Journal:
I didn't
sleep too badly on what was a cold night. I
didn't want to get up when the time came, it was so
cosy in my sleeping bag. However, I was
sleeping in the clothes I had hiked in yesterday and
would today, so it paid not to sniff the air too
carefully. Generally, I have been rinsing out
socks, jocks and T-shirts each night when I shower
and putting them back on each morning, dry or not,
but it's getting time to do some proper laundry,
including for my sleeping bag inner.
I started walking about 7:45am, mostly downhill,
some of it steep, on a road towards Widemouth Bay.
The surgery I had done last night on the deep
blister under the ball of my right foot, seemed to
have done the job and it was less painful than
yesterday. Nevertheless, there's nothing like
walking steeply downhill on a hard road to quickly
brings back all of the foot pain, and I could tell
it would be a long day. Looking at the map, I
had decided to make for the Youth Hostel at Elmscott,
which was a little off the Coast Path, having called
my preferred hotel right on the Path the previous
evening and found it booked out. The distance
to the Hostel was a little shorter and I thought I
might appreciate those fewer kilometres.
Widemouth Bay wasn't too inviting. The sand on
the beaches is now tending to grey in colour and the
water is no longer the clear blues and greens of a
few days ago. More opaque and, more greys and
browns. Reminds me of the North Sea around
Clacton from the days when I lived near there.
I walked along the beach reviewing the accommodation
options I would have had if I had continued walking
last night and decided I had made a wise choice,
though the pangs of hunger were now becoming
significant. Bude didn't seem that much
further from what I could see from last night's
hilltop, but it seemed to take forever to get there.
The weather was grey, windy and cold, but there were
large squads of life-jacket-wearing kids heading off
with paddles from a huge outdoor centre, presumably
for some kind of aquatic activity.
I eventually found the centre of town and ordered
omelette and chips and a large coffee from a cafe
there, while I checked my email. The food (and
coffee) perked me up and I headed out of town around
11am, stopping off at a Sainsbury supermarket on the
way out to get a few sandwiches, a swag of Snickers
Bars, and some Diet Coke. From Bude, the Coast
Path was pleasant going at first, gradually
following the cliff-tops higher and higher, with the
walking often on short grass. My favourite
kind of walking. However, the guide book had
warned this would be a hard day and the climbs and
descents became more demanding and unrelenting.
My feet were sore and my legs stiff and tired.
I finally gave in and unhooked my trekking poles for
the first time (although I have been using them as
tent poles). They did seem to make the
climbing and descending easier, but probably not any
faster. I was feeling and moving like an old
man (yes, I know!). Having been on the trail
for a week, I was expecting the aches and pains to
be diminishing, but that hasn't happened yet.
The weather became sunny in the afternoon and, as
usual, the views were spectacular. There were
fewer hikers on the Path and a lot of the time I had
the place to myself. The geology seems
different to further west with the eroded cliffs and
rocks almost knife-like giving some very jagged
sculptures. Even in my sore and exhausted
state, I could still appreciate the scenery and
really loved those occasional grassy cliff-top
meadows.
With a few kilometres
to go, I left the cliff-top and followed a very
minor road inland to the Youth Hostel. Didn't
see one car on the way. The hostel is an old
school with a very friendly couple as temporary
volunteer caretakers. Apparently the Hostel
doesn't pay its way and can only survive on
volunteers. There are two other travellers
here including a friendly Swiss primary school
teacher, Beat, on his long-service leave. We had a
nice conversation over dinner. I also managed
to get a load of washing done and hope it's dry by
the morning.
