Clovelly to Hartland Quay

We left our camp at Black Church Rock just after sunrise and set off up the hill. The early morning was overcast, but soon turned into a lovely sunny day with a slight breeze.

Our path mainly took us along the field edges, where they butted up against the cliff, with a couple of valleys to descend, and ascend the other side.

 At the edge of one of these fields we found a large section of brambles laden with blackberries, we we tucked into as as a mid-morning snack.

We reached Hartland Point, and unfortunately the cafe was closed for the season, so we pushed on further to Hartland Quay.

We stopped at The Wreckers Inn for some lunch, where we both had a slap-up meal as the lack of a store on route meant we didn’t currently have the provisions to cook an evening meal.

After lunch we continued for a couple of hours before finding a place to camp. As the forecast was for strong winds and rain overnight and continuing into the morning, we found a nice sheltered spot, if a little uneven, to setup the tent.

Westward Ho! to Clovelly

We had a later start this morning and set off for Clovelly, despite the fog you could just make out the houses in the steep cliff face. The weather was perfect and we spent most of the day walking in old oak woodland. The word of the day was steps, a big difference to yesterday, but we both enjoyed being on softer ground and didn't mind the ascents and descents.

The ground was soft until we hit "The Hobby Drive" which was an unfortunate combination of cobbles and slippery wet leaves.   After about 3 miles of this we reached Clovelly visitor centre and stopped for lunch. It was actually very good value. We also purchased some sandwiches and fudge for dinner (We made the mistake of assuming there would be a shop in Clovelly so we don't actually have a chance to restock until Bude). We didn't head into town as neither of us could face the steep decent and ascent after the last few long days of walking.

However we both felt like we learned a lot about Clovelly from the 20min, slightly odd, film in the visitor centre. 

After our leisurely lunch we headed onwards keeping an eye out for a good wild-camping spot. There must be a pheasant shoot on this estate as  we can't seem to walk 100m without scaring one. After some deliberation we continued until the beach at Black Church Rock and made camp for the night. We have now passed the 100 mile mark!

Hartland Quay to Bude

We had managed to get a few miles out of Hartland Quay before wild-camping which meant we had less distance to walk today. We had been waiting for our first rainy day, but we got off lightly, as although it did rain all morning, it had dried out by 11am.

This section had the biggest ascent of the whole path (1390m), it seems like you have only just emerged from one river valley when you are heading down another flight of steps into the next. By 10am we has passed into our third county of the path, Kernow! (Cornwall).

Although the rain had made lots of the steep ascents and descents slippery, the scenery was still stunning and we even passed a GCHQ listening station.

After a quick sandwich stop on Sandy Mouth Bay we met my parents in Bude for afternoon tea. We did some kit switching from our grab bags and washed all our clothes at a launderette (thanks Mum and Dad). We then headed to our hostel for the evening. 

Now we are back in civilisation the Haribo rationing can end (by ruling with an iron fist I made one bag last 4 days) and we can buy some proper walking snacks rather than eating gift shop fudge.

Bude to Boscastle

We left the hostel after breakfast, out into a brisk clear morning, and walked the short distance into the town centre to regain the path. We walked along the canal, and across the lock which connected the canal to the sea. From here we followed rolling grasslands along the coast until the beach at Widemouth Sand.

By this point the sun had come out, and the day had warmed up. After crossing the beach we climbed up and traversed along rural farmland, between the fields and the cliffs.

At some point we passed a bench with distance markers set into the legs. Poole was now only 500 miles away!

Along this section there were many valleys, with steep descent followed by the inevitable ascent. This day has one of the highest amounts of ascent on the Coast path, mainly due to the number and depth of these valleys that are crossed.

We stopped on the beach for some lunch at Crackington Haven, and watched the surfers. We then continued onto Boscastle, which was more of the same accompanied by a wonderful autumnal light, with the low sun bouncing off the sea and clouds.

We arrived at the youth hostel, and the lovely lady at reception upgraded us from separate dormitories to a private room. We went to the pub for the evening, for a hearty meal and Cornish ale. It was quite lively for a Sunday, as a wedding party provided some rousing songs for everyone’s entertainment.

Bostcastle to Port Quinn

We woke up to the sound of crashing waves outside our window, I highly recommend the YHA next to Bostcastle harbour. We managed to get going by 8am as we had a long day ahead of us. The aim was to get a few miles past Port Isaac such that over the next 3 days we can make up a day in the book.

We have previously walked from Bostcastle to Tintagel, but this time it seemed easier (most likely as last time it was sleeting). We passed through Rockey Valley, not to be confused with the Valley of the Rocks near Lynmouth and had quick break at King Arthur's castle (allegedly) before heading into new territory.

Some tourists on the far side of the castle asked us if it looked any more impressive from where we had walked from. I generally get the impression everyone is disappointed when they reach the few ruins with the extortionate entry price, especially as it is closed for winter. However the small headland itself is quite pretty especially with is dark slate strata and azure blue sea.

The geology has changed significantly in the last 2 days, we are now in slate country with lots of stunning quartz veins. 

There are many steep river valleys to cross between Tintagel and Port Isaac and today was quite a gloomy grey day, so we mainly kept our heads down and ploughed through. We managed to make it 3 miles out of Port Isaac to Port Quinn before finding a quiet spot to wild camp.