Embedded Files
It had rained heavily in the night but was dry again by morning, though a lot more windy than yesterday. We had breakfast (of 'a lady's cooked breakfast', which was only slightly smaller than Richard's equivalent) at 8am so we left Fernleigh around 9am. We couldn't find a baker in Lynton so we bought sandwiches in Costcutter (and actually they turned out to be delicious).
We followed North Walk out of Lynton, with splendid views back to Lynmouth and the Lyn Gorge. From this vantage point it was easier to see how heavy rain could have caused the devastating flood in 1952. We soon came to the Valley of Rocks. We saw the famous mountain goats, but they were always at a distance, down a steep slope so unphotographable. However we were able to photograph Exmoor ponies grazing in front of Castle Rock.
We followed the verge of the toll road past Lee Abbey (a Christian conference centre) then a rather fiddly path away from the road to Crook point, climbing steeply to rejoin the road in Croscombe Wood. Past Woody Bay, with some attractive views back to Lee Abbey, we eventually came to a waterfall that one of the guidebooks describes as 'magnificent, the sort you can stand under to get cool' whilst the other guidebook describes it as 'a little waterfall'. The day we were there, the second description was more accurate. However we were soon walking along magnificant (if distinctly windy) cliffs, with views back to the natural arch at Wringapeak.
We were soon looking down on Heddon's Mouth, with views down to the little River Heddon flowing through a gorge to a little beach far below us, with remains of lime kilns visible. High on the cliffside opposite was the path we would be following after descending to the river and climbing back up again. The descent was gradual and we were soon walking through the wooded valley - very pretty with lots of wildflowers and the trees in leaf break. We ate our lunch sitting on a wall by the stream.
After lunch we climbed steeply away from the gorge, with fine views in all directions, including birds of prey and a deer showing us the best way to descend steep slopes. The path climbed until we were once again high above the river mouth, then we rounded the corner and...more climbing. It was invigorating walking, high up on the cliffs, and we eventually reached a wider path that followed a traditional Devon stone and earth field boundary.
Eventually the coast path headed inland across open moorland (which would have been very colourful if the heather had been in flower). The guidebook described the summits that we could see that we didn't have to climb - but we knew that we did have to climb Great Hangman and it appeared increasingly threateningly in front of us. To make things worse, we knew that we had to descend before beginning the climb. We headed inland before doing this and as we reached the National Trust 'Great Hangman' sign we met a very friendly elderly couple, the man of whom had walked this way (perhaps the whole path?) in his youth and thought the climb up Great Hangman was a real challenge - they were just going to watch. But actually it wasn't too bad. We started by decending to the very pretty little stream in Sherrycombe, then a steep climb up the other side, followed by a gradual climb to the cairn on the top. Great Hangman, at 318 metres (1043 feet), is the highest point on the South West Coast Path. The name hangman means 'slope' (hang) 'hill' (man).
From the summit of Great Hangman, Combe Martin Bay came into view, with the pyramid shape of Little Hangman in the foreground. We walked towards Little Hangman but didn't climb it, then walked past Wild Pear Beach and along the attractively wooded Lester Cliff, with views down to the long village of Combe Martin and back to the moors and farmland of Exmoor. We descended to the road through Combe Martin and turned right. Channel Vista was along here, on the way out of the village. The owners Clive and Linda Leyland and their slightly crazy dog Lucky greeted us. They have only been doing B&B for a few months, having moved from Peterborough, and they couldn't have tried harder to make our stay comfortable. Clive cooked us a very reasonably priced evening meal and Linda served us wine. It was nice to have an evening off 'pub grub'.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse