The new sleeping mat is a big success, as I had a great night’s sleep, despite still waking at 5am. My breath sends trails through the cold air, so I rustle up my first ever camping breakfast, porridge with raspberries, courtesy of Summit to Eat. Who came up with that one? Even I can manage to pour hot water into a bag. A delicious breakfast, snuggled in my warm sleeping bag, watching the sunrise. Not a bad start to the day.
The wooded valley is ethereal in the dawn light, gradually coming into focus. These are the isolated places I want to experience, far from the towns and cities that I must pass through.
After a hard climb out of the valley, a lovely pebbled track winds through the trees.
Passing Clovelly, I reach the Hobby Drive, a gorgeous woodland driveway, built in the early 19th century. It is a perfect autumn morning: sunny, dry, with a chill in the air. The grey stones are carpeted with brown and yellow leaves. This must have been a wonderful coach ride, the trees to one side, and the sea far below. A lone cry goes up from a pheasant, and the woods come alive with their crowing.
Emerging from the trees, a sea mist rolls in.
Despite the warning in the SWCP guide, I have underestimated how draining this section is, once you leave the flat Hobby Drive. A narrow, muddy track, across several valleys. It’s going to be a tough 19 miles to reach the campsite.
Peppercombe coach house makes for a welcome stopping place. Unfortunately, it is full of wasps, so I sit outside.
I’m glad to reach Westward Ho!, the only village name in the UK with an exclamation mark. A popular quiz question, no doubt. The fine beach runs all the way to Northam Burrows Country Park.
The light is starting to fade when I arrive at pretty Appledore village. Is there a nicer village name to pronounce?
It is still another mile to the Marshford campsite. As I pitch in the dark, a young guy kindly invites me to join him around his fire for a cuppa. I get some interesting insights into the world of hackers. It has been a lovely day, but tiring, so I make my excuses, before a late night shower and crashing out.
Walk distance: 19 miles.
Total distance: 923 miles.
Hi Tony, another tough day. Walking along the Hobby Drive was really nice especially after all the up and downs. You should have some relatively flat ex-railway track sections coming up, which will be a great relief. I enjoyed Bideford and Barnstaple.
Yes, it was nice to switch to the flat sections for a change of pace. They seem to get a lot of negative comments, but I enjoyed most of them.
That must have been a tiring day. I hope you had enough energy to appreciate the truly ancient woodland past Hobby’s Drive. Remnants of the ancient forest that once covered Britain.
The entire morning was filled with lovely woodland walks. I am reading The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane, and he has a chapter on the loss of the deepwood, spending time in the Black Wood of Rannoch. I am planning to visit some of the places he explores, which will mean a few diversions in the years to come.
Beautiful scenery but the hike does sound very tiring. I am well beyond that type of terrain and distance now. I loved Westward Ho! beach – I was there 10 days before you. Appledore looks a delightful village, somewhere for me to think about next time I am in that part of the country.
It was a little dark, but I was very taken by Appledore. I had a meal at the Beaver Inn, which was excellent, and the staff were really chatty and friendly. A couple at the next table were talking about photography at Hartland Quay, which gave me a perfect opening, and they were lovely company.
Nice to do a woodland section with all the lovely autumn colours. Clovelly is lovely and probably a lot quieter at this time of year. Some beautiful photos there and looks like you had some good weather too. There used to be a shipyard at Appledore, not sure if it’s still there.
It was too late to explore the village fully, but it looks as though they have reactivated the shipyard with a recent contract win.