Ilfracombe to Croyde

Ilfracombe to Croyde - Friday 1st April 2011

Path Facts - Length: Approx 13.6 miles, Ascent: 3002 feet

We both arrived at Crossways B&B in Barnstaple on the Thursday night about 7pm. Battle plans were laid out on a table in the Rolle Quay Inn & discussed over a couple of pints of Tribute, who may turn out to be the unofficial sponsors of this tour. A 7.30am breakfast alongside a few travelling businessmen then we walked through the town to sample the ambience of Barnstaple bus station and caught the No 3 to Ilfracombe.




Arrived in Ilfracombe around 9.30am, then wandered across the harbour at low tide before taking a somewhat meandering route up through the still quiet town to pick up the path.



There were a few ups and down getting up to the cliff path but not too severe. An overcast day today but nice walking. Stopped outside a closed Inn at Lee about 11am for a rest and snack. A handful of walkers were seen on the road.


Further along the path is the lighthouse at Bull Point then the supposed seal hot spot of the stretch from Rockham Beach onwards though we didn’t see any.


Morte Point is quite epic. Apparently the word Morte here doesn’t mean ‘death’ though you could see why it could. The waves swirl from several directions around Morte Rock. On rounding the point we were hit by a wall of wind. The path turns sharply from W to SE and big open views of the long beach at Woolacombe could be seen ahead.


The North side of Woolacombe / Watersmeet looks pretty well-to-do judging by the houses and cars. It becomes a much more typical seaside resort in the centre. We hunted around for a suitable comestibles establishment & settled on the Puffin Café which didn’t look much from the outside but was friendly and actually a rather good cream tea with generous quantities of jam & cream + tea in mugs! (£4 each)

Leaving Woolacombe there is a lengthy stretch walking above the beach through to Putsborough where Andy’s knees and various other leg parts were clearly protesting. From here, the path heads out towards Baggy Point with great views back to Woolacombe Sands and back to Morte Point.


Baggy Point is another impressive spot for all round views. The sun was also beginning to break through from here on and there was a playing of light on the open sea and gulls soaring on the wind though we still couldn’t spot the island of Lundy for certain amongst the shadows on the horizon. Views also opened up to Croyde Bay and big waves were coming in to the near side cliffs. Baggy Point is also memorable from the previous climbing expedition here many years ago.


Arriving around 5pm, we stopped on Croyde beach for a while before heading inland along the path into Croyde. Checked in at The Thatch which served as food and lodging for the night.

Info:

Accommodation – The Thatch
  Location **** Croyde is slightly inland from the path - 5 min walk
Room *** Bunk room, pretty small but ok
Facilities *** bathroom tiny, room not much bigger
Noise **** very little noise from the pub or the road
Food ***** top notch breakfast, should have taken a photo!
Ambience ** for room **** for pub / restaurant Price **** £50 for the room

http://www.thethatchcroyde.com/

Food – The Thatch

Quality **** N: veg lasagne, A: Thai curry – quick & good quality
Price ****


Beer

Tribute ****
Exmoor Ale ***


The Walkers Strategy Section

Very little change in terms of kit from the last leg. Bought a compact toiletries bag + compact toothpaste & shower gel. On the other hand I now have a bulkier camera (Fujifilm S1900) which more than compensated for any weight saving elsewhere.