Walking 1000 miles from Lands end to John O'Groats in aid of The Air Ambulance (starts april 7th 2024)

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Day 58 oddly a good day!!

Up and packed from outside Boscastle YHA and a quick breakfast while looking at the flood levels of 2004, hard to imagine that being 11 years ago!! Although with the amount of rain we've had it's easy to see it happening!
with the forecast for extreme winds and heavy rain, the coastal path has been abandoned in favour of the coastal roads that run close to the sea, which makes for easier walking while still having excellent views!.
As you can imagine from that last paragraph the weather is not as forecast! There is some rain but it's mostly clear with an very cold wind, which means we are keeping waterproofs on today to keep warm! Even when it's sunny!.
Our first stop is in Tintagle for a cuppa with a quick look at the ruins of the castle (!?) Not to impressive!!. Before we head up and up and up hill along more b roads with lively views to our right.
The roads take us to Port Isaac for a late dinner and through its tiny twisting roads past the home of the TV character Doc Martin before heading uphill on footpaths with an of view of an art Rhinoceros on the hill... As pictured!.
The paths here are proving as easy as the roads with a nice easy walk to the quiet Port Quin before following the coastal path up and past a folly called a castle on Doydan point, more of an ornate tower rally! Nice though.
The cliff path is fantastic around to Polzeath where the weather changes just as we arrive, heavy rain and hail, only Alfie is caught in the hail though as we are stocking up on provisions! Poor little chap,!!!
Then a short walk around the surfing bay here before setting up camp with stunning views of the surf in the sunny periods between the rain!

Day 57 windy!

After a stormy night the morning started in much the same manner, packing away in the rain! This made unpitching quicker and splashing off down the road we soon entered Bude, an early cup of tea and bacon butty was breakfast at the much appreciated Grumpy's cafe.
Then up out of the previously unappreciated shelter of Bude, the winds coming off the sea and battering the coastal path were fierce!! After an hour of competing for progress along the path we conceded defeat and opted for the safer option of walking the minor B roads that hug this coast.
Still battered we enter Widemouth bay and seek shelter for a while as surfers prepared to do just the opposite and ride the waves of this fridged may day! Best of luck with that!.
The roads continued in a constant battle of up and down following the chaotic strata of the local geology, this is the norm for this area, but at least the sky cleared of cloud even as the penetrating cold wind continued to batter us whenever we left the shelter of the high Cornwall hedges that line the tiny roads here.
By lunchtime we reach the gorgeous bay of Crackington haven, although the wind still batters this area, happily a cafe allows dogs here so with Alfie in tow we dig into our first Cornish pasties, excellent!
From here the roads constantly push steeply up to the sky, only levelling out after a few hours of walking. Turning off the road into a byway we encounter a film crew preparing for an episode of Doc Martin although I didn't spot any familiar  actors.
Finally the roads start to make a general descent towards Boscastle where I end up camped outside the youth hostel... Which are still dog unfriendly but happy enough for us to pitch in there yard. Not a bad end to the day.