Day 9

August 19, 2015

Depart Wembury | Arrive Bigbury on Sea, Accommodation: Sloop Inn, Bantham

Distance: 24.7KM | Cumulative Distance: 222.5KM | Grade - Easy/Strenuous

Ascent: 2,450 ft | Cumulative Ascent: 21,394 ft.

Cumulative Distance (both walks): 686.5 KM | Cumulative Ascent (both walks): 83,099 ft.

ANOTHER RAINY WEDNESDAY!!

After completing my blog last night I took another stab at getting dinner and so walked back around to the pub where, upon entry, it was a lot quieter and so I received instant service. I ordered a risotto dish, as it was about the only non stodgy meal available, and passed on dessert.

I returned back to the B&B and enjoyed a chat with John, who is such a talkative character but also very interesting. He and his wife Lorraine have a taxi business, and his wife was out on a job, picking up 3 elderly ladies who were long time Plymouth Argyle football fans, and I think John mentioned they had been supporting the team over 60 years. Lorraine arrived home a little later and the Argyle had run our 4-1 winners. They had been hosting Carlisle, who would have endured a round trip of something like 790 miles. Not one to relish that's for sure, as unlike the bigger teams who would have flown down for the game, clubs like Carlisle would have gone down by coach.

I went to bed at around 10-45pm and I was in a single bed, which is one of the very few times I booked single due to the problems I encountered last year. I slept really well considering, although I did have to make a couple of bathroom breaks! I awoke at around 5-40am and was greeted by the steady putter patter of rain on my window, not a good omen! I did manage to drift back to sleep and then awake at 7, and rolled over and the next thing I know it's 7-30am. I got up, dressed, and then finished my packing, before clearing both my personal and work emails, and finally headed down for breakfast which scheduled for 8-15am. There was really no need to rush, as the first ferry did not start until 10am, and I only had 1 1/4 miles to go.

I said farewell to my most convivial hosts and stepped out into the rain at just before 9-00am. It was not a pleasant start to the day, and I'm most thankful that I knocked off the big hill from Wembury Beach last night rather than tackle it this morning. This meant all I needed to do was retrace last nights steps and I would be in good shape.

I really was in no big hurry, and the walking was very pleasant, although the weather was not co-operating, and I had a strong suspicion that there would be no photo's today. As I was closing in on Warren Point, which is where I was due to catch the ferry, I was really lamenting the lack of a decent day, as there were several excellent photo ops missed, especially looking over the water which split into a Y. On a sunny day it would have been gorgeous. I made it to the ferry point with 15 minutes to spare, and duly waited patiently, and choosing to keep my backpack on for warmth rather than take it off and risk getting chilled.

In due time the ferryman arrived, albeit 10 minutes late, and we were over the water in no time at all. The path starts in a forest, something I was thankful for as it afforded protection from both the rain and wind, and although I prefer open spaces to woodland I found this to be more than acceptable. A little ways in the path took me through a very small residential area, and then finally brought me out onto a gravel track, it was here that I was presented an option, I could either stay high, and be more exposed to the elements, or follow the track down into an area that was closer to the water but a little more sheltered. I chose the latter, but after 200 feet or so I changed my mind, as I felt it too dangerous for several reasons. The rocky terrain under foot was slippy, and in my opinion posed too big a hazard, plus it seemed to be arduous a trail compared to what was offer up top, but the biggest reason was in the event of an accident the likelihood of having someone come along was slim to none. Therefore, I turned around a clambered up to the path that I thought was safer.

I passed by a row of Coastguard cottages which were very pretty, another missed photo op, and was now on a fabulous track that had been engineered by Lord Revelstoke, (I wonder if there is a connection with Revelstoke, BC)? This would have been glorious walking on a sunny day, but unfortunately this wasn't one of those days. The rain was coming down a little harder, and the mist was also beginning to fall and the wind becoming stronger. As I sit in my room composing this the wind is howling angrily out there!

As my guide book points out the path is an excellent high level walking route, it's just a pity the weather was not playing ball! It would have been so much nicer to share this special walk with the birds and butterflies, and perhaps see other people. There weren't even any boats out on the water, and I felt like I was the only one out on a walk today.

I had made probably 5-6 miles along the top when I lost the signage, mainly due to the mist that had come down, and was forced onto a road, and in a way I was both thankful and glad to be out of the wind, as now to my right, instead of the ocean, was the high hedgerow which sheltered me. It is at this point that I must praise my sponsor ICEBREAKER, and their fabulous equipment, as to be honest I think I could have been in serious trouble without it. Even on the hot days the properties contained in the wool keep you warm, when you've worked up a sweat, and the wind tends to cool you down if wearing other materials. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for my Patagonia Goretex jacket, as within 10 minutes I was soaked through. So If anyone out there is contemplating buying outdoor equipment you might want to consider ICEBREAKER, you can't go wrong.

Today was the day I was supposed to ford the River Erme, and I had my special shoes stored at the top of my pack ready to change into them, but my book had expressly warned of the dangers of trying to wade the river in the event of heavy rains. Needless to say I believe that would have been both foolhardy and dangerous to ever consider taking it on and so I carried on walking along the road I was on. The rain was coming down harder, and every time we came to an opening where a gate led into a field I felt a chill as the wind hit me, and the visibility in the fields was down to about 50 yards or so. The roads were also beginning to get flooded due to the amount of water that had come down, and I was feeling better about my decision with each passing step. Believe me when I say no one is more disappointed than I at what was happening, but self preservation and ones health is paramount in situations like what I was enduring. Plus I made a commitment to Liz that I would not put myself in harms way.

I trudged wearily down the road, having to stop every now and again to allow vehicles to get by, as the roads are so tight that it's almost impossible for a pedestrian and a car to get by without give and take on both sides.

After a couple of miles I saw a sign that said Holbeton 2 1/2 miles and so I made that my destination as by now I had decided it would be too dangerous to carry on any further. Coming into Holbeton the water was rolling down hill into town, and I arrived at the doors of the Dartmoor Union, which is a pub, and debated going in, as some pub owners do not like hikers frequenting their establishment especially in the condition I was in. I determined I needed to get out of the rain and cold and so ventured in, and was greeted warmly by the young barmaid, and Charlie, the dog that was tethered to the bar. Upon leaving my B&B this morning, John gave me his business card for the taxi firm he and his wife Lorraine operate, as the only alternative if you cannot cross the Erme is to have a taxi drive you. Last year when we were 2 1/2 miles short of our final destination I'm sure the cabbie would have traveled 10-12 to get to where we needed to be. I therefore phoned John and alerted him to my problem, and he asked me to call him back in 15 minutes so he could arrange something.

I was cold, wet, and trying to sort my money out and had to borrow a bar towel to dry my hands so I could function properly, and then I decided to order lunch whilst I waited for my cabbie to arrive. They had a terrific lunch special and you could order any two items, starter and main course for £9.99 and get dessert for 1d.

I went with soup, to warm me up, followed by a burger and fries, and finished it off with a sticky toffee pudding. It was all extremely tasty and excellent value.

I do want to say a special thank you to the barmaid Corrina for her kindness, and also Lorna the cook.

It was now time to go outside to find my cab, as he was due to arrive, and shortly afterwards I found him, or rather he found me. He was amazed I had made it so far, and on the journey over to Bantham we saw several areas of flooding, which just enforced I had made the right decision. Cabbie also advised that I definitely made the right call, especially as there would have been a second area that I would have needed to wade across.

All in all a rather frustrating day, but there is always tomorrow, and my only regret, apart from having to cut the walk short due to the conditions, was not being able to take any pictures. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day.

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