South West Coast Path Day 7.
Distance today: 17.3 miles.
Total distance: 1212.9 miles.
Accommodation: campsite.
After being the beneficiary of an amazing generosity of spirit yesterday, I was back in my role as the lonesome walker. Less than half a mile from where I joined the SWCP, I crossed over into Cornwall. My final county. As I noted in my Instagram post, it was a long way from Caithness.
A few miles further on and tucked away on a ledge just below the top of the cliff was Hawker’s Hut. As much as I liked the idea of it originally being used by an opium-smoking vicar, it was its life since then that interested me. You could easily imagine that generations of walkers had taken temporary refuge there and while they waited for the weather to clear, they’d got out their swiss army knives and carved their initials into the well-worn wooden benches. I don’t think I saw a single bit of graffiti that had been scribbled or sprayed which somehow made it quaintly endearing. This was ramblers living life on the edge.
Not far from Hawker’s Hut was Higher Sharpnose Point. It was a headland that jutted out a couple of hundred yards out to sea and provided an odd perspective when you looked back to the coastline. Separate seas lapping up on separate shores.
Once I’d passed GCHQ Bude with its slightly optimistic signs discouraging photographs (given that the SWCP passed right by it), the next main stop was Bude itself. As ever when I reached a metropolis, I didn’t hang around long but, on first impressions, it looked quite nice in an old-school seaside town kind of way. It definitely gets bonus points for the Sea Pool which almost had me stripping off. The breakwater was also worth (an arty black and white) photo. Once I’d stopped off for supplies at Sainsbury’s and done my mini tour, I was on my way again.
On the way to Widemouth Bay, I stopped for a chat with a couple sat on a bench. Other than discussing the stunning coastal views and my amazing challenge, obviously, the main topic of conversation was whether the business opposite (Elements Hotel) had burned down by accident or as part of an insurance scam. It looked very suspicious to me.
If you were looking for a place to stay, you could do worse than Barford Beach House. Sleeps 12, has its own private beach and is very handily right on the SWCP. It will only set you back about £4500 for 4 nights. I think I’d need more friends. A few hundred yards up the hill and slightly more modestly priced at £15 a night was Penhalt Farm campsite. It was fairly basic (i.e. it didn’t have a shop or a bar) but the views were panoramic and there was plenty of room to pitch. I even managed to get a beer from a couple staying in a campervan. 2 young women arrived late and pitched not far in front of me, dangerously risking messing with my view. They had the look of people who were going to be drinking into the early hours (i.e. happy) but were thankfully quiet. As was the rest of the campsite.
