge-podge manner and now I'm feeling very confused as to which bits join up with which other bits. I'm sure it will all fall into place when I start working it out, but for now it's all a bit of a daunting jumble.

Half Term

I haven't posted much over the past month as I've been far too busy at work and barely had time to think. Still, next week is half term and I'm heading down to Devon to walk a bit more of the Southwest Coast Path. After spending the really hot week we had recently in what is basically a giant greenhouse, I was really looking forward to a hot week in my tent and walking along the coast. The weather forecast is pretty miserable though. Nothing like last year when I walked the Exmoor stretch of the path. Whatever the weather, it'll just be nice to get away and have a break. I'm going from Saturday to Saturday. I'm hoping to walk 4 days, have a day trip to Lundy Island on Thursday and have one day being a tourist. I'm booked into a tiny campsite near Barnstaple which I'll use as my base and I've just found out that there's a bank holiday weekend real ale fest on in Barnstaple. How perfect is that!