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Trip 4 : October 18th to 19th
2008 : Westward Ho! to Hartland Point
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Saturday 18th October : Westward
Ho! to Clovelly - 11.2 miles 789m climb
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Our first “Guest Walkers”!
Martin and Pauhla Whitaker joined us for this
weekend, which proved to one of extraordinary
changes in terrain and scenery, an overnight stay
in a gem of a village, and lots of fun.
 We
were back in Westward Ho! and on our way before
9.30 am, setting off in drizzle and wind. Pauhla
wrapped up in gloves and hat, whilst I, optimistically,
stuck with the shorts.
Once again starting along a railway line, leaving
the “delights” of Westward Ho! behind us, the
weather began to improve, as did the scenery.
We were soon back to grassy cliff top walking,
hopping stiles and swinging through gates.
At one stage (Babbacombe Mouth) we are forced
to descend wooden steps right onto the beach,
as the money apparently ran out to put in a wooden
viaduct. This beach is distressingly littered
with piles of plastic waste and netting. Martin
finds a cargo net that he rather wishes he could
take home with him for use on the farm, but it
won’t roll up to fit his back pack.
 We
muse, as we leave the beach, that his mother would
have been unable to resist a “ WI Beach Clearing
Party”, complete with Marigold gloves, grabbers
and bin bags to tote it all away in.
Two and a half hour’s walking brings us to decision
point. A one mile diversion inland for liquid
refreshment…or not..? Not much of a contest really.
I can’t publish the photo of Martin and Pauhla
in the Coach and Horses, as the degree of windburn
on their faces looks deceptively as though they
have been in the bar since breakfast time!
Back on track, we take in quite a few steep climbs
with steps helpfully cut into the hillside. These,
we decide may help prevent erosion, but they take
a terrific toll on the legs. Pauhla develops an
ethereal gliding method up the side of the steps.
Passing through some amazing ancient woodland,
we climb up into Barton Wood, with its line of
huge, old beech trees on the edge of the escarpment,
presumably an old beech hedge that has been allowed
to grow out. Each tree is tagged, and has clearly
been identified as significant. This is a very
special place.
We eventually enter the Clovelly estate, along
Hobby Drive. There are rows of pheasant feeders
set out, but not really a very high population
of pheasant. One handsome male, however, takes
a fancy to Mike and follows him for over a mile
as we gradually descend towards the village. Mike
takes on a bit of a Dr. Doolittle persona, and
starts talking to his pheasant..which starts talking
back!
Hobby drive is three miles long, and we all begin
to get a Groundhog Day feeling as we cross yet
another bridge on a bend. Eventually however,
we reach Clovelly itself, with its amazing cobbled
high street and cottages tumbling down to the
harbour. Goods are transported into and out of
the village on sledges. This job, previously undertaken
by donkeys, is now man-powered, and nearly all
the sledges we saw were made of converted bread
crates..So..that‘s what Enid Walklett did with
them all when Painswick Bakery closed down!
With an hour to wait for the “fetch the car back
“ taxi, we take refreshment in the Upalong-Downalong
bar of the New Inn where we are staying. First
drinks over, Mike trots off for the car, Martin
and Pauhla retire to their room and I….well the
locals are really so very friendly and welcoming,
I stay put and raid the kitty again for another
G&T in their company!
 A
good evening meal in the bar, then we skitter
our way down the cobbles to The Red Lion down
on the harbour so we can make a fair comparison
of what Clovelly has to offer. One word of warning
for those planning to visit in our wake..Crocs
with smooth soles do not provide good traction
on damp cobbles!
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Sunday 19th October : Clovelly
to Hartland Quay - 10.3 miles 708m of climb
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 Clovelly
to Hartland Quay 10.3 miles 708 m of climb. An
excellent breakfast in the dining room of the
New Inn is followed by a daylight stroll back
down to the harbour. This village is simply lovely.
A classic harbour at the bottom, lined up with
lobster pots, and an obliging fisherman chugs
in with his catch to offer another photo opportunity.
We eventually depart just before 11. It's later
than usual, but we were enjoying our environment.
We have a date to keep. John Irving is meeting
us at Hartland Quay at 5 pm. This stretch is supposed
to take 5 hours, so we've built a little in for
a lunch stop, and to be sure not to keep The Great
Man waiting.
This is described as a "very fine section indeed",
and so it proves. Some lovely woodland walking
and stunning cliff top viewpoints and precipices.
Much of the Clovelly estate is deer park and oak
woodland. We fritter away time searching for Owl
(Aka Wol) in old trees, as we convince ourselves
we are in AA Milne's Hundred Acre Wood.
 Breaking
out to a viewpoint over the spectacular, double-arched
Blackchurch Rock. It's a very long way down!
A throw away line in the walk guide refers to
a "Very steep, but not dangerous" alternative
path down to Mouth Mill below. Finding the start,
I lead our merry band down a very narrow, and
rather hilarious zig-zagging drop some 400ft back
to sea-level. It would seem not many folk have
undertaken this route of late, but a variety of
tree branches and gorse bushes help us bounce
and swing our way down relatively intact. It gets
a bit scary just the once when Martin loses his
footing and those ahead of him face the danger
of all being swept to the base in one big rolling
bundle!
 A
couple more valleys to cross and we find ourselves
up on Windbury. Aptly named, there is little evidence
of the Iron Age settlement that was here, but
the wind is certainly picking up!
A memorial stone here commemorates the crew of
a Canadian Air Force Wellington bomber that crashed
into the cliffs just below in 1942, with all lives
lost. It is another reminder of the very active
part this area of the country played during WW2.
Ready for lunch, we start looking for a sheltered
spot, but find we are walking field after field,
stile after stile, and that Groundhog feeling
starts to come back. Eventually, we settle briefly
in a field corner, take on board sandwiches and
chocolate whilst out of the wind, before leading
into the most dramatic part of the whole walk
so far.
 We
walk out to the MOD radar dome on Hartland point.
(Now used for air traffic control), and round
the point to be greeted by fiercely jagged rocks
and steep, rather unstable cliffs. We have turned
ninety degrees and the sea and cliff tops no longer
have any protection from the wind. Wow! We thought
it was windy before, but this is amazing. Constant
buffeting and strong gusts make progress, and
even staying upright difficult, the only solace
is that it is an onshore wind, or we might never
have made it.
An Air Sea rescue helicopter is buzzing around
Hartland Quay, going back out to sea several times
before we see it finally drop a winch man onto
one of the sharp outcrops of rock near the Quay.
At this stage, we are lying flat on our tummies
to watch, as the wind is so strong. We later learn
that what we witnessed had been an exercise, but
they really were testing themselves to the extreme.
Having had the hotel in sight, we still have three
more valleys to negotiate before we finally reach
the top car park at Hartland Quay, an hour before
our scheduled rendezvous with John. Nothing for
it but to descend to hotel and take shelter and
rehydration there for a while in the Wreckers
Retreat bar. 
This stretch of coast is renowned for shipwrecks.
Having seen the rocks, and felt the power of the
wind, it is easy to see why. However, we are safely
at the end of our trip and when we climb back
up to the top of the hill, there is John himself
ready to pile us into his car and drive us back
to Clovelly to start the journey home.
Before taking our leave, we arrange for a mid
November return trip, to tackle Hartland Quay
to Bude..only 18 miles in two days, but ten major
river valleys to deal with along the way. The
official grading is "Severe". The good news is
that we will stop overnight with John and June,
and have a chance to catch up on what has been
going on for them in the four years since they
left Cranham.
This was great weekend. It was lovely to have
the company of Martin and Pauhla, and we are looking
forward to our next "Guest Walkers". Let us know
if you are interested.
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