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9 a.m. Just setting off for the day. I bivi-ed next to the entrance of an air raid shelter that now has huge trees growing on it.1.jpg)
UPDATE: They are not air raid shelters, but radar stations built between 1935 and 1941 and called Chain Home, they provided an effective early warning system, and were also used during the cold war.
Thursday 31 July 2008
31/07/08 a.m.
30/07/08 p.m.
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6 p.m. Just dipping my feet in the sea on the shingle beach just before Osmington Mills. I lived in Ringstead Bay which is the next one along when I was 16, so this is home turf. I have had a lovely day in the company of a nurse, Saskia, who I met at the hostel last night. She works in Redhill near where I used to live.
Next year Saskia is going to cycle around Jordan for charity :)1.jpg)
I was worried about this young calf I saw alone in a field mooing to his mum who was a couple of fields away mooing back. I think the farmer may have moved the herd without realising she had calved as none of the others had calves. They either belong to East Farm or East Farm Dairy.
7.30 p.m. Having dinner and a pint of badger in the Smuggler's 13th century inn in Osmington Mills.
8.30 p.m. Bivi-ing in an old lookout shelter.
Wednesday 30 July 2008
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29th July 2008
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Alarm went off at 6am, but only started walking just gone 7..jpg)
Funny sign that read "Walker information: danger - fast horses!" There was a sand gallop track for race horses next to the footpath..jpg)
9.28am got drenched in a massive downpour. Had to wring out my socks :(
2pm - arrived at Weymouth and went for lunch.
Tuesday 29 July 2008
28th July
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Woops, overslept! Woke up at 8am - packed up and headed for Abbotsbury. With only a week left to walk I now have a schedule to try and keep, so I can end up in Poole on Saturday.
10.50 - waiting outside for the pub to open at Seatown. It is 32 degrees and I am going to wait until it cools down later to walk more..jpg)
Old fashioned corn harvesting for thatching..jpg)
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Looking back at Golden Cap, 191 metres.
Only spent 2 hours in the pub for lunch and a lager shandy. 3.15pm on Burton beach having a Pepsi and a snack. The sun is blaring and I am melting. It should be flatter walking from now on.
Bivi'd on beach about 2 miles outside Abbotsbury.
Monday 28 July 2008
Weekend Update
Spent Friday afternoon and Saturday in Beer, as my legs just wouldn't go any further. The Anchor Inn has a beautiful beer garden overlooking the bay :).jpg)
Notice that the cliffs are chalk rather than red sandstone. The rest of the Coast Path to Studland is a world heritage site..jpg)
Sunday walked from Beer to just before Charmouth. This is 3.5 miles before Lyme Regis, walking though the pretty and shaded woodland paths of undercliffs national nature reserve..jpg)
This is the Cobb near Lyme Regis.
Bivi'd Sunday night in Fern Hill Wood near the busy main road to Charmouth, which is a SWCP diversion as the footpath nearer the coast is closed with landslide problems.
Friday 25 July 2008
24th July p.m.
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Red sandstone cliffs at Exmouth.jpg)
4.30pm Budleigh Salterton beach where I had an ice cream and hot chocolate..jpg)
Bird watching from a hide on the River Otter using binoculars that Joyce gave me :)
Spent the evening watching a heron (and some cricketers), and the night sleeping in a bird hide.
Thursday 24 July 2008
24th July a.m.
My legs ache a lot even though I took drugs this morning. The good thing is I bought my missing map (for today and tomorrow's leg of the trip) , toothpaste and suncream in Teignmouth..jpg)
Joyce (who kindly put me up last night) walked along the sea wall with me in Teignmouth until Smugglers Lane which was lovely. We did get wet though from the spray as it was nearly high tide and the sea was rough because of the wind.
Starcross
Arrived in Starcross at 12.10. The ferry goes at 1pm to Exmouth. It is very windy and the sea is rough :( Other ferries have cancelled that run from Dawlish.
Wednesday 23 July 2008
Teignmouth
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View of Teignmouth.
Caught ferry across the river and arrived just after 5pm. Will find a pub to eat before heading to my accommodation. Glad to be here - it was a hard slog, and the second Badger may have been a mistake..jpg)
This is a freaky bird in the woods at Shaldon.
Hiding from the sun
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The mist has burnt off, so now it is boiling hot. 2.40pm in pub in Maidencombe drinking half a Badger.
Breakfast at Torquay
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Spent half an hour this morning wandering around lost in the mist, but finally found the path. Stopped for breakfast in a misty Torquay harbour at 9.45.
Brixham
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Berry Head lighthouse near Brixham..jpg)
Ate a pasty and chips by the quay - very pretty. Had to cross a golf course, but there were still people playing, so I slept in a copse on the other side..jpg)
There are some sick individuals around here! Do they BBQ the ones that don't make it?
Tuesday 22 July 2008
Too hot again!
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12.30pm too hot walk so rested up and read my book under an old pine tree overlooking Pudcombe Cove. 3pm finished book, so started walking again.
Tuesday 22nd July
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Another hot day. Started walking from Little Dartmouth at 9.15am. Caught ferry across the river Dart. Nearly noon and admiring the view.
Monday 21 July 2008
Too hot to walk
Chilling on the beach at the moment, as it's too hot to walk. Bliss :).jpg)
It is supposed to be 29 degrees on Friday according to a chap I met who is walking and bivi-ing.
[Adam says]
Confirmed with the met office - the rest of the week is 26 degrees until Friday when it rises to 29.
Monday 21st July
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My cabin for the night.jpg)
Looking back at Bolt Head. Left Salcombe at 8.30 on another scorching hot summer's day. I love Monday mornings!.jpg)
Another bunker: this one is used as an animal shelter. Just past Prawle Point..jpg)
At last I have a pic of an adder seen on the path at 11.38am..jpg)
It's definitely an adder. I was on the ball and quick to throw down pack and photograph this one :)
At 12.20 I stopped for lunch and watched seals playing amongst the rocks just before Start Point. One was lazing on a rock, but was too difficult to photograph.
At 2pm I stopped for a half an Otter in the Cricket Inn in Beesands where I ran a half marathon along the Coast Path in February 2007.
Weekend Update
Was thinking about not taking my pack with me as I'm staying on Mike's yacht for a few nights, but I was a bit worried as I walk funny without it, like I'm floating on air. I decided that it would be cheating to walk without it, so I'm walking with a full pack..jpg)
Left Mount Batten at 10.15am..jpg)
This is the view across to Plymouth..jpg)
Caught the ferry across River Yealm and Mike picked me up by River Erme (pictured) as you have to wade across when it is low tide (which I missed)..jpg)
This is a gorse graveyard. I presume it was a controlled burn in winter to stop the gorse taking over the cliff tops..jpg)
Sunday started the walk to Salcombe at 9am. It's quite hilly as you can see from the picture, but it's a lovely summer's day. Ferries across the river Avon don't run on Sundays, and fording it is advised against as currents are strong. Called Mike who drove me around saving me a 9 mile detour. What a life saver!.jpg)
Looking back on Hope Cove at 1.40pm. 8 miles left to Salcombe..jpg)
And this is Starhole Cove, near Salcombe..jpg)
All aboard! Arrived at South Sands at 4pm and got picked up in the rib.
Saturday 19 July 2008
Nearly done
Friday 18 July 2008
17th July
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Looking back at Gribbin Daymark Tower where I spent the night listening to the bells attached to a buoy at the head..jpg)
Snake! 12.24pm, nearly trod on a little bright brown snake sunning itself on the path just past Lansollos Cove. I was too slow to take a photo, but it wasn't an adder and was the colour of dried fern (see picture).
I met a really neat guy in the Blue Peter Inn in Polperra, where I had lunch, who walked the whole Cornish coast for a local hospice. He finished last month. They had a pet caterpiller like my beetle!
Thursday 17 July 2008
Bad day in Barnstable
[Adam Says]
What? Has she gone backwards?
This is a bad day in Barnstable. It was too big to message, so I picked it up by Bluetooth when I saw Lara at the weekend.
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Wednesday 16 July 2008
Charlestown
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Had lunch and a half of Betty Stog's in Charlestown, St Austell. Very hot and sunny so will swim and wash my hair, then chill out on the beach for a while.
Tuesday 15 July 2008
Gorran Haven
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3pm at Gorran Haven. I will find a pub and rest up for a while, as I've done 16.5 miles today. I hope to bivi along the coast later.
Bivi-ing difficulties
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My first attempt at bivi-ing last night ended in disaster when a herd of cows with very young calves and a bull decided to evict me.
The next section had Shetland Ponies so I took my chances and bivi-ed under a tree they obviously use as a shelter. At 2.30am I head the clip clop of little hooves and had to frighten them off 5 times before they gave up and left me in peace.
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