Time Departed: 9.00am

Time Arrived: 2.45pm 

Distance: 13kms 

Weather: Sunny, cool with strong winds - Min 9 Max 17

Accommodation:  The Imperial, Woolacombe  

Feelings: Henk - Relaxed, Di - Good 

We had a great day walking with Tom and didn’t seem to stop talking through the entire walk as we caught up on all the news. Tom drove the 1.5 hours from Bude to meet us in Ilfracomb. He walked with us to Woolacombe then caught the local bus back to Ilfracombe to pick up his car and drive back to Bude. So it was a big day for him. 

We met Tom with our other walking buddy Neil on the 820kms Camino Walk in France, Le Puy en Velay to St Jean Pied de Port in 2018. Knowing Tom lived on the SW Coast Path in Cornwall we said at the time we would get in touch when we returned to finish walking the SW Coast Path. Covid got in the way and we are finally meeting up. 

The path today was not as strenous as previous days and it was mostly undulating but the wind was strong and unrelenting, thankfully it was on our backs. It would have been a challenging day if we had to walk into the wind. The sea was very choppy with lots of white caps. The path was mostly in the open and once again followed the edge of the cliffs. We had stunning views over the rugged coastline. 

When we reached lovely Lee Bay at eleven o’clock we decided it was time to have morning tea.  We walked up a  narrow lane for about a half a kilometre to reach The Grampus Inn a short distance from the small village of Lee. It was good to get out of the wind and we enjoyed the coffee. 

After morning tea we walked for a further 1.5 hours with more dramatic views and decided to find a protected spot for lunch to get out of the wind at 1.00pm.

There was no suitable spot at Bull Point Lighthouse but down the cliff was a picnic bench and the wind wasn’t so strong. Henk and I had our tasty Co-Op sandwiches of chicken and bacon we bought in Ilfracombe High Street as we walked passed and Tom had his packed lunch. 

We diverted from the path and took a lovely partly wooded lane to the little hilltop village of Mortehoe. We were pleased we did as it was a pretty, old village and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Just like Minehead the village also had a hotel called The Ship Aground. This one was covered in Wisteria. 

The last two kilometres from Mortehoe to Woolacombe was an easy descent on the minor road into the small seaside town. We had a good view of the wide sandy beach. 

Tom found a bus stop with the next bus to Ilfracombe arriving in about ten minutes so we farewelled Tom and headed to our accommodation. Who knows when we will meet Tom again? He is excellent company. 

Our friendly host Roger who seems to be in his late seventies was making the most of the afternoon sun and was sitting shirtless at the front of the guesthouse. He had just returned from two weeks in Portugal and had obviously sunbaked there as well. When Roger dies he could use his skin for a dark, wrinkled leather bag. He told us his family have lived in the area for hundreds of years.

Our room is at the front of the building on the first floor with large bayview windows overlooking the extensive sandy beach. 

At six o’clock we headed out for dinner at a local, modern pub. We were quite hungry again. It was a chilly walk and the weather seems to have changed. Before returning to our room we walked around the little town to find where we could buy some lunch supplies before walking tomorrow. We found a Spa and a baker. Most of the shops are geared to seaside tourists with surfing clothes and beach gear.

There is now only three more walking days left to arrive at our destination of Barnstaple.