Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Dad and I had a quick day walk to finish up to Plymouth and then I carried on after that to Seaton Bridge. The Mount Edgecumbe Gardens reminded me of the parks where I used to live and as I crossed the Devon – Cornwall border the landscape also changed. My knees were getting quite painful with the constant up and down of the cliffs – descending is so much more painful with the extra weight of a pack forcing you down! On the 15th day I set off from Looe with an incredible red morning sky, passing Nelson the seal on the way out. The sky had stayed clear so I stopped in Polperro for suncream – just as I started smothering my shoulders everything turned dark and a huge rain cloud soaked everything within seconds! The knees were getting worse but I made really good time – I think I was excited to get to Fowey where we used to go on holiday. The town seemed a lot bigger and busier than when I was young – I only remembered the fishmongers where we got crabbing bait and the old aquarium where I had spent hours as a child and Readymoney cove!

Walking to Mevagissey the next day was frustrating with lots of road walking and diversions and a hot sun. I hitchhiked with a lovely family from Mevagissey to the youth hostel in Boswinger where I started feeling quite ill and slept from the minute I arrived.

The 17th day was my final day of walking so far. I woke up feeling quite sick still and made a slow start on the rough terrain that wasn’t made easier with the fog and dew. My boots then decided to give up and let the water flood in and my knees also complained a lot so by the time I got to Portloes I really wasn’t enjoying myself and decided to stop the walk until my knees and boots were fixed and after University applications are completed. The first 280 miles have been great fun and I look forward to completing the walk when I can.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Leaving home behind I set off to Shaldon on the first day, enjoying the Ferry rides across the Exe and Teign. I had walked the route from Exmouth to Sidmouth many times before with the Ten Tors team but it took a while to recognise it from the other direction! The next day I walked from Shaldon to Brixham and spent the afternoon in Brixham. I liked the mix of boats in the harbour from the replica of Sir Francis Drake’s ship to the small fishing vessels. On the 10th day I walked on to Torcross, stopping in Dartmouth to look around the Castle (which they let me in free of charge). I hadn’t realised how heavily defended the coast was but the old battery opposite and the guns in the castle itself proved otherwise. There was a lot of road walking to get to Slapton sands but it was interesting to see the country side villages and farms. The military tank monument at Torcross was quite a poignant reminder of what had happened there the 60 odd years ago.
After camping with my sister, her boyfriend and my Dad that evening, the boyfriend and I set off to walk to Salcombe the next day. In the early morning light we discovered 5 conga eels hung up to dry. A sign warned us to take ‘extra care’ on this part of the walk and the path was very jagged, carving through sheets of rock. It reminded me very much of Dartmoor as we passed Start Point – another sign told us 462 miles to Minehead. We arrived in Salcombe by midday and had a good rest with fish and chips.

Knowing that I’d be returning home to see family friends at the end of the 12th day I decided to get as close to Plymouth as I could. A 44km day got me to Wembury. I had to time it well because the ferry over the river Avon only ran from 10:00 – 11:00, the river Erme was only possible to wade an hour each side of low tide and the ferry across the Yealm stopped at 16:00. I got across all three though – the Erme was quite wide, deep and the current was very strong already so I found that a bit frustrating. At Wembury I had the best pasty and smoothie I’ve ever tasted whilst waiting for Dad to pick me up!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The week has been hot – even if the sun isn’t shining the humidity is still difficult to walk through. I walked from Swanage to Kimmeridge Bay the 2nd day, passing Durlston Caslte, Tilly Whim Caves and Dancing Ledge. Shakespeare’s quote ‘one touch of nature makes the whole world kin’ that was carved in the rock beneath the castle seemed appropriate for the 3rd day as I walked from dawn through the Lulworth ranges without meeting another person. It was the most breathtaking day yet with many steep ascents and rewarding views. It was quite spooky being so alone – a heavy fog suddenly engulfed the ranges and reading the information boards of the deserted village of Tyneham made me pick up the pace a little! You walk so close to the cliff edges that drop down to rolling seas and I was scared that the sheep that were running out of my way were going to go over! After a stop in Lulworth cove I carried on to Osmington Mills, passing Durdle Door and enjoying the height of the path looking inland across the country side and down the steady slopes of the cliff.

I didn’t enjoy walking through Wembury at all, lots of wrong turns. Urban navigation was a bit of a failure and my legs managed to seize up with all the walking on pavement. Eventually by the 5th day I was setting off from Burton Bradstock to arrive in Lyme Regis that afternoon, climbing 191 metres high at Golden Cap, the highest point on the south coast.

My Dad was able to walk from Lyme to Sidmouth with me the next day. I was grateful he could walk with me that day because the undercliff between Lyme and Seaton felt very claustrophobic – as the book says ‘you are unlikely to get lost, but most unlikely to know where you are’. The cliffs above us were impressive and I can’t imagine being one of the two Victorian geologists who witnessed the 1kmx100mx50m chunk of cliff that fell on Christmas Eve all those years ago. We walked the route from Beer to Sidmouth with ease – although it was a long day and difficult path we had done it before and were happy to be dropping back down into our hometown of Sidmouth for a day of rest!