Archive for the ‘North West Coast’ Category
We left TJF behind to chill at the camper while me, TBF and TJS went for a walk along the coast. We wanted to take a trip to Lundy but the only available sailing was this, our last day and it was only a short stop on the island. By way of compensation we saw the island ferry sailing by as we walked down to the coast path
Lee Bay (not the same one as we visited the day before) is the first spot we came to
Next was the rollercoaster of steep ups and downs that characterises coastal walking
It was a slightly overcast day but warm and still with dramatic coastal views to distant horizons
Jagged cliffs and rocky bays were the order of the day
Turning south at the Bull Point lighthouse
Perhaps a trip to Lundy should have been the order of the day. It was bathed in sunshine most of the day
We were heading for Morte Point in the distance but as lunchtime was approaching and we’d left TJF to her own devices we called a halt at a bench overlooking Rockham Bay and beach before heading back
A view across to a now almost deserted North Morte Farm campsite
The sun came out as we walked across the heathland back to Mortehoe and the campsite.
It’s a lovely place to stroll especially as the summer crowds had now largely gone
After lunch at the camper we headed back to Woolacombe Beach for some more surfing
The sun came out and it was exceptionally warm but the waves were nothing like as good as they had been a couple of days earlier
I still had plenty of fun in the kayak. A few photos taken from the boat
And our little weekend was over. Rather than waste a day packing up and driving home we had a rushed pack down and tea and headed home late to miss the traffic
Another superb sunset to finish off a splendid long weekend away
We’d been planning a trip to Exmoor as we’d never really been there but the day dawned, dank, grey and miserable and by the time we’d eaten breakfast there was heavy drizzle falling. Time for a change of plan
We headed to Watersmeet, a series of small waterfalls in a deep wooded valley where the East Lyn and Hoaroak Water rivers meet – hence the name
I figured down in the depths of the valley and the woods we might get some shelter from the rain and that proved correct
It was pretty dank and dark down there but we enjoyed a nice stroll along one bank and back along the other.
There were some lovely cascades and pools that would have been good for a swim on a more encouraging day
The light was pretty poor though so the photographs didn’t come out too well
We headed into Lynmouth for a spot of lunch (crab salad for me and TJF, cream teas for TBF and TJS). It actually stopped raining and we took a wander about
The longest water powered cliff railway in the UK (possibly the only one!)
And an interesting tower on the harbour wall that made a nice photo subject
We wanted to explore the coast a bit and headed for the Valley of Rocks. I used to love it here when I was a kid. The rocky pinnacles overlooking the coast always seemed so dramatic and exciting (in the days before I discovered mountain walking). We parked up in an utterly miserable spell of heavy drizzle but I spied a bright line on the horizon and we waited for the rain to stop which it duly did
We took an excellent walk around the various features. This is looking back to Rugged Jack
And this is the coastal view from the top of Castle Rock
It looked bright and sunny over south Wales which we hoped was heading our way but it never really arrived (although we’d seen the last of the rain)
Looking back to Castle Rock
There is a walkway that traverses along the seaward side of the rocky ridge and you can climb to the top and scramble along if so inclined
As we’d left TJF in the car we thought we’d better head back and make sure she still had a phone signal to avert any boredom!
The resident goats
And the view of the Valley and the Rocks
We still had a more time to fill so we drove on a mile our so for another walk to a “secret” beach from my Wild guides.
This is Lee Bay where we started from and it proved to be a longer and more strenuous walk than we’d thought
We were heading for this magnificent beach near Crock Point. You had to scramble through an overgrown tunnel through the hedge and descend a slope that had ropes fixed such was the steepness (the book had warned us of this)
It really was steep and near the bottom, even with ropes it felt very loose and exposed so even I decided it was too risky. The photo below shows the ropes but doesn’t really do justice to how steep it was
The views were excellent though and I enjoyed a little bit of adventure to finish the day
When we returned to the campsite there was a Fish and Chip van on site and very good it was too
The sun finally came out and gave us a wonderful sunset
I took a very fine walk around the site and the local fields to enjoy the show
Always good to end a day by the coast with a grand sunset
Happy Birthday to TBF and what better way to celebrate than a trip to Ilfracombe – doesn’t everyone do that?
I must have been here a few times in my youth but I don’t recall it that much but it’s rather splendid. It has some nice views along the coast, an interesting harbour, beaches and nice walks
It also now has a Damien Hirst sculpture overlooking the harbour. Its called “Verity”
Description from his website:
“Verity is an allegory for truth and justice. Her stance is taken from Edgar Degas’s ‘Little Dancer of Fourteen Years’ (c. 1881). An anatomical cross- section of her head and torso reveal her skull and the developing foetus inside her womb.
Verity stands on a base of scattered legal books and holds the traditional symbols of Justice – a sword and scales. Representing truth, her scales are hidden and off-balance behind her back, whilst her sword is held confidently in her upstretched arm.
She was fabricated in bronze in over 40 individual sand castings at Pangolin Editions foundry, in Gloucestershire. Her phosphor-bronze surface is 20 millimetres thick and her internal support structure is a single piece of stainless steel. The sculpture is weather and lightning-proof and underwent extensive wind-tunnel-testing to ensure her capability of withstanding the force of high winds and sea spray. After two years of planning and production, Verity arrived in Ilfracombe in three parts in October 2012. After a week’s assembly on site, the sculpture was hoisted into final position using a 250 tonne crane.”
As with most Damien Hirst work, its very odd but an arresting and interesting sight
We scoffed a pasty and crab sandwich lunch sitting on the harbour wall, watched a mock lifeboat rescue in the harbour and walked up to the Chapel of St Nicholas that overlooks the harbour
There is a fine coastal walkway on the seaward side of Capstone Hill
Finishing off our visit with a climb up Capstone Hill itself for more fine views
It was actually pretty hot and sunny by the time we left so we swiftly headed to the beach for more kayaking and body boarding. It turned out to be some of the best surf for many years and we both (TBF and me) had a cracking afternoon. When we were back at the campsite the Waverley Steam Ship ploughed past for us
To finish off the birthday treats we went back to Ilfracombe for a seafood supper at the excellent Espresso Seafood bar. TJF had her first taste of Lobster which she was very pleased about and the rest of us shared a number of seafood small plates. It was all delicious.
A couple of pictures of the two ladies in my life, the two Funsters
Hopefully TBF will agree that was a pretty good birthday
Sun, sea and seafood (Ilfracombe doesn’t begin with an “S” unfortunately)
Short little post from a day out on our North Devon weekend.
A grey day prompted a day out so we headed for Westward Ho! (only place name in the UK with an exclamation mark) and where I spent many happy family holidays as a kid
Safe to say its changed a lot since then. We visited around 10 years ago and it seemed very run down and sad. Since then they seem have improved things a great deal. Many of the very old chalets seems to have been renovated and the general area looks much happier and welcoming (it looked like an army barracks before). The only blight is that the planning department have allowed developers to build two huge apartment blocks right on the seafront. They obscure the view for many and as you’d expect all the money was spent on the interiors and the front. The rear which is what most people see is just an ugly wall of concrete. Really beggars belief that someone looked at the plans and thought that was fine. Makes you suspicious as the motivations of the people that approve such things!
Anyway we took a stroll along the seafront and around the seawater pool in the rocks which was still pleasant
We had a very nice lunch in a Thai restaurant and then took a wander on to the beach. We were hoping to do some body boarding and surfing but the waves looked a bit feeble
Afterwards we wanted a walk on the coast so headed to the dramatic headland at Hartland.
Right on cue just as we stepped from the car it started to drizzle. We went out anyway and enjoyed the briefest of wanders onto the top of the headland with views out over the rocks to the island of Lundy
The cliffs and views were spectacular but it was damp grey and dreary so we headed back to the campsite
The weather seemed to brighten on the way back so we detoured to the beach at Putsborough at the south end of Woolacombe beach
On a whim me and TBF went body boarding and surf kayaking for an hour and even though the waves were a bit small it was actually pretty good fun and finished off the day nicely
As an added treat the sun came out and gave us some nice late evening light while we got changed
We were pretty late back to the campsite but we’d eaten at lunchtime so a late sandwich saw us through. All in all a good day out
After a short couple of weeks back at work I needed another holiday. As it was TBFs birthday we took a long weekend in North Devon in the camper.
We stayed at the very fine Damage Barton camping site near Morthoe and Woolacombe. Great views across the north coast and Bristol Channel to south Wales and superb facilities will make this a regular spot for future trips. We hadn’t visited this area since the kids were small so I was looking forward to a revisit
The first morning was gloriously sunny and after a morning doing the shopping and replacing the pop up tent that TJS uses we went out for a walk after lunch
It clouded over while we were out which was a shame but the weather was still warm and dry. We wandered through the campsite at North Morte Farm where we used to stay. Its a superb spot as the camping area has great views and feels a bit like wild camping as the fields are tucked into the heathland. The downside is that there are not many flat spots and they don’t take bookings so its pot luck whether you find a suitable spot, more important when you have a trailer tent. As it turned out the site was mostly empty and we would have had a pick of places to set up but there you go. The site has direct access down to Rockham Beach
We spent many happy hours down here when the kids were small as it has a perfect combination of safe swimming, sand and rock pools to explore. At the end of the Bank Holiday week we were surprised to find it pretty much deserted
We had a nice pither about, poked about in the rock pools and sat on the rocks to chill out
Access is by a very steep set of 100 steps that have only recently been repaired after storm damage
Much as I’df have liked to explore further TJF had had enough of walking (she’s not a great fan) so we headed back to the site for a BBQ
Even though it was cloudy it was still warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the views while eating
The cloud cover gave us a pretty good sunset, one of the real benefits of camping on the west coast
A nice start to what turned out to be a pretty decent long weekend away
surfnslide 