harlyn to mawgan porth

September 14, 2019 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

south west coast path

tuesday, 10th september 2019

After a filthy day yesterday of squally showers the weather forecast for today looks much better and I should have sun all day long with a light northerly wind.

Padstow low tide 10:16

Padstow high tide 16:13

I start the day in the car park at Harlyn but quickly descend to the beach which is quiet with just a few dog walkers. It is a lovely morning and long may the good weather continue.

I amble along the beach enjoying the early morning sun and say ‘hello’ to all of the friendly dogs and to some of the, orginally, not so friendly dogs!

As you walk along the beach it doesn't look obvious that there's an exit off the beach at the far end, but there is one near to a stone house. There is also another exit a bit further along using a slipway but this one is eaten up by the tide today.

I head in behind some rocks and climb out of Harlyn Bay. I take one last look back over the beach and then climb gently up onto Cataclews Point.

I amble along the gentle cliffs enjoying the late season wild flowers.

The coast path continues along the cliffs around Mother Ivey's Bay and I have a lovely views across to the lifeboat station, clinging to the bottom of the cliffs.

I climb down onto the fine, sandy beach using a steep beach access road. It's surprisingly quiet so I do some exploration before climbing back onto the cliffs.

The path heads inland before reaching the access road to the lifeboat station. The coast path continues through fields towards Trevose Head where I have one last view over Mother Ivey’s Bay. I continue to enjoy the late flowering wild flowers.

I come across another hummingbird hawk-moth but it proves to be very flighty and rather difficult to photograph. All I get is a ghostly image of this day flying moth.

I then come across a painted lady feeding on the valerian.

I round Trevose head, passing behind the lighthouse here.

I complete the traversal of Trevose Head by passing the tumulus on Dinas Head.

Somebody has succumbed to their ancestral instincts here and has laid out stones in patterns. One of them reads :-

“Happy 70th Anda”

I’ve no idea who Anda is and the last ‘a’ looks more like an ‘a’ than a ‘y’. It can’t be the South Korean pop singer who debuted in 2012 as she is only 28!

I now have magnificent views across Constantine Bay, one of my favourite places on the coast path.

I pass a group of people filming but there’s not much indication of what they are filming except that one person has got ‘chaperone’ emblazoned across their back so it must be something to do with children.

I amble down the slopes to reach Booby's Bay (snigger!!). I’ve hit the beaches here at just after low tide so there’s plenty of sand on display today. A short walk along the path takes me down on to Constantine Bay, one of the best surfing beaches in Cornwall. There aren’t many surfers out on the waves today (it’s probably too early) but should you wish to join them, you can get supplies from the Constantine Bay Surf Store (@Constantinesurf) in the village behind the beach.

I drop down onto the sand at Constantine Bay and then retrace my steps onto Booby’s Bay. It is now a beautiful day and surprising warm.

I continue my walk along this beautiful, sandy beach before reluctantly coming ashore at a slipway.

I take one last, admiring glance back over Constantine Bay and then follow a narrow road and track towards Treyarnon Point. I round Treyarnon Point and descend down to Treyarnon Bay, yet another sandy beach, passing the youth hostel and cafe.

I wander down the sandy beach to the sea before retracing my steps and climb out of the bay. There used to be a pink ice cream caravan, home to Rosie's Ice Cream, but it seems to have been forced to close. It has been replaced by Melt.

A grassy path rounds several headlands and coves and, dare I say it, the path almost takes on a rugged nature. Out at sea can be found the Minnows Islands.

The coast path suddenly reveals Porthcothan Bay and I climb down the scrubby slopes and head out onto the sandy beach.

Porthcothan is a fine, sandy beach and another of my favourite places. I amble slowly down to the sea and then retrace my steps.

I head through the dune system and pass the Porthcothan Bay Stores, a small store with a big heart!

I take the path between houses and the low cliff edge and admire the wild flowers clinging to the cliffs.

I have some last views over Porthcothan before it is time to make my way to Mawgan Porth.

I pass by Porthcothan Golden which, because of the low tide, is actually joined to Porthcothan today.

I come across a small copper butterfly and manage to take some photographs before wandering round the headland and admire the views out over the stacks that make up Trescore Islands.

I come across Porth Mear, a shingly and stoney beach in stark contrast to the usual golden, sandy beaches around here and it's full of rockpools waiting to be explored.

At Porth Mear I cross a footbridge and head out onto Park Head and then pass a series of crumbling headlands and coves. I now have my first views over Bedruthan Steps.

I amble along the cliffs admiring the rugged granite outcrops from above. First up is Diggory's Island, then Queen Bess Rock, Samaritan Island, Redcove Island, Pendarves Island and Carnewas Island. The stacks were put here by a giant called Bedruthan and used as stepping stones. What a load of old nonsense! They could just have been formed by natural wave erosion!!

Somebody has carved ‘FACIST’ into the beach below! It won’t last long now with the tide rapidly coming in.

I begin the long descent down to Bedruthan Steps Beach, not a descent for the faint hearted. There are an awful lot of steep steps down - a sign tells me there are 120 but I count over 130 - to the beach here and the tide is coming in so there’s not much beach left. At least I managed to get here for the first time in a while. I can now admire the sea stacks from up close.

I climb wearily back up the concrete steps and then climb more steps up the cliff where a National Trust information centre and cafe at Carnewas can be found. I have some final views back over Bedruthan Steps.

It is properly warm now so I head to the National Trust cafe and grab a blackcurrent and apple pop-up ice lolly and suck on it greedily as I head back to the coast path.

Carnewas was a hive of industrial activity in the 19th century although not much is known of the mining that took place there. It is supposed that miners tunnelled into the cliffs from the beach in search of iron, copper and lead. Mining stopped many years ago, but the buildings are a reminder of this industry. The National Trust shop was once the count house or mine office and the café was also converted from mine buildings.

Carnewas at Bedruthan has been recognised as a Dark Skies Discovery Site and has gained a Milky Way Plus Events class, meaning that the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye.

I head off around Trenance Point where I have magnificent views over Mawgan Porth.

I drop down to the beach at Mawgan Porth, which, once again, is golden and sandy. I walk along the beach before heading back towards the village and the car park where my lift awaits.

Besides the beach here can be found the Merrymoor Inn (@Merrymoor), which once again has fantastic views for thirsty walkers.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

mussels
sea thrift
wild carrot
sea bindweed
ragwort
robins
dunnocks
wall brown butterflies
small copper butterflies
jackdaws
wheatears
oystercatchers
blue tits
small tortoiseshell butterflies
mesembryanthemum
yarrow
red valerian
common toadflax
common mallow
ribwort plantain
daisy
hummingbird hawk-moth
bugloss
blackberries
painted lady
creeping broomrape
heather
bladder campion
crocosmia
sea aster
larged-flowered evening-primrose
herb robert
red campion
hedge woundwort
fleabane
knapweed
watermint
purple loosestrife
hemp agrimony
peregrine (could have been a hobby - I have no idea)

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 30938 steps and is a bit further than I was expecting. The walking has been magnificent today and the weather surprisingly good. Much warmer than my weather app is telling me it would be but also much more blustery. Ten out of ten!

The total ascent today has been 303 feet or 92 metres.

map

polzeath to harlyn

September 14, 2019 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

south west coast path

sunday, 8th september 2019

It looks like it’s going to be a lovely day today. Not particularly warm but I should get a lot of sun and there’s barely any wind.

Padstow low tide 07:38

Padstow high tide 13:44

I start the day at our holiday cottage on a golf course and amble down the golf course towards Polzeath. It is a beautiful morning. I admire the late wild flowers as I approach Polzeath.

As I approach Polzeath I pass the Whitewater Gallery, Cone Zone, Ann’s Cottage Surf Shops Cornwall, Paradise Pizza, The Sandbar, Waterfront Bar and Grill and Beach Box Cafe.

I head out onto Polzeath Beach. It’s still early so the beach is pretty quiet but surfers are making their way out to the waves.

I head along the path above Broadagogue Cove and Greenaway Beach and gently descend towards Daymer Bay.

I head out onto the beach at Fishing Cove Field, inhabited by dog walkers, and amble slowly along the sand. St Enodoc Church can be found just inland here but I continue along the beach. Normally I’d be able to walk straight across to Daymer Bay but the tide is too far in so I take to the grassy slopes of Brea Hill and head through the dune system.

I amble through the dunes until I find a safe exit point onto the beach and then it is a pleasant stroll along the sand of Daymer Bay heading towards Rock.

I reach the ferry slipway at Rock and wait for the ferry to cross over from Padstow.

I catch the ferry across to Padstow which costs me £4 for a return ticket.

The ferry pulls into the harbour in Padstow and I alight the ferry and amble into Padstow for a bit of exploring

It’s still early so Padstow is fairly quiet but I expect it will be heaving later.

I wander around the harbour passing the The Shipwrights (@theshipwrights), The Harbour Inn and The Old Custom House (@ochpadstow)

I retrace my steps and then climb steadily out of Padstow, walk through a gate and then follow grassy slopes up to the granite war memorial overlooking Daymer Bay and the Camel estuary. The clouds are gathering quite ominously but I don’t they’ll threaten me today.

The war memorial always signals the end of any crowds (not that there were any) and I should just have dog walkers, runners and surfers for company for the rest of today.

There’s a plaque next to the war memorial which I haven’t seen before to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War.

“They shall grow not old,
as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them.”

— For the Fallen, Laurence Binyon

I amble along the coast path and fall into conversation with an Australian who is walking the south west coast path in its entirety. He is on day 11 of his walk and is hoping to complete the walk in 38 days.

I reach Harbour Cove and the coast path meanders behind the beach but the sand is far too enticing so I head out across the beach instead. I have the whole beach to myself except for a few dog walkers. Out at the mouth of the estuary can usually be seen The Doom Bar, named after a rather tasty beer from Sharp's Brewery! It's covered in water today. The ominous clouds are still behind me but ahead are blue skies.

At Hawker's Cove I come across a small group of buildings and head along a road before passing between two rows of cottages. The Padstow lifeboat was stationed here until 1967, before being relocated to Mother Ivey's Bay due to river silting. I spot someone fishing from the lifeboat station slipway.

I continue to amble along the coast path enjoying the wild flowers.

I head towards Stepper Point and walk below the coastguard station here and then pass a daymark, which served as a navigation beacon for seafarers during daylight hours.

I amble along the cliffs and pass Pepper Hole and Butter Hole and head along the grassy slopes to Gunver Head, passing Fox Hole. A sign tells me that the fields around here are full of corn buntings and skylarks but I don't see any. It's very unusual to go on a coastal walk without hearing skylarks but it's the wrong time of year.

I pass a blow-hole, Round Hole, at Roundhole Point, an 80 feet deep hole in the cliffs formed from a collapsed cave. Somehow, a man managed to fall down it recently. I now have lovely views over Trevone Bay.

I walk down towards the beach car park and then head out on to the beach and enjoy the fine sand. I retrace my steps and head out of Trevone Bay.

The path continues above a rocky beach towards Harlyn Bay. I come across sea bindweed, sea thrift, common toadflax, secret beaches and some nutters who are throwing themselves into the sea.

At Harlyn Bay I climb down steps to reach the fine, sandy beach. I amble along the beach for a while before retracing my steps to head towards the car park where my lift awaits.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

red campion
himalayan balsam
red valerian
ragwort
rabbits
buddleia
mullein
hemp agrimony
sunflowers
nasturtiums
roses
hydrangea
agapanthus
fennel
mesembryanthemum
japanese anemones
crocosmia
small copper butterflies
clouded yellow butterflies
blackberries
honeysuckle
swallows
housemartins
knapweed
sea thrift
sea bindweed
betony
common toadflax

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 13.8 miles today which amounts to 28485 steps. It has been a beautiful day of walking. Ten out of ten!

The total ascent today has been a miserly 119 feet or 36 metres.

map

port isaac to polzeath

September 14, 2019 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

saturday, 7TH SEPTEMBER 2019

After yesterday's squally rain it looks like the weather will be much better today. It's not going to be particularly warm but at least it should be dry and the wind has died down a bit.

Port Isaac high tide 12:12

Port Isaac low tide 18:40

I start the day in the car park at the top of Port Isaac. I head down a tarmac path which leads into the village, passing autumnal flowers along the way

Fortunately it's still pretty early so the village isn't heaving yet with Doc Martin fans. I head down the hill towards the harbour, passing all of the touristy shops.

I pass the Golden Lion (@GLportisaac) and the Port Isaac lifeboat station before I have views over the harbour and I head down the slipway onto the beach.

The Port Isaac Shanty Festival starts today and a stage is being set up at the top of the beach. I enjoy the beach for a while before heading uphill out of Port Isaac.

I now have lovely views over the beach and harbour and I enjoy the wild flowers next to the coast path. I spot a hummingbird hawk-moth and for a change manage to photograph it.

I climb up some granite steps before walking around the edge of a field on Lobber Point. I cross a footbridge at Pine Haven.

I climb up a long flight of steps before heading around Varly Head, passing Varley Sand. I’m now above Greengarden Cove and I continue along the coast path around Scarnor Point. I pass above Downgate Cove and walk along the cliffs above Reedy Cliff.

I climb gently down from Kellan Head towards Port Quin.

Port Quin is now a short hop away and I head out onto the rather rocky Port Quin Beach. There used to be a thriving pilchard industry here as well as mining activities but these have both long ago dried up and the teeny village is now owned by the National Trust.

I head out on the beach for a bit. I spot a man sat at the top of the beach wearing wellies, a bright orange jacket and a flat cap. He gets out a bag and then pulls out a load of paintbrushes and starts to paint on some paper.

Hang on a sec! I recognize that man. He’s Kurt Jackson!! Needless to say I leave him to his peaceful painting.

I leave Port Quin via the road before climbing over a stone stile. I cut inland of Doyden Point, passing a truncated gothic tower, Doyden Castle, built in 1827 and now turned into a holiday cottage.

I continue along the coast path passing a couple of mine shafts surrounded by slate fencing posts. These mines are known as Gilson's Cove mine or Doyden Point mine and produced a mixture of silver, lead and antimony and also a bit of copper.

Between the two shafts the coast path runs through the middle of a horse whim that was used to haul materials from the mine.

I climb gently onto Trevan Point and enjoy the wild flowers where I also come across a small copper butterfly. I also spot a red admiral and a small tortoiseshell butterfly but they prove to be too flighty to photograph.

I continue along the coast and come across Epphaven Cove where I can cross a stream over the beach and caves. It’s a bit of a scramble down to the beach but there’s no beach today anyway with the tide so far in.

Between Epphaven Cove and Lundy Hole Beach I come across a painted lady butterfly.

I continue along the coast path to reach Lundy Hole Beach. It’s rather a small beach and entirely covered by the tide except for boulders at the head of the beach. There is a wooden flight of steps which takes you down to the boulders but it’s a bit of a scramble after that to reach any sand.

I climb down the steps to do some recording and then retrace my steps and continue along the coast path to reach the arch at Lundy Hole. There is a legend that as St. Menfre was combing her hair the devil appeared in front of her and was so taken aback he dug Lundy Hole. What a load of old nonsense!

I pass Great Lobb's Rock and then pass by Downhedge Cove, Pengirt Cove and head above Sandinway Beach, passing several disused quarries and enjoying the wild flowers along the way. I also come across a wall brown butterfly and a raggedy speckled wood butterfly.

The large offshore rock behind the eastern headland of The Rumps is known as The Mouls and is a breeding site for puffins, gannets and kittiwakes in summer but they are presumably long gone now.

The path continues towards The Rumps before swinging sharply to the left where I head towards Pentire Point and come across a herd of lazy cows lying on the coast path.

The Rumps were formerly an Iron Age Cliff Castle with excellent defensive capability due to the constricted neck leading out to the twin headlands.

I now change direction and start to have some protection from the cold northerly winds. I can now see across to the infamous Doom Bar sandbank where the River Camel meets the Atlantic Ocean. The sandbank is revered as a formidable nautical challenge that should be approached with respect and navigated with skill. Or so my pint glass tells me!

I now have magnificent views over Hayle Bay towards Polzeath.

I descend towards Pentire Haven but the sand is covered up so I climb back onto the cliffs and head towards Pentireglaze Haven. There’s sand here and I normally walk across this beach straight onto Polzeath Beach but the tide is in too far today.

I head back onto the cliffs and amble along before dropping down to Polzeath Beach where I head straight out onto the beach. It’s rather busy but that’s probably not surprising as it’s a Saturday and the weather is rather good. There are a lot of people out on the surf.

I amble back along the beach heading towards Polzeath village where I pass the Waterfront Bar and Grill (@WaterFront_Polz).

Fortunately I found a public footpath from our holiday cottage down to Polzeath yesterday afternoon otherwise I would have had to traipse along roads back to the cottage.

The footpath takes me out of Polzeath and I have one final round of photographing the wild flowers before heading across The Point golf course and my walking is done for the day.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

white valerian
red valerian
hummingbird hawk-moth
fuchsia
tansy
crocosmia
acanthus
oxeye daisy
buddleia
ragwort
honeysuckle
common toadflax
red campion
sea thrift
ribwort plantain
cows
cormorants
bladder campion
small copper butterfly
red admiral butterfly
small tortoiseshell butterfly
betony
knapweed
painted lady butterfly
blackberries
sloes
herb robert
gorse
cat’s ear
wall brown butterfly
hawthorn
heather
speckled wood butterfly
mullein
himalayan balsam

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 12.3 miles today which amounts to 26879 steps. It has been nice to get back out on the south west coast path after three months away and it has been a lovely day’s walking. Nine out of ten!

My total elevation today is 489 feet or 149 metres.

MAP

two rivers walk

August 12, 2019 by Mark Seymour

clevedon

thursday, 8th august 2019

The weather forecast for today looks to be hot and sunny with light winds. Hooray! It has been blowing a gale the previous few days.

Clevedon high tide 13:19

Clevedon low tide 07:08, 19:29

A new walk has opened up recently on my local patch, taking in the Land Yeo and Blind Yeo rivers and is the walk I’m doing today. You can find more details about the walk at the Land Yeo Friends website.

Coincidently, the proposals have just been released for the opening up of the North Somerset coast from Aust to Brean Down as part of the opening up of the entire England Coast Path. Hopefully, these will come to fruition relatively quickly and give me much more options for walking locally.

I head the short distance from our house through back streets to join the bank of the Blind Yeo close to the M5 motorway.

I amble along next to the river and, although it’s warm, there are signs that autumn is just around the corner with blackberries, hawthorn and rowan berries ripening nicely. It must be time to bake a blackberry and apple bakewell tart. Yum!!

Just before I cross Kenn Road I come across my first two rivers walk marker.

I continue ambling along the bank of the Blind Yeo where starlings are out in some numbers and the yellow water-lilies are flowering.

Just before I reach Lower Strode Road the ducks and black headed gulls usually congregate at this time of year and they recognize me straight away and start flocking towards me so I whip out an old loaf of bread and start feeding them.

Feeding time is over so I cross Lower Strode Road and continue along the river. The grass is left to grow long here and is a perfect spot for butterflies. I come across painted ladies, although not in the millions promised in the news, common blues, small whites, gatekeepers, speckled woods, red admirals and brown argus butterflies.

I amble along the river bank enjoying all of the wild flowers.

I come across a grey heron who used to be very flighty but is becoming more tolerant of me now.

I reach the Blind Yeo Outfall at Clevedon Pill and enjoy the views out to sea.

I turn right and walk along the top of the embankment with fine views out to sea where I pass oceans of ragwort and the memorial benches for Martyn Uzzell and Violet and Seymour Palmer. I pass these benches pretty much everyday except Christmas Day.

I reach the Land Yeo Outfall where I have lovely views over to Flat Holm, Steep Holm and the Welsh coast.

I retrace my steps slightly, turn into Marshalls Field and follow the bank of the Land Yeo on my left.

I cross Southern Way where I come across a marker on a post in the middle of the traffic island.

I continue along the river bank until I reach Strode Road. I turn left over the bridge at Strode Road and cross to the other side of the road and continue along the footpath, turning right immediately after number 70 Strode Road.

I follow the path over the footbridge and into a playing field where I follow the Land Yeo until the path runs out.

I leave the river behind and continue on the footpath along Coleridge Vale Road North. Before reaching Old Church Road I turn right into Coleridge Vale Road East, and then follow a footpath next to the Lidl supermarket.

I turn left and rejoin the river briefly behind Teatro Lounge and the Curzon Cinema.

I cross Great Western Road via the crossing and continue through the B&M Bargain store car park where the river flows below me in a culvert.

I’ve now reached Queens Square which is rather busy as it’s market day.

I amble across the square before crossing Kenn Road again at a crossing and turn left onto a path between the Land Yeo river and the Conservative Club where a sign tells me about the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway.

I follow the path across Parnell Road and along Teignmouth Road where I pass Clevedon DIY.

I turn left into Somerset Road and before the bridge over the river I turn right to rejoin the Land Yeo river.

I follow the river bank passing a moorhen with three fluffy chicks to reach Kingston Avenue and then turn right.

After a short distance I turn left onto the footpath running between numbers 25 and 27 Kingston Avenue.

I continue along Sumerlin Drive to reach the rather busy Northern Way.

I cross the road using the traffic island to my right and then turn left and follow the grass verge to rejoin the river.

I follow the river bank with the Land Yeo on my left, passing clumps of sea bindweed, until I reach Court Lane.

I turn right onto a grass verge and climb over the bridge over the M5.

After the bridge I turn left onto a footpath which zig zags down the embankment.

I pass through a gate into a field full of friendly horses.

I bear left towards a gate near the river bank in the far corner where I negotiate an odd arrangement of an electric fence protected by plastic piping. In all my time walking I’ve never seen this type of arrangement before.

I rejoin the Land Yeo river and turn right at the Yearling Ditch. I follow the Yearling Ditch on my left for a mile, passing Cooks Clyse.

I cross Cooks Lane and go through several gates until I rejoin the Blind Yeo.

I turn right and with the Blind Yeo on my left continue along the bank. There are butterflies fluttering around everywhere, including painted ladies, small whites and gatekeepers.

I reach Manmoor Lane and go through a gate and cross the river over a bridge before continuing along the river bank with the Blind Yeo now on my right.

I come across a herd of cows cooling off in the river.

As I approach the M5 motorway I climb up the bank of the river and head towards a group of conifers where a gate leads me out onto Davis Lane.

I come across a farmer who is having trouble with his herd of cows. He’s trying to divert them into a field but they are not playing ball!

I turn right and follow a grass verge and footpath over the bridge over the top of the motorway.

I turn right down another zig zag path down the embankment and cross the Blind Yeo again on a footbridge next to the motorway

I turn left and follow the river bank with the Blind Yeo on my left to reach the point where I started the walk earlier on this morning.

It has been a thoroughly pleasant walk today in rather nice weather. I’ll return to this walk again in the autumn, winter and spring to see how they compare.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

blackberries
rowan
hawthorn
water lilies
buddleia
roses
hydrangea
starlings
ducks
black headed gulls
painted lady butterflies
common blue butterflies
small white butterflies
gatekeeper butterflies
speckled wood butterflies
red admiral butterflies
brown argus butterflies
grey heron
bistort
moorhens
ragwort
sea bindweed
horses
sheep
cows
swans

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 7.3 miles today which amounts to 14850 steps. Walking in and around Clevedon is a bit limited as we are bounded by the sea, the motorway and boggy moorland so it has been an unexpected surprise to have an extra bit of variety. Nine out of ten!

MAP

minehead to porlock weir

June 15, 2019 by Mark Seymour in south west coast path

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

sunday, 9th june 2019

The weather forecast for the week looks utterly filthy but I might just get a decent break in the bad weather today to complete the walk from Minehead to Porlock Weir. It’s not going to be a very warm day but there shouldn’t be much wind and I might just about be able to avoid any rain.

Minehead high tide 11:45

Minehead low tide 17:32

After a long drive over Exmoor, I start the day at the very start of the South West Coast Path (it could well be the very end of the South West Coast Path if you are walking it in the wrong direction) next to the map sculpture in Minehead.

The sculpture consists of a giant pair of hands holding a map, designed by local art student Sarah Ward and built out of bronze by Owen Cunningham and was installed in February 2001.

In a contest for A-level students, Sarah came up with the idea for a 12ft sculpture in galvanised steel. The sculptor Owen Cunningham, from Belper, Derbyshire, was commissioned to make it by the South West Coast Path Team, part of the Government's Countryside Agency. The sculpture cost £19,000 and Sarah won £100 (woo hoo!), which she put towards a gap-year trip to study a conservation project in Australia.

I leave the sculpture and amble along the promenade where I pass a Christmas tree dumped in a flower bed. It must have been there at least five months and no-one seems to have bothered to have removed it.

At the end of the promenade I pass the teeny harbour.

I cotinue walking below a wooded slope before heading inland slightly to reach Greenaleigh Farm. Here I turn sharply back on myself to the left to climb steeply up through the wooded slope.

I then turn sharply to my right and continue climbing less steeply through woods before leaving the woodland behind to be replaced by gorse, bracken, foxglove and rhododendron coved slopes. The remains of Burgundy Chapel are somewhere just below me.

Burgundy Chapel was a medieval chapel formerly belonging to the Luttrell family of Dunster Castle. Little is known of the chapel's origins, but it has been suggested that it was built in thanksgiving for a Luttrell's safe return from the Burgundian Wars in the 15th century.

I begin to hear a cuckoo calling and hear it intermittently after this for quite some time so maybe there’s more than one about.

I continue climbing up the slopes to reach a bench, signpost and car park at North Hill where I have magnificent, if rather murky, views over the Bristol Channel to South Wales and over Steep Holm and Flat Holm.

I follow the signpost and turn right to Selworthy and Bossington (four miles away). I follow a stony path flanked by gorse and ignore a disintegrating sign marked ‘Rugged Coast Path’.

I pass a group of Exmoor ponies - at least I assume they are Exmoor ponies since I’m on Exmoor - who aren’t bothered about my presence and just continue munching the scrub.

I enter the Holnicote Estate and pass a field bounded by a stone wall covered in foxgloves and full of some of the worst shorn sheep I’ve ever seen.

I go through a series of gates and climb steadily up on to Selworthy Beacon at 950 feet (290 metres). The summit of Selworthy Beacon is just to my left at 1013 feet (308 metres) so I climb up to the trig point (s3944) and cairn marking the summit where I have magnificent views across Porlock Bay.

It must be a pretty windy place usually up on Selworthy Beacon but I hardly have a breath of wind today.

I retrace my steps back to the coast path and turn right to start descending. I take a right hand fork marked for Bossington (2 miles) until I reach the point where the alternative ‘Rugged Coast Path’ rejoins the main path.

I drop steeply through a valley at Hurlstone Combe, full of kids who don’t look too happy to be outdoors, to reach the coast again at Hurlstone Point where I have magnificent views over the shingle embankment at Porlock Ridge.

The ridge was created 8000 years ago but was breached by a violent storm in October 1996, creating a tidal saltmarsh.

I follow the path which passes through a small wooded patch and head towards the River Horner which I cross using a footbridge and head into the rather pretty village of Bossington, mostly owned by the National Trust.

I head out of the village along a road to the right marked for Bossington Beach. The sparrows are chirping away from their vantage point in the guttering of lots of the cottages here. I walk down towards the beach. Although it’s possible to walk along the pebbly beach at low tide I turn inland left along a path and through fields full of acrobatic swallows.

I pass a memorial to the eleven people who lost their lives when an American aircraft crashed into the marsh at Porlock on the 29th of October 1942 while out on a U-boat patrol mission.

I pass a stone barn and a load of dead trees before turning right along a path which leads me out onto the western end of Porlock Ridge and I crunch slowly along the pebbles.

I briefly amble along the road into Porlock Weir where I pass the Ship Inn before walking through the car park to the tiny harbour, built in 1422, where I end my walk.

I have now walked the South West Coast Path in its entirety three times and the podcast produced for this walk will mean that I think I’ve managed to record a podcast for every section of the coast path.

As we leave Porlock Weir in the car it begins to rain and that is followed by torrential rain as we drive over Exmoor. I seem to have finished my walk just in time!

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

housemartins
swallows
echiums
day lillies
salvia
fuchias
goldfinches
rape
comfrey
green alkanet
chiffchaffs
herb robert
foxgloves
rhododendrons
squirrels
cuckoos
deer
skylarks
exmoor ponies
navelwort
sheep
pheasants
sparrows
poppies

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 10.9 miles today which amounts to 23526 steps. Despite an ominous looking forecast for the week I’ve managed to stay dry today and the walking has been lovely. Nine out of ten!

My Ordnance Survey app has failed me today so I don’t know what my total ascent is. My other tracking app has produced this elevation chart which looks about right. Selworthy Beacon is showing as 1018 feet rather than the 1013 feet it should be but I was stood on top of the cairn at some point which may have added an extra 5 feet!