COMBE MARTIN to ILFRACOMBE Stage 6 (26th July 2007)

We arrived in by bus from at 13.45 in a downpour. After an impromptu cream tea the sun came out so we started walking west around 14.30. It was bright and sunny for a while then a few short sharp showers so we wore our disposable capes (again!) which flapped noisily in the strong west wind. It was still rather muddy underfoot but not bad, considering the recent deluges. This is not the most exciting stretch of the path, being rather close to the A399 road for much of the route, but has good views out to sea (and Lundy is visible in clear weather). We arrived in at about 17.00 and stayed at an excellent B&B, the Norbury House. Dinner at the Espresso Cafe was also very good.

Total time (including stops) around 3.5 hours. Length of walk: 5.3m (8.6km) Ascent on walk: 550m

The South West Coast Path is the longest of the official UK National Trails, running from Minehead in Somerset round the English south west peninsula coast to Poole in Dorset. The total length is just over 1000 kilometres or, more precisely, 630 miles. Only very dedicated walkers could contemplate completing the whole walk in one go, although plenty of people have done just this. Received opinion is that it would take around 6 weeks, even for the most dedicated.

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