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Trip 3 : September 13th to
14th 2008 : Braunton to Westward Ho!
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Saturday 13th September : Braunton
to Instow - 10 miles 120ft climb
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Arriving back in Braunton reminded us of just
how tired and sore we were by the end of our last
section.
We knew we were in for a long, flat walking,
much of it on disused railtrack along the side
of the estuary.
Long and flat it was, with few highlights, but
its was a lovely autumn morning, which made it
more tolerable. We walked up to Barnstaple, and
were able to save some time by using the new bridge
to the west of the town.
This did feel something of a turning point, as
we started walking back towards the sea again.
The tide was out. (It seemed to be out for all
36 hours of our weekend!), so there was a lot
of sand and mud to be seen, interspersed with
relics of boats, many left to rot away. This may
have been flat walking, but it was not without
danger. This part is a very popular cycle track,
and many a time we had to leap aside for a shout
or frantic ringing of a bell. We were provided
with about half an hour of entertainment, a family
comprising father, and four adult off spring,
followed gamely by grandma on a three wheeler.
They overtook us time and again, with much energy,
only to have to regroup and wait for grandma to
catch up. Eventually, even they saw the funny
side of it, as this tortoise and hare procession
made its way down river, with the walkers generally
making the better progress.
Chocolate stop was late, but we enjoyed it sitting
on the platform of Fremington Quay. Formerly a
station, and now a café, boasting a museum collection
of old bicycles from penny farthings to bone shakers.
 Reaching
Instow, there was a decidedly seaside feel about.
We dropped down on to the beach and walked round
towards the village. People were out enjoying
a feel of Indian Summer. We popped up just by
Instow Cricket Club, which has a lovely, low slung,
thatched club house, but even more remarkably,
a thatched scoreboard!
It had been a struggle finding a bed and breakfast
and I had, somewhat reluctantly booked in to a
pub. Having had bad experiences in the past with
smoke filled bedrooms above bars, I was worried.
I had , of course, forgotten that the smoke filled
bars have gone. Named The Wayfarer, we thought
we might have missed out on the "Ship" connection,
however we later learned that a Wayfarer is a
class of racing yacht.
I hopped on a bus back to Barnstaple, an thence
Braunton to fetch the car, whilst Mike bought
a paper and sat on a bench on the sea front, watching
the goings on and stealing a little snooze.
We ate in the pub, then wandered off to find
somewhere for an after dinner sun-downer, coming
across The Bar. With an air rather like the "in
place" in a ski resort, we secured stools at the
end of the bar and demolished the weekend's sustenance
"Kitty" in one go.
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Sunday 14th September. Instow
to Westward Ho! - 10 miles 100feet of climb
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Another beautiful morning. Todays' walk looks
slightly more interesting, as its not quite all
rail track.
Instow used to have a ferry across to Appledore,
saving about 4 miles walking up to Bideford and
back down. Sadly, it closed a couple of years
ago. As it happens, the tide is still well out
(Its been out for 24 hours now!), so the ferry
would have been no use to us. A new, high, bridge
crosses the river, just east of Bideford, but
walkers and traffic shall not mix and there is
no access up to it from
the footpath. We carry on in to Bideford and take
the 500 year old bridge at this point.
The Tall Ship Kathleen and May, which is often
seen in Gloucester docks, has her mooring here,
though today, she is firmly settled into the mud
just downstream of the bridge.
The walk into Appledore is more interesting. Back
to footpaths for much of it, passing through some
new riverside housing on the way. Its good to
be walking sea-ward once more, this time knowing
that, once we reach the sea, we shall stay with
it for many miles to come.
 Many
rotting hulks, and one steel bath later we wander
into Appledore, in time for a Sunday lunchtime
drink with the locals at The Seagate Hotel. At
Appledore, of course, it has to be cider, what
else? Boots and socks need to come off for some
fresh air, as the hard surface of rail tracks
has been taking it's toll on the feet. Refreshed,
we potter on through the pretty streets, passing
the lifeboat station, before emerging onto the
shore. From here, we can see Westward Ho!, a mere
stone's throw away. Our route through takes us
out, round the sand dunes, following the river
to the bitter end.This did introuce us to Sea
Holly, which looks rather like land holly, but
lower. Apparently it is the best show for many
years, so we make sure to get some photos to share.
Tummy finally points out that we have not had
lunch, so we perch on the edge of a dune, watching
the sea, which is producing some pretty useful
rollers. We also consult the map as we look back
along the coast and realise we can see as far
back as Croyde, and the huge white Saunton Sands
Hotel which we passed some two weeks ago, is still
firmly in sight, and will be until we round Hartland
Point on our next trip down.
 Down
onto the beach for what promises to be a short
stroll along to Westward Ho! Bizzarely, this stroll
takes us over half an hour. Walk as we might,
the town seems to get no closer. Perhaps it's
a mirage?
We do eventually strike land, and find ourselves
in a very English Seaside setting. Not to everyone's
taste, incluing mine, and, even worse news, we
only have ten minutes before the bus back to Instow
is due to leave.
The bus drops us conveniently close to the car,
which is conveniently still parked outside The
Wayfarer, which is conveniently open, so we can
refresh ourselves (liquidly) before the drive
home.
Next walk is planned for mid October, from Westward
Ho! To Hartland Point, with an overnight stop
in Clovelly. This time, we have our first pair
of walking companions coming along with us so
even more putting the world to rights should ensue.
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