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,

$ilfracombe 1.jpg$

$ilfracombe 2.jpg$

$ilfracombe 3.jpg$

$ilfracombe 4.jpg$

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!

MAP

porlock weir to lynmouth

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

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

saturday, 23rd september 2017

Today's weather forecast looks like it might actually be quite nice today. Very light winds which is unheard of at the moment with our constant gales and even possibly a bit of sun and some warmth. Can't complain.

Porlock Bay high tide 09:07

Porlock Bay low tide 14:53

I start the day next to the pebbly beach in Porlock Weir. I pass by the tiny harbour and pick up the coast path as it leaves Porlock Weir between the Bottom Ship Inn and the Millers at the Anchor hotel.

The path climbs gently uphill before I turn right along the Worthy Combe Toll Road. I reach a two arched toll gate. The toll road goes through the left arch but I continue along the coast path through the right arch.

“Worthy Combe Toll Road
No responsibility attaches to the owner of this road for any carnage or injury suffered by any person using this road from any cause whatsoever whether due to the said owners negligence, non-feasance or misfeasance or to the state of the road or of anything near the said road or overhanging the same or otherwise, and all persons using the said road in any manner do so entirely at their own risk.”

Needless to say, at this early hour, there's no one about to collect a toll but a couple of dogs do come and bark at me. They are friendly enough though.

I continue climbing through woods full of sweet chestnuts and pass under two arches before continuing along a footpath which crosses a stream and then leads me to teeny Culbone Church.

A community of monks was established here in the fifth century, and the first church was built on the site two centuries later, possibly with an Anchorite cell attached. It is thought that parts of the current church, St Beuno's, date back to Saxon times, although over the centuries it has been rebuilt and refenestrated numerous times.

An information sheet obtained from within the porch tells me that the church is the smallest complete parish church in the country and that it is mentioned in the Domesday Book and the Guiness Book of Records. St Beuno is apparently pronounced "Bayno"!

I explore the churchyard here before heading back to the coast path where I come across a friendly robin who sings for me. I start climbing again. A sign warns me that the path ahead is prone to subsidence. I head through Culbone Wood which leads me to Sugarloaf Hill. The woods are thick so I don't see much in the way of features but it's a thoroughly pleasant walk along muddy woodland tracks passing streams and landslips.

I pass a sign for Glenthorne Beach, a beach covered in rock sized pebbles, but I've no idea how far down I'd have to trek to get to the beach.

I cross over a stream and round the slopes of Sugarloaf Hill. I cross another stream and pass a pinetum containing Wellingtonias.

I cross another stream at Coscombe and I've now crossed over from Somerset to Devon.

I pass Sisters Fountain marked by a stone cross. An elaborate structure was built over the spring in the 19th century and named Sisters Fountain because the owner's nieces liked to play in the vicinity. Joseph of Arimathea is alleged to have struck his staff on the ground here, causing the spring to start flowing. Sounds like a load of old nonsense to me!

I climb uphill to reach a track that passes through stone pillars topped by wild boar heads.

It has been a lonely trek so far but a runner passes me and greets me 'good morning'.

I pass a house with odd birdtables and birdbaths outside and, at the entrance to Glenthorne House, I leave the track and head along a muddy narrow path.

I get some glimpses of sea before crossing a couple of streams and cross over woody and scrubby slopes at Glenthorne Cliffs.

I cross another stream at Swannel Combe and then reach Chubhill Combe where I come across Rodney Cottage Walkers' Honesty Cafe (@ExmoorNature). I find a flask of hot water, cups, stirrers, sugar, cool drinks, chairs and a table. How sweet! All proceeds go towards feeding the woodland birds.

I climb over a stile and have magnificent views back along the North Devon and Somerset coast.

A track leads me through ground strewn with stones and covered in bracken, hawthorn and gorse. This leads me to a bend on a narrow road.

I walk down the road and cross a bridge over a stream. The coast path signs have dried up (or I've missed them) so I continue along the road hoping I'm going in the right direction. The cliffs around here are MASSIVE!

I pass Foreland Bothy and reach the National Trust cottages at Foreland Point and the path ends. I have definitely come the wrong way.

I spot a sign warning me that the path ahead is narrow and exposed and prone to falling scree. Maybe this is the coast path?

I start to climb up it but I don't recognize it. The path starts to climb very steeply up and over Foreland Point. I pass high above the lighthouse. It's quite a climb up a narrow path and it becomes increasing scary as it's a long way down the scree covered cliffs.

I continue up the path and make it up to the top without falling into the sea. I'm now a long way up and have magnificent views over to Lynmouth and Lynton.

I now come across coast path signs again and I indeed have gone the wrong way.

I cross grassy slopes towards Countisbury where I walk through the grounds of St John the Evangelist to reach the Blue Ball Inn.

I retrace my steps through the churchyard and the coast path runs below the main road. It's quite a descent along muddy and slippery paths down from the towering cliffs into Lynmouth. I briefly walk along the road before I drop down to the right and climb down steps on a wooded slope. I zig zag down through a beech wood which leads me out on to the path above Lynmouth Beach.

I follow the road through a park and cross a footbridge over the River Lyn. I pass the tiny harbour to reach my destination for the day, Lynmouth.

Lynmouth was wrecked by a devastating flood in August 1952 which killed 34 people and destroyed more than a hundred buildings.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

japanese anemones
robins
pheasants
buddleia
herb robert
red campion
periwinkle
oaks
sweet chestnuts
holly
foxgloves
beech
rhododendrons
gorse
heather
red admirals
speckle wood butterflies
grasshoppers

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 12.6 miles today which amounts to 29906 steps. That's not a very long way today but the weather has been decent and the walking spectacular. Nine out of ten!

Hooray!! My Ordnance Survey app has finally recorded a route. My total ascent today has been 1103 feet or 336 metres.

MAP

st helen's to chale

September 17, 2017 by Mark Seymour in isle of wight coast path

ISLE OF WIGHT COAST PATH

wednesday, 13TH SEPTEMBER 2017

Today's weather forecast doesn't look too bad. It's not going to be particularly warm and it'll be a bit blustery but I should have a fair amount of sun during the day.

Sandown low tide 10:32

Sandown high tide 17:01

I leave our holiday cottage in St Helen's first thing in the morning and immediately head out around Bembridge Harbour.

I head along embankment road and pass some houseboats, many of them up for sale. I also pass Brading Haven Yacht Club, Bembridge Sailing Club and the Tollgate Cafe.

At the Pilot Boat Inn I detour off of the coast path and wander down Beach Road. I head out onto Bembridge Point Beach hoping that I can walk all the way along the beach. I walk along a narrow strip of fine, golden sand. That's a rather nice start to the day! I drop into conversation with a woman walking her dog who has just moved from Ryde to Bembridge. That's quite a hefty move!

It does indeed look like I can walk along the beach so I keep walking. I climb up onto the sea wall and pass the Lifeboat View Cafe before reaching Bembridge Lifeboat Station. The lifeboat station was established in 1867.

I drop down to the beach again on the other side of the lifeboat station and continue on the pebbly beach around Bembridge Foreland. The low cliffs are heavily eroded and some diggers are making repairs to the sea defences. I pass the Crab and Lobster Inn.

It's a beautiful morning and I'm beginning to like this walk!

I continue along the coast path where I have a lovely view over Whitecliff Bay and the cliff is indeed white.

I leave the village of Bembridge and head along muddy paths towards Whitecliff Bay where I come across Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park.

I descend down a steep concrete path to reach the beach at Whitecliff Bay where I enjoy the sand and shingle beach even though I'm technically trespassing.

I head back up the concrete path and continue on my way and onto Culver Down where I have lovely views back over Whitecliff Bay.

I come across the Yarborough Monument, a memorial to Charles Anderson-Pelham, the second Baron Yarborough, founder of the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes. The monument was originally erected in 1849 on the highest point on Bembridge Down but moved to this location in the 1860s when Bembridge Fort was built.

I pass by the Culver Haven Inn at the end of the down and then continue on my way, walking across the southern tip of Bembridge Down where I can spy Bembridge Fort on the summit.

I wander along the top of Red Cliff and have lovely views over Sandown and Shanklin.

I pass the village of Yaverland where I follow the footpath down to Yaverland Beach. And what a lovely beach! The golden sand stretches back all the way to the chalk cliffs of Culver Down and behind me the orange sandstone cliffs gradually increase in height as they gradually move to white chalk.

I amble happily along the golden sands towards Sandown climbing over or walking through the groynes.

The groynes become too high to clamber over so I walk up steps to the sea wall and walk along the coast path towards Sandown where I pass the Isle of Wight Zoo. My sister says it's rubbish!

I drop down to the beach again at Sandown and amble along the golden sands towards the pier wending my way up and down the groynes. I rather like Sandown Beach!

Unexpectedly, the weather closes in and it starts to rain.

Sandown Pier is rather shabby looking today - there's nothing wrong with that! - but when it was built in 1876 it must have been a graceful structure. I wander around the amusement arcade here for a bit, avoiding the rain.

I head past the pier. Bizarrely the official coast path climbs steeply back up onto the cliffs and heads through Ferncliff Gardens before following a concrete path along the tops of the cliffs all the way to Shanklin.

However, it looks like I can walk all the way along the revetment from Sandown to Shanklin. The weather is properly manky as I trudge along the concrete. The groynes are rather high at Shanklin Beach so I stick to the seawall where I come across some dreaded japanese knotweed. The weather suddenly improves again.

I pass some kind of dinosaur park but have absolutely no idea what it's called and a quick internet search doesn't reveal any details.

I climb up the road and head along East Cliff Promenade where I pass Shanklin Lift which takes visitors down onto the beach from the cliffs. The lift has recently been refurbished.

I pass the Chine Inn and then Shanklin Chine, opened to the public in 1817.

The coastal path signs dry up and the path is very confusing but a helpful man at the pub points me in the right direction. I climb down steps, pass Fisherman's Cottage and head along the beach for a bit before climbing up Appley Steps.

I walk along the road heading towards Luccombe Village where I pass Luccombe Hall and Bourne Hall. I follow a coastal path sign over a stile and slither through a disgusting swampy area which I could have avoided by just following the road. Mud almost comes over the top of my boots.

I walk through woodland at The Landslip, presumably named because the coast here is rather prone to erosion and landslides.

I trudge along the muddy paths before passing a wishing seat and coming across St Boniface Church above the village of Bonchurch, rebuilt in 1070.

It starts to rain again as i reach the sea wall at Bonchurch and it has become very blustery. I wasn't expecting this! It is a soggy walk along the seawall to Wheelers Bay. I pass Bonchurch Pottery and then come across some mosaics of glanville fritillary butterflies. This is one of the few locations in the UK where they exist. My butterfly guide says that it only occurs in a few locations on the Isle of Wight.

I come across the start of Stokey's Solar System Walk, a walk marked out on the scale of 1 inch to 100,000 miles.

I start the walk at the sun and pass signs for all of the planets before reaching Pluto. Stokey Woodall clearly has a much bigger stride than me!

The coast path continues along the seawall to reach Ventnor where I pass The Millbay and a rather sorry looking amusement arcade. I pass the Esplanade Clock, erected in 1870, to give the time, even on cloudy days. Unfortunately, it's telling the wrong time!

I pass the Spyglass Inn and the weather is starting to improve again so I have a last view back over Ventnor.

The coastal path signs have run out again. Do I head up the road through Ventnor. I've no idea. I head through a car park and luckily regain the coast path.

I pass a sign for a dinosaur labyrinth. The labyrinth is the full size and shape of a diplodocus.

I head along the low cliff path and pass Flowers Brook, fed by two springs which flow from the downs above.

I walk along the sea defences at Castle Cove before reaching Steephill Cove and I climb steeply up a path behind the cove before climbing steps.

The coast path takes me past Ventnor Botanic Garden, sheltered by The Undercliff and basking in a warm and sunny microclimate.

I head along the cliffs where a fiddly path makes my walking pole strapped to my bag constantly catch the vegetation. I'm forced inland to reach the village of St Lawrence where I walk along Woolverton Road, Undercliffs, Spindlers Road and then Seven Sisters Road and then ascend steeply up High Hat where I have spectacular views back across St Lawrence.

The weather deteriorates and it is now extremely blustery and chucking it down. I follow the V71 and NT29 footpaths towards the village of Niton.

I continue along the low cliffs and emerge onto the A3055 which I follow sharply right and then head off of the road immediately left up a track. I now have lovely views over St Catherine's Point, the southernmost tip of the island, with its resident lighthouse.

I can now see the chalk cliffs of High Down and should have lovely views over the south west coast and over Blackgang Chine but the weather is filthy.

I lose coastal path signs again and follow probably the wrong path down to the car park at Blackgang Chine. Due to many landslips Blackgang Chine no longer exists but it is now the home of the UK's oldest amusement park.

I follow the car park up to the A3055 and walk along the road before a footpath takes me to my destination for the day, the oddly placed car park at Chale, where my lift awaits.

The weather has been all over the place today but it has been a thoroughly enjoyable walk. I have conquered the entire coast of the Isle of Wight!

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

oaks
oystercatchers
a little egret
red valerian
swans
fennel
housemartins
hips and haws
sloes
blackberries
clover
peregrines
sea aster
hydrangeas
red hot pokers
japanese knotweed
red admirals
rosebay willowherb
japanese anemones
cyclamen

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 21.1 miles today which amounts to 48824 steps. That's a long way again. Despite some passages of filthy weather 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 for a third consecutive day. More than previous days but still not very taxing.

MAP

yarmouth to chale

September 17, 2017 by Mark Seymour in isle of wight coast path

ISLE OF WIGHT COAST PATH

tuesday, 12TH SEPTEMBER 2017

It looks like I might be in for quite a nice day today. It's not going to break temperature records but it should be bright and sunny all day.

Yarmouth low tide 08:49

Yarmouth high tide 15:26

I start the day back in Yarmouth next to Yarmouth Pier, built in 1876 to allow ferries from Lymington to dock.

I head in a westerly direction and head behind Yarmouth Castle, the last addition to Henry VIII's coastal defences and completed after his death in 1547.

I round the harbour passing the lifeboat and a gribble seat.

The gribble seat was created in 2008 as part of the project to save Yarmouth Pier. In 2008, 54 of the wooden piles along the length of the pier were replaced after they had been eaten away by gribble.

I cross the swing bridge over the Western Yar and then head out along a footpath next to the sea. At the end of the sea wall I head through some woodland and then head along a track through Fort Victoria Country Park, passing inland of Fort Victoria.

The fort was built to guard the Solent from French invasion and now houses the Underwater Archaeology Centre, a planetarium and a model railway.

I climb some steps and now have lovely views over to Hurst Castle, the closest point on the mainland, about three quarters of a mile away.

I continue along the path and have lovely, if brief, views over Colwell Bay and Totland Bay and I can see the Tennyson Monument on the top of Tennyson Down on the other side of the island. I can also make out the Needles, consisting of three distinct chalk stacks.

I reach the entrance to Linstone Chine Holiday Village but am routed around it for some reason. I come across butterflies fluttering in the wind including a wall brown butterfly and a speckled wood.

I then walk through Brambles Chine Holiday Park which looks thoroughly grim.

I've barely seen the sea since leaving Yarmouth so I am now desperate for a bit of coast. I head down to the shoreline, hoping that the tide is out so I can walk along the beach. It is! The bit of concrete leading to the beach is slippery and I make a graceless entrance to the beach sliding down on my arse. I can now clearly see the Needles in the distance.

I walk along the beach, clambering over the groynes headed for the colourful beach huts on Colwell Bay.

I can look back to Fort Albert which I mistakingly call Fort Victoria in the podcast.

I head inland slightly at a bit of wrecked seawall before heading along the sea wall towards ramshackle Totland Pier.

The pier has fallen into disrepair in recent years and my notes say that it is finally being refurbished. My notes are wrong! It looks like a gust of wind could take the whole pier into the sea.

It's rather lovely around here. I pass the Totland Pier Cafe and The Waterfront. I pass the old lifeboat station which was in use between 1885 and 1924.

I continue along the sea wall and climb some steps up to the road which climbs uphill steeply and head along a footpath at Headon Warren before climbing onto the top of Headon Warren where I have magnificent views.

I head off of the ridge and head towards Alum Bay where I reach the entrance to Needles Park. I'd take the chairlift down to the beach but my head for heights is rubbish.

I walk through the theme park and head back up onto the cliffs where I have a lovely view over Alum Bay.

I head along White Cliffs towards the Needles and Old Battery, completed in 1863. I now have magnificent views over Scratchell's Bay.

I pass next to New Battery, completed in 1895 to replace the crumbling Old Battery, and latterly used as a site for testing intercontinental ballistic missiles and then space rockets.

I now have the best view of the needles I'm going to get.

I retrace my steps and it's time to change direction and I start walking in an easterly direction along the ridge of West High Down. It is a pleasant but uneventful walk towards Freshwater Bay.

I continue along Tennyson Down where I come across a half size replica of the ancient navigation sea mark known as the Nodes Beacon which used to stand where the Tennyson Monument now stands..

I climb up Tennyson Down and the views back over West High Down are magnificent.

I pass by the Tennyson Monument, a granite cross erected in 1897 in the memory of Alfred, Lord Tennyson and then head along the ridge of Tennyson Down above the chalk cliffs and pass inland of Fort Redoubt, another fort built to defend against the French.

I continue along Tennyson Down and have lovely views over Freshwater Bay.

I pass a man strimming grass and then a party of school children. I head along the sea wall and then climb steps out of Freshwater Bay.

I now have magnificent views back over Freshwater Bay and the white cliffs.

I come across a memorial to a dead child. There's no name but the initials E.L.M. and the age 15.

“Erected in remembrance of a most dear and only child who was suddenly removed into eternity by a fall from the adjacent cliff on the rocks beneath 28 August 1846.

Reader prepare to meet thy God for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

I head along the low cliffs below the busy A3055 and head behind Compton Down where I have magnificent views over Compton Bay.

I pass through a car park at Shippards Chine. It's rather eroded here and some of the parking spaces seem to have been lost to the sea.

I could climb down some steps here to reach the shoreline which is one of the best beaches to spot dinosaur fossils at low tide but it's getting on and I've still got a bit of walking to do.

I continue along the low cliffs which are now made of clay and rather fragile and head along Brook Bay. I reach the car park at Brook Chine and then head out along Roughland Cliff.

I skirt around Chilton Chine and come across a herd of very friendly cows.

I then come across the Isle of Wight Pearl, dedicated to the art of pearl jewellery.

I walk through a rather faded holiday park and then the wildlife and fauna conservation area at Grange Farm. There are bird boxes, bee boxes and bug houses dotted around the farm.

I now negotiate a series of chines, starting with Grange Chine and followed by Barnes Chine, Cowleaze Chine and Shepherd's Chine. The cliffs are crumbling away and the sea is coloured the same brown as the cliffs.

I head towards Whale Chine, the largest of the chines I've come across. There's a set of steps down to the beach but they are off limits as the chine is closed due to erosion.

I have to round this chine and at its head pass through the car park next to the busy Military Road (A3055). This road was built in the 1930s, following the coastline from Chale to Freshwater Bay and is under constant threat from erosion.

I head back along the other side of Whale Chine to reach the coast again and head towards my destination for the day, the village of Chale. I pass the Wight Mouse Inn followed by the St Andrew's Church and the village school and then the other side of the pub to reach an oddly placed car park where my lift awaits.

It has been a spectacular day of walking.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

red admirals
marestail
oaks
hips
honeysuckle
fuchsias
pheasants
wall brown butterflies
speckled wood butterflies
comma butterflies
buddleia
ragwort
heather
rosebay willowherb

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 21.8 miles today which amounts to 48097 steps. That's quite a long way for me. It has been cold and blustery but the walking has been fantastic and I've actually walked along quite a bit of coastline today. Ten out of ten!

My total ascent today has been, err, I don't know as my Ordnance Survey app has failed me for a second day running. It hasn't been much though.

MAP