Sunday

After an excellent breakfast at the Durante House Hotel my taxi dropped me back at the visitor’s centre at Clovelly at 9.00.

It was already very hot so I enjoyed the fact that to Bucks Mill, and beyond, the path was mainly in woods. After Bucks Mill the path follows the cliff edge descending to Peppercombe and then going up and down via Rowden Gut and Babbercombe Mouth before descending to the sea at Westcliffe and finally going over Greencliff before joining the old railway to Westward Ho!

I took a recommended shortcut to Bideford just before Westward Ho! and was delighted to come out about 1 km from my hotel at 3.45pm.

The hotel has laundry facilities so I now have clean kit.

Tomorrow I go to Barnstaple along the Tarka Trail and will then leave the Coastal Path behind to go across Exmoor, the Quantocks and the Mendips before crossing the Severn Bridge and entering Wales.

On a practical note I have to replace a vital piece of clothing which is somewhere on the trail I walked yesterday.  I was drying socks etc hanging from my pack and it obviously dropped off.  Luckily Barnstaple has an M&S!