Day 5

August 13^th Depart Braunton

Arrive Westward Ho Accommodation: The Village Inn

Distance 38.3 KM | Cumulative Distance: 132.33 KM | Grade – Moderate

Ascent 580 FT | Cumulative Ascent: 15,248 FT

Woke up around 6.30 am after a glorious sleep! When I climbed into bed my head sank into the two feather down pillows and my body was smothered in a lightweight summer duvet, and I felt contented and happy. It's remarkable the effect that good, kind people have on us, and I was deeply grateful for meeting Sophie and Matthew.

I got up and gathered up my gear and started to pack my bag, and at 7.00 am I went downstairs to start writing my blog. Shortly thereafter I met my hosts lovely young daughter, Esmie, and she is the spitting image of her mother. A little while later I met young Albert, who is 5 years old, (Esmie is 7), and he was quite a character,

Sophie laid on a spectacular breakfast, and she made my breakfast with the minimum of fuss. Every morning I start the day with whole wheat toast, topped with scrambled eggs and smothered in baked beans. There's a ton of protein in this breakfast, and Sophie insisted in topping off the toast with smoked salmon. This simple meal was very tasty, and I felt strong and ready to get rolling.

We had originally planned breakfast for 8-15 and were looking to get away by 9 am, but did not leave until 9 40 which was the latest start to date. Matthew very kindly offered to drive us the 2-3 miles back to where we had been collected the night before by Sophie and we were soon on our way.

Our path started out along the former railway and we soon came upon Chivenor Royal Marines base and 5.5 miles later we had reached Barnstaple. On our way we passed a couple of hikers who when we asked where they were going said "Poole", and it was obvious they were not in the mood for chatting. After Barnstaple our next destination was Instow, a distance of 7.4 miles and after the rather impressive 16 feet of elevation gain we were now going to face a daunting 36 feet of climbing. This part of the trail, just like the preceding leg, was very boring and monotonous, and off in the distance we could see a hill that we had come down the previous day!

Just before Instow we were given the opportunity to stay on the path or take a detour around the site of a former power station, which looks like it had been taken down years ago. We chose the later just to get off the tarmac which we had been on since starting out on this leg of the journey. This detour brought us to a cricket pitch and there was a game actually in progress, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the weather. So far the day had been pretty good. Not as warm as previous days but perfect for walking, and the bonus being we were not having to gear up and down for the rains that invariably hit several times a day. In Instow we stopped for lunch and we could see Appledore no more than half a mile away, but for us to reach there we would have to walk about 7 miles, around the estuary, to reach it.

We now followed the estuary of the River Torridge, along the Eastern shore and eventually came to the long bridge that took us over to the Western shore where we started to backtrack from whence we came, only this side on the Western shore. By this time our feet were getting pretty beat and so I offered to buy Silvio a Devon cream tea, to further his education in the English culture! Eventually we reached Appledore around 4-00 pm and shortly thereafter found a great little tea room where we enjoyed 2 huge scones each, with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Very high in cholesterol but I'm confident we will burn it off !

Around 4-40 pm we set off and quickly found a sign that said 4 1/2 miles to Westward Ho! And so off we went. By now our feet were screaming at us, and I cannot tell you how tired we were feeling. I was just oh so thankful to have Silvio for company, and I know he was feeling the same way, as when the going gets tough it's extremely beneficial to have someone with you. Each step was getting more and more painful and it was the thought of all of the many wonderful messages of encouragement that were getting me through my darkest hours. THANK YOU ALL, you have no idea how powerful your kind gestures were/are.

3 miles from Westward Ho! we turned to enter the grass dunes which eventually led us to the golf course and we came upon a sign that told us we had only two miles to go. It might have been a hundred that's how bad we were feeling. Silvio was not impressed by the author of the book he was carrying, for the author had stated that the walk from Braunton to Westward Ho! was easy. Obviously he hasn't tried walking over 38k in one go carrying a pack in excess of 20lbs.

Finally we reached the road and turned into town where Silvio and I said our good byes, and hopefully we will see each other again. Silvio is a long distance walker who lives to walk. Last year he walked the AT (Appalaichian Trail) from Georgia to Maine, and this year he's attempting to do the SW Coast Path in 39 days, a route that is normally spread over 8 weeks,

Silvio went into Tesco to get some supplies, as he was back to camping, and I followed the road round and up to the Village Inn, which was my B and B for the evening. It took forever before I got checked in but eventually I got to my room. I quickly unloaded my pack and then went to check out my bathroom, fully expecting to see the obligatory shower and was shocked to see a bath tub, which I immediately started to fill. I lay in a state of bliss for what seemed an eternity, as this was my first bath since leaving Canada.

After my bath I took my I-pad Mini down to the restaurant,ordered dinner and started blogging. For dinner they very kindly agreed to cook me pasta in Olive Oil, and threw in a bunch of veggies, it was very tasty. For dessert I ordered something I haven't had since I was a child, and which will bring out fits of laughter in my beloved sister in law Maggie, as there's a old family joke in there. The dessert was called Spotted Richard with custard, on the menu, but all Brit's know it as Spotted Dick, which is a sponge pudding with raisins smothered in custard.

It was now 10-35 pm and bed time so I retired to my room, cleaned my teeth and started to undress, and upon taking off my shoes noticed how swollen my feet were due to the days exertions. I immediately ran cold water in the bath and sat for 10 minutes soaking my feet in the cool water. It felt so good. Upon drying my feet I noticed a spot of blood on the towel, and another on the bed as I was climbing in. I performed a quick inspection of my feet and could not find where the blood was coming from so turned out the light and snuggled under the quilt. The pillows felt very good, could it be I was going to have another good sleep?