South West Coast Path Day 3.
Distance today: 25.7 miles.
Total distance: 1135.1 miles.
Accommodation: with friends.
My first task of the day was to struggle to take a photo of the impressively tall Verity statue down at entrance to the harbour. Given that it featured a pregnant woman with part of her body anatomically exposed, I imagined it had caused some controversy when it was first erected. I wasn’t surprised to learn that it was the work of Damien Hirst. And guess what trivia fans? It was made in Stroud. I imagine the Landmark Theatre also had its fair share of naysayers. It had a little bit of an unforgiving cooling tower aesthetic, but I liked it.
The coast between Ilfracombe and Mortehoe was particularly beautiful with long sweeping views and a classic palate of greens and golds set against the silvery grey of the jagged cliff faces. I’m not exactly sure what happened when I reached Mortehoe because I think the SWCP is meant to stick close to the coast but the waymarkers took me on a completely pointless inland detour (in my humble opinion) before returning to the coast again. Next stop, the fantastic expanse of sandy beach that is Woolacombe. It was here that I had arranged to meet my mate Steve. He and Helen lived in Braunton and so this was just one of their local beaches. It’s very easy to understand the move down from Bristol now. Steve had suggested we meet at the Porthole café which was in a lovely spot halfway along the beach. And the food was good too. Steve treated me to one of their salad boxes which contained 3 different salads. After a mixed diet of, quite frankly, a lot of rubbish food over the last 8 weeks, there was something nourishing about tucking into a healthy meal for a change. Steve and accompanying dog (whippet?) were up for a walk so we followed the coast around to Baggy Point and then on to Croyde. It was really good to catch up, not to mention have my own personal local guide, armed with a random selection of facts and figures. Once we reached Croyde, Steve headed back to pick up his car and I carried on, via a very circuitous route, to Braunton. Needless to say, being a completist came at a cost. By trying to stick to the SWCP, I think I added an extra 5 miles.
My reward for a long day’s walk was a bed, shower, laundry service, delicious dal, and a lovely evening chatting with Steve and Helen over a couple of beers. Having polished off one substantial portion of dal, I uncharacteristically found it very easy to forgo all politeness and dived straight in when asked if I would like any more. Fuel! Give me fuel! Another good day.
