Minehead to Westward Ho!
21st-29th April 2008
Big hills, little hills, sandy beaches and river estuaries...that describes this leg of the South West Coast Path in summary, but there is so much more to it too. When asked to describe the best section of the walk, both Richard and I responded by saying 'there isn't one; the best bit is the variety'. There are undoubtedly big hills near the beginning of the walk, where Exmoor meets the sea. On the third day of walking, we were standing on top of Great Hangman, at 318 metres the highest point on the South West Coast Path. There were ascents and descents to match, such as the ones around Heddon's Mouth, where the path descends from more than 150 metres above the sea down to the gorge containing the River Heddon..and then straight back up again. In the Ilfracombe area the hills became smaller but the ascents and descents became more frequent, rightly described by one of guidebooks as a roller-coster.
Initially the beaches were shingle, but then we reached the great expanse of Woolacombe Sand and the sand dunes of Braunton Burrows before encountering the double estuary of the Taw and the Torridge - and after 2 days of walking round the estuaries we were a mere 825 metres away from where we had been! Some people omit the walk around the esturaries; others zoom round the 23 miles from Braunton to Westward Ho! in one day. We took two days over this section and thoroughly enjoyed the very different coastal scenery.
Other highlights of the walk included the saltmarshes, formed since 1996, when the shingle bank across Porlock Bay was breached in a storm, the ancient woodland, such as Culborne Wood, and the pretty 'chocolate box' thatched cottages in villages such as Bossington.
Richard and I walked this section of the path in April 2008. Easter had been early and the beginning of April was depressingly cold and wet. Soon after our return from the walk the weather turned hot and sunny (reputedly the hottest early May for 175 years). However the weather for the walk itself was ideal for walking - it rained almost every night, but it was virtually always dry during the day, but not too hot. Buds were just breaking on the trees and there were wildflowers everywhere - primroses, bluebells as well as orchids and wild cyclamen - and the hillsides were covered in bright yellow gorse.
We booked the trip through Contours Walking Holidays and all the B&Bs were more than adequate, with a couple being first-class. We travelled to Minehead by train and bus: train from Downham Market to Kings Cross then Paddington to Taunton, then a lovely bus journey through the Quantock Hills and through Watchet and Dunster to Minehead. We spend the first night as the only guests at Kenella House, spotlessly clean and complete with brass bedsteads. A good start. We had a lovely Italian meal at Pinnochios and during the evening wandered down to the sculpture at the start of the path and then to Minehead Harbour (complete with views back to Butlins). North Hill, the first hill of the South West Coast Path dominated the view in the other direction, but that was tomorrow's problem...
At the end of the walk we caught a bus from Westward Ho! to Barnstaple (re-visiting Bideford and Instow on the way) then the trains from Barnstaple to Exeter (the Tarka Line), Exeter to Paddington and Kings Cross to Downham Market.
Next leg of the South West Coast Path (Westward Ho! to Padstow)