worth matravers to swanage

May 13, 2018 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

monday, 7TH may 2018

Today's weather forecast looks to be pretty good, and I should have sun and very little wind all day long.

Swanage high tide 12:12

Swanage low tide 22:09

I attempted this walk back last June but had to abandon the walk in atrocious weather conditions so I'm back in much better weather to get this walk completed. In fact it's a glorious spring morning.

I start the day back at the Square and Compass pub in Worth Matravers.

I head back towards the car park and head down a footpath before reaching it. I amble along fields and then pass a quarry which might be Swanworth Quarry, where I see a hare. I reach a road and head up it towards Renscombe Farm.

I pass Renscombe Farm and reach a car park and follow a footpath to rejoin the coast path at West Hill. I've always fancied visiting Chapman's Pool but I've never found a path down. Today I can see a steep footpath cut into the cliff which looks like I can scramble down but I'll have to leave that for another day.

The rock around the bowl of Chapman's Pool is made of Kimmeridge Clay Shale and capped off with Portland Limestone laid down on the shale in a later period.

I come across limestone plaques set into the drystone walls of West Hill but I can't seem to find out any information about them. They are a bit worn now and it's difficult to make out the lettering but they read :-

“stones lean together

hand built strata

held by gravity

between turf and sky

dark brought to light

exposed to weather
”

Unfortunately I've joined the coast path too far up to see the 'stones lean together' plaque.

I then come across a war memorial, built by the Dorset branch of the Royal Marines Association in 1990. It pays tribute to the members of the Corps who have been killed since 1945. There is a special mention of those who died in the Falklands, in the Middle and Far East, in Northern Ireland and those who perished in the IRA bombing at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal.

“Rest awhile and reflect that we who are living can enjoy the beauty of the sea and countryside.”

I amble along the clifftops at Emmetts Hill before dropping steeply downhill and then climbing a long flight of stone steps steeply up on to St Aldhelm's Head.

Here I find St Aldhelm's Chapel where I sheltered for a while last year before deciding to abandon the walk. The chapel is a square shape with its corners aligned approximately on the cardinal points, not the walls as is customary.

A bit further along I come across the St Alban's Head National Coastwatch Station. It's a long way from Hertfordshire but is named this way for maritime reasons.

Nearby is the Purbeck Radar Memorial, practically the only evidence that remains of the development of the radar here during the second world war by the Telecommunications Research Establishment. The memorial was dedicated by Sir Bernard Lovell on the 27th of October 2001 and again in September 2006.

It is now easy walking along the clifftops on my way to Swanage and I'm now walking through a quarried landscape where Purbeck marble was excavated from mediaeval times including for the pillars of Salisbury Cathedral.

I turn inland at Seacombe Cliff past more quarrying activity before turning back out onto the cliffs.

I pass above Dancing Ledge and come across a large patch of early spider orchids. I haven't seen these beauties for seven years.

I pass Blacken Hole and then a pair of mile indicator posts used by passing ships to measure their speed.

I come across a patch of green-winged orchids before entering Durlston Country Park.

I round Anvil Point to reach Anvil Point Lighthouse built out of the local limestone in 1881. Another pair of mile indicator posts can be found above the lighthouse.

I pass the entrance for Tilly Whim Caves quarried during the Napoleonic wars but closed by 1812. In 1887 they were opened as a tourist attraction but closed again in 1976 for safety reasons.

I round Durlston Head and pass Durlston Castle below which I can see the Great Globe, commissioned by George Burt, a sphere carved from 40 tonnes of Portland limestone and built in 15 segments at the Greenwich stoneyard of John Mowlem.

I pass through woodland, which is the first shade I've had today, and it is now easy walking into Swanage.

I head along Belle Vue Road and head across a grassy slope towards Peveril Point where I find Swanage National Coastwatch Station. I now have fine views over Swanage Bay and out to Old Harry Rocks and I can just make out the Isle of Wight in the haze, I think.

I join a concrete path next to the shore before joining the promenade which takes me into Swanage. I continue along the promenade passing the beaches which are heaving on this glorious day.

I end my walk at the clocktower. What a lovely day of walking.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

robins
pied wagtails
dunnocks
a hare
skylarks
wrens
speckled wood butterflies
roe deer
peacock butterflies
red admiral butterflies
lizards
swallows
chaffinches
swifts
stonechats
loads of caterpillars
oystercatchers

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 11.2 miles today which amounts to 25595 steps. It has been another beautiful day's walking today. Nine out of ten!

Hmmm. My Ordnance Survey app is definitely playing up and the graph doesn't look anything like today's walk. The total ascent today has been a miserly 13 feet or 4 metres. Seriously Ordnance Survey! I know it has been a relatively gentle walk but 13 feet!!

This graph is much more like today's walk so I guess my total ascent has been 767 feet :-

MAP

uploders to seatown

May 12, 2018 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

via golden cap

sunday, 6TH MAY 2018

The weather this year has been particularly stinky but the weather forecast for this week looks pretty good. It should be warm and sunny today with virtually no wind so I can't complain.

Bridport high tide 10:44

Bridport low tide 16:11

I start the walk at our holiday cottage, Celtic Blessing, in the village of Uploders.

I wander along the quiet country road towards Loders but turn left along a footpath before reaching the adjoining village. The roadside verges are covered in wild flowers.

I climb up onto a rather muddy Boarsbarrow Hill and the paths are covered in stinky wild garlic. I can hear a woodpecker pecking away.

I pass Dalrymple Copse and join a small and rather muddy track called Green Lane which leads down to the busy A35 Dorchester Road.

I cross the A35 and head down a narrow path which leads me to a minor road. The road passes behind the cemetery but I head into Jellyfields Nature Reserve instead and amble along the paths next to streams, enjoying the birdsong.

I come to a wildflower meadow planted in 2014 and dedicated to the Bridport men who served in the Great War. It's supposed to be full of poppies and cornflowers but just seems to be a tangle of grass and nettles.

I follow Crock Lane and then cross the A35 again and enter Asker's Meadow Nature Reserve where I walk next to the River Asker. I pass behind the Morrison's superstore and cross over South Street to pass next to Palmers Brewery.

I cross over a weir over the River Brit and join a very familiar footpath which takes me back towards the centre of Bridport.

I walk through Bridport Community Orchard and then walk along South Street and West Street heading out of Bridport.

I leave West Street and head towards North Allington before following a footpath which rounds Allington Hill.

I come across another orchard, this time Jubilee Green Orchard where 24 fruit and deciduous trees were planted in 2012.

I continue along the footpath which takes me around and then over Allington Hill where I enjoy the wildflowers and bird song.

I pass by Crepe Farm and head into the village of Symondsbury where the Ilchester Arms can be found although I didn't see it. I'm joined in the village by a large walking group.

I leave Symondsbury and climb up onto the iconic Colmer's Hill, the lower slopes of which are covered in bluebells.

I have magnificent panoramic views over the Dorset countryside. I come across a trig point at 417 feet high in amongst a copse of nine pine trees. While enjoying the views I'm joined again by the walking group.

I descend Colmer's Hill and head along quiet lanes at Quarry Cross before joining Hell Lane, an ancient Holloway which leads me in to North Chideock. The lane is very muddy and deeply rutted and I make my way gingerly along it.

I come across a lone early purple orchid. There could be others around but I've been concentrating so much on staying upright on the path that I haven't been paying much attention to the flora and fauna.

The lane turns into a shallow stream and then, suddenly, turns into a tarmac road which leads me into North Chideock.

I follow the road down into Chideock where I pass the church before alighting on the busy A35 again.

I head out of Chideock down towards Seatown before following a footpath which climbs up to Langdon Hill.

It's now surprisingly easy climbing to join the South West Coast Path up to the top of the mighty Golden Cap.

I enjoy the magnificent views on the summit, to the west overlooking Charmouth and Lyme Regis and to the east over Seatown and West Bay and onwards towards the Isle of Portland in the distance. It's much busier up here than I've ever seen it before.

Golden Cap was given by members of the National Trust and friends in memory of The Earl of Antrim, chairman of the National Trust from 1960 until his death in 1977.

I descend Golden Cap and head towards Seatown where you can find the Anchor Inn and where my lift awaits.

It is heaving with people, presumably flushed out by the glorious weather on this sunny Sunday.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

herb bennett
bluebells
wild garlic
celandines
chiff chaffs
a woodpecker
great tits
pheasants
herb robert
swallows
song thrushes
long tailed tits
hawthorn
sheep
orange tip butterflies
early purple orchid

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 11 miles today which amounts to 24524 steps. It has been lovely walking the Dorset countryside today in the best weather of the year. Nine out of ten!

According to my Ordnance Survey app my total ascent today has been 451 feet or 137 metres. Really OS? Colmer's Hill is 417 feet high and Golden Cap is 642 feet high. The app has proved to be useless again!

Another app I use to track my walks gives a better indication of today's elevation.

MAP

woolacombe to braunton

October 01, 2017 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

wednesday, 27th SEPTEMBER 2017

Today's weather forecast looks to be on the ropey side and I can expect rain later in the day, a bit of wind and grey skies. It's not going to be very warm either.

Braunton high tide 11:01

Braunton low tide 17:14

A lot of today's walk will be spent trudging along sandy beaches, starting with Woolacombe Sands, followed by Putsborough Sands, then Croyde Beach and finally, possible a three mile trudge along Saunton Sands. It's a hard life but someone has to do the walking!

I start the day at Woolacombe where, except for a few dog walkers and joggers, I have the whole beach to myself. It's rather a nice start to the morning but I don't think it will last.

I head towards the sea before trudging along the beach for a good two miles.

The far end of Woolcaombe Sands leads directly into Putsborough Sands. There are quite a few surfers in the sea but they all seem to be old men with white hair.

At the end of the beach I leave the sand behind me and pass the refreshment hut before turning right onto a track over Napps Cliff. The views looking back over Putsborough Sands to Woolacombe Sands are lovely.

A grassy path goes through several stiles and onwards towards Baggy Point and there are signs of sheep with wool caught in the gorse and pooh everywhere.

I come across a memorial bench which has a magnificent view and a fitting sentiment.

“Nanna + Grampie
Here is a good place to sit and chat
About love and dreams and stuff like that”

It is starting to spit rain and the wind has picked up. The path becomes a lot rockier around Baggy Point before heading back in the opposite direction towards Croyde Bay.

I have one last view back over Putsborough Sands and Woolacombe Sands. It could be a while before I'm back this way again.

I now have views over Croyde. The skies look quite nice but the rain has picked up and it's not very warm.

I pass a restored pond, built by the Hyde family who were keen conservationists.

The path passes a preserved whalebone of a large whale that was washed up on Croyde beach in 1915. They were preserved by the Hyde family who gave Baggy Point to the National Trust in May 1939.

The path joins the road around Croyde Bay and at the National Trust car park I duck down on to Croyde Beach and head out across the sandy beach. It's now extremely windy. Although it's still early it's quite busy and there are plenty of surfers enjoying the waves here.

At the far end of the beach I climb a flight of steps and head along the coast where I pass a memorial to Joel Sanders. A quick internet search doesn't reveal any information about the gloves.

I briefly walk along the road and then cross the road to follow a grassy path above the road.

I now have lovely, but grey, views overlooking the large expanse of Saunton Sands before climbing down to the road at the Saunton Sands Hotel.

I manage to find the path behind the hotel and pass a tennis court, adventure playground and putting greens before dropping down to the beach cafe and car park.

There are colourful beach huts at the start of Saunton Sands which look even shabbier than I remember them.

I now have a decision to make. The official coast path heads inland and across a golf course but I usually walk along the three miles of sandy beach along Saunton Sands. Although it's not blowing an almighty gale I'm wet and cold and could do with some respite from the wind so I decide to follow the official coast path which I haven't walked in years.

I follow the car park access road inland before following a muddy path to the right. This rejoins the main road and I follow this, passing St Anne's Church and the entrance to Saunton Golf Club.

A coast path sign points to the right and I follow this path which then heads across the golf course. It has started chucking it down now. The path leaves the golf course and a military training area is now on my right. No training is taking place today.

I come to Sandy Lane Car Park and then head off down American Road. It is now a dreary walk along the road which just seems to keep on going. I can't win. If the wind subsides it is replaced by rain and when the rain stops the wind picks up again.

I walk behind Braunton Burrows which was declared Britain's first UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in November 2002. It's a rather lovely place when the sun is out but is decidedly murky today.

I'm now approaching the coast again where the estuaries of the rivers Taw and Torridge meet. I follow an embankment around Horsey Island, built in 1857 to reclaim the marshland. I'm now exposed to the wind again and am thoroughly damp. The embankment continues inland along the River Caen.

I reach Velator Quay, a rather stinky dump and my destination for the day! The old quay was constructed in 1870 as part of the marsh reclamation scheme. My lift awaits in the car park here.

It's time to stop off for some chips in Braunton to warm up a bit and then a couple of bottles of Doombar are chilling in the fridge back at our holiday cottage. The walk from Saunton Sands to Braunton has been thoroughly dreary but, heigh ho!, the rest of the week has been thoroughly pleasant.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

mermaid's purse
turnstones
herb robert
gorse
common toadflax
ragwort
knapweed
sea thrift
red campion
sea aster
red admirals
large-flowered evening-primrose
fennel
curlews
common dog-violet (although I'm not sure why it's flowering in September)

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 14.5 miles today which amounts to 32397 steps. The start of the walk was lovely walking along long sandy beaches but it's let down by a dreary section of the coast path walked in dreary weather. Seven out of ten!

My total ascent today has been 305 feet or 93 metres.

MAP

combe martin to woolacombe

October 01, 2017 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

tuesDAY, 26th SEPTEMBER 2017

Today's weather forecast looks to be rather nice and I'll probably be accompanied by hazy sun. Hang on a sec though! Barely any wind! AT WOOLACOMBE!

Ilfracombe high tide 10:13

Ilfracombe low tide 15:57

I start the day back in Combe Martin and head up Seaside Hill to leave the village. I head along what appears to be a new section of the coast path at the Parade Area where I come across a second beach. I think this must be Mermaid's Cove but it doesn't appear on my Ordnance Survey map.

I climb steeply up a minor road and pass Sandaway Beach Holiday Park.

I rejoin the busy main road and then follow a track beside the road to reach Berrynabor where I turn right downhill and follow Old Coast Road. I pass the Sandy Cove Hotel and a track which leads down to Golden Cove. I come across a seriously tall patch of japanese knotweed.

The road turns into a track which takes me down to an empty Watermouth Valley Camping Park. I guess it is late September.

I come to Watermouth Cove Holiday Park and pass through the campsite before returning to the main road and follow a path parallel to the road where I come across Watermouth Castle Theme Park.

I wander down to the harbour at Watermouth Bay and enjoy the beach for a while.

At a lower tide you can walk along the beach but the tide is in too far so I continue along the road before turning right along a path over a wooded slope.

The path continues parallel to the main road and at the edge of the wood I turn right and have lovely views over Watermouth Harbour.

I climb a steep flight of steps to the top of Widemouth Head and I have magnificent views back over Watermouth Bay. The path is narrow, muddy, slippery and nettle infested.

I walk down some steps and wander around Rillage Point before climbing up to a car park where I have my first view over Ilfracombe.

I walk parallel to the main road again and follow the road down to Hele Bay where I pass the Hele Bay pub (what a terrible website) and Snacking Kraken.

I wander down to the beach and enjoy the sand and shingle cove for a while. I retrace my steps and find a steep path that climbs up through woods onto Hillsborough Nature Reserve. The whole reserve is full of dog walkers.

The remains of a hillfort are here and I now have magnificent views over Ilfracombe from a view point.

I follow a path which drops downhill along bracken covered slopes. I encounter a large group of school children out on a trip so have to wait for a while to let them pass. I drop down to the left hand side of Ilfracombe Harbour where I pass the Benricks Skate Park and a group of school children having way too much fun in canoes on the water,

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I pass Ilfracombe lifeboat station and drop down to the sheltered sandy beach and trudge along it before climbing steps onto the harbour wall.

I continue around the other side of the harbour to visit Verity, standing at 20.25 metres and weighing 25 tonnes. She is on long term loan to North Devon Council as a gift from the London and Devon based artist Damien Hirst.

I'm quoting the pretentious blurb on the sign now :-

“‘The sculpture is an allegory for truth and justice. Her stance is taken from Edgar Degas’s Little Dancer of Fourteen Years (c.1881). An anatomical cross-section of her head and torso reveal her skull and the developing foetus inside her womb.’”

Now I'm all for public art and sculpture but, come on Ilfracombe, Damien Hirst?

I retrace my steps and head out along Capstone Road where I pass the former home of Henry Williamson, the author of Tarka the Otter. A path takes me around Capstone Parade and on to Capstone Point.

I pass Wildersmouth Beach and come across a mosaic celebrating the achievements of the triple jumper Jonathan Edwards who lived in Ilfracombe from 1976 to 1987. 18.29 metres is an awful long way.

I pass the odd looking Landmark Theatre and climb up steps next to it. A path leads up to a road where I follow Torrs Park Avenue and at Avoncourt I turn right to leave Ilfracombe behind me.

I'm now on Torrs Walk, a path hacked out of the bedrock when Ilfracombe became a popular 19th century seaside resort, which zig zags uphill and I have one last magnificent view back over Ilfracombe before heading off along grassy slopes.

I follow the utterly peaceful grassy path with only sheep and cows for company before it descends to a gate and a minor road which I follow to Lee Bay, where I enjoy the small rocky cove.

It's lovely around here. At least it would be if it wasn't for the derelict eyesore of Lee Bay Hotel. The hotel has been empty for 12 years but there are plans for it to be replaced with 23 homes.

I continue along the road which climbs uphill away from Lee Bay and climb onto Damage Cliffs and the path becomes a rollercoaster ride climbing up and down steps and across footbridges through a couple of valleys.

I come across a lovely beach, unnamed on my map, but possibly Bennett's Mouth.

I come across Bull Point Lighthouse, built by Trinity House in 1975 replacing an earlier 1879 lighthouse.

I cross Rockham Bay where I climb down some steep wooden steps to reach the beach. The beach is known locally as Mortehoe Beach and the low tide has revealed a sandy beach backed by rocky cliffs. I just have a couple of National Trust wardens and a dog walking couple for company.

I cross Rockham Bay. The weather was so bad last time I was here that I managed to get lost and headed in completely the wrong direction. Not today though! I spot a sign for Morte Point and the path becomes easier as it heads on the seaward side of the village of Mortehoe.

The path leads to a road between Mortehoe and Woolacombe where I have magnificent views back over Morte Point.

I pass the Watersmeet Hotel and the entrances to Combesgate Beach and Barricane Beach. They both look rather lovely.

I head along a grassy strip where I have lovely views over Woolacombe Beach.

I continue along the path next to the road to reach my destination for the day, Woolacombe, where my lift awaits.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

red campion
beech
hydrangeas
buzzards
hypericum
clover
red valerian
ox eye daisies
fuchsias
ragwort
japanese knotweed
bracken
himalayan balsam
red admirals
toadflax
bladder campion
stonechats
toadstools

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 14.1 miles today which amounts to 33199 steps. I'm not quite sure why it has taken me 7 hours although it has been tough going most of the day. It has been an utterly lovely day of walking. Ten out of ten!

My total ascent today has been, err, I don't know as my Ordnance Survey app has failed again. In fact everything has failed me today. Modern technology can be quite spectacularly rubbish at times. It has been a rollercoaster ride.

MAP

I suspect that my phone rebooted in my bag at around 11:00 am and so this map is the best I can come up with for the day.

lynmouth to combe martin

October 01, 2017 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

SunDAY, 24th SEPTEMBER 2017

Today's weather forecast doesn't look particularly good with rain forecast for all day but at least there should barely be any wind. Don't recall saying that much this year.

Ilfracombe high tide 09:12

Ilfracombe low tide tide 14:59

I start the morning back at the car park above Lynmouth next to the River Lyn.

I walk down towards the harbour and head through a gap between the Exmoor National Park Visitor Centre and the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway.

I head up some steps and then zig zag along a tarmac path, crossing over the Cliff Railway as I go. I spot a robin with an enormous worm in its beak.

I pass pieces of poetry as I zig zag along the path. The Poetry Box Project resided in Valley of Rocks over the three summer months of 2014 when over 2000 poems were amassed. The poems I'm passing must be as a result of this project.

At the top I have magnificent views over Lynmouth. The weather isn't actually too bad.

I follow a minor road running between the Fairholme Hotel and North Cliff Hotel where I cross over the Cliff Railway again. I pass Hewitt's Villa Spaldi and The Seawood Hotel.

For centuries this road had been used to transport goods from Lynmouth harbour up to Lynton. Before 1810 there were no wheeled vehicles and packhorses struggled up the cliff loaded down with lime from Lynmouth's kiln. They also carried coal and roof slates from Wales and foodstuffs from Bristol.

Work started on the cliff railway in 1887. Bridges had to be built at places where the excavations cut through the path. The railway was opened in 1890.

I amble along North Walk and before I've even walked through the gate to exit Lynton I come across feral goats greeting me just past the gate.

The gate leads out onto steep, rocky slopes along a path and the cliffs are covered in feral goats munching on the bracken.

The paths are covered in goat pooh. I follow a fork in the path to the right and suddenly have lovely views over Castle Rock. It really is rather a pleasant morning.

The path heads towards a road at the Valley of Rocks.

I head along the road which leads through the Lee Abbey Estate. Lee Abbey is to my right and is home to a Christian community that hosts retreats, holidays and conferences.

I pass Beacon Activity Centre which was opened in 2004 to host exciting breaks for groups of all ages.

I pass a cow who doesn't look particularly pleased to see me.

I pass the entrance to Lee Abbey.

For some reason I've always managed to go wrong here in the past. I can sort of see why as the coast path signs are obscured further down the road than the main set of signs which I've previously followed incorrectly.

I'm not going to go wrong today so continue along the coast road and pass Lee Abbey Tea Cottage. There's a rather lovely garden outside of the cottage.

I follow the road until a path leads through the woods and around Crock Point before entering woods again and I then climb down some steps

A steep climb through woods takes me back up to the road and I head for Woody Bay where I turn right into woods before reaching Woody Bay Hotel. I have occasional glimpses of the sea and cliffs.

I follow a muddy and wet woodland track through Woody Bay and come to a minor road at a cottage.

A sign helpfully shows me the way to Iceland, Russia, America and New Zealand.

I follow the road up to a bend before climbing a rocky woodland path. I have magnificent if increasing murky views back along the coast.

The path climbs downhill and I cross Hollow Brook next to a waterfall before heading out over open slopes above the towering cliffs.

A rocky path takes me across a steep slope of heather and I have magnificent, but even murkier, views.

I reach Heddon's Mouth where the path slices down a steep stony slope and enters woods. I head inland next to a river and cross a stone footbridge before heading down the other side of the river.

I turn a sharp left and head upstream and inland. I head up a wooded slope and through a gate and start zig zagging up a steep slope covered in bracken before heading back to the coast high above Heddon's Mouth. It is quite a trek down and back up.

I climb up a steep rocky slope covered in heather and have more magnificent views over the cliffs.

I come across a sign saying 'Please donate to preserve the endangered Exmoor pony and help preserve these paths and lands. Thank you.' I pop a coin in the slot. Thank you Exmoor ponies.

The fields here are covered in sheep. I follow an easy, grassy path at East Cleave and continue along the path at North Cleave.

I cross a field before climbing up onto a rugged moorland slope covered in gorse and heather. It starts to rain lightly which cools me down. I follow a track across Holdstone Down where I pass the same man as I passed on yesterday's walk. I can now see out over Great Hangman. It is rather murky and misty.

I start to climb uphill and inland and then steeply descend into a valley where I cross a footbridge over a stream at Sherrycombe.

I climb steeply up the other side of the vally rounding some woodland before climbing up a slope covered in gorse. It's a very steep climb and I get sweaty and puffed out. There are sheep all over the slopes beneath me. Quite how they get herded up I do not know.

I follow an easier track surrounded by heather up on to the top of Great Hangman where I come across a cairn. I'm now at 1043 feet and on the highest point on the entire South West Coast Path and take in all of the (misty and murky) views.

I follow a path downhill towards the much smaller Little Hangman before climbing up and down and up and down along the cliffs. I now have views over Combe Martin.

The path now goes through trees before swinging left downhill and at the bottom i turn right to reach my destination for the day, Combe Martin. I drop down to enjoy the beach before heading for the car park where my lift awaits. It has been a wild and rugged rollercoaster of a day and thoroughly enjoyable.

Combe Martin is often quoted as being the longest village in the UK but, even though at a mile and a half long it's pretty long, it's not. That accolade falls to Stewkley in Buckinghamshire.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

robin with big worm
herb robert
squirrels
oaks
beech
holly
buddleia
sweet chestnuts
feral goats
red campion
foxgloves
ragwort
cows
sheep
geraniums
red valerian
hydrangeas
crocosmia
pheasants
red admirals
small tortoiseshells
a hare

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 14.5 miles today which amounts to 35257 steps. It has been a lovely day of walking. Ten out of ten!

My total ascent today has been, err, I don't know as my Ordnance Survey app has failed again. It has been a rough and tumble ride today though, including climbing the highest point on the south west coast path, so that'll make a big total ascent.

I've only recently realized that one of the apps on my phone I use for tracking me also records elevation information so here's a graph of today's walk. That's quite a hike!