The a small part of section 13 in the SWCPA handbook
9.1km along the coast and 10.9km Inland
After a rather disappointing, and expensive evening and night in Bidefors, we stopped for breakfast at “Coffee in the square” and apart from a good breakfast, from friendly staff, bought our packed lunch for the day. Then on to Hartland Quay, where the Sat Nav said that we were not allowd to go, found a really good parking place.
So we walked down to the hotel and what is left of a once thriving quay. Quite an interesting place, where there is a hotel, a small beach shop, including a museum. However this was not yet open, tere are good views from a mound and a beach, but it was quite rough and there wa nobody there.
The path starts with a climb back up some steps, past the car-park and then through rather interesting cliff top pasture before descending to Speke’s Mill Mouth. Here there is a waterfall where the stream descends to the beach.
After crossing a bridge the seemed to be a choice of paths, we met a man who had started walking up what he thought was the main Coastal path and then returned, however my map suggest it was the correct path and he returned and we followed him. This was steep, and close to the cliff edge in places and the GPS track seems to show it diverging from the coastal path.
At the top we met a group going the other way, who had the same dilemma with a signpost showing the acorn in both directions. They decided to follow the lower, perhaps easier option. From there the path followed the clifftop, and was mostly quite wide and relatively level until we came to a steep and loose in places descent to Welcome Mouth. Here there is another waterfall down to the beach and grassy mounds which provided some shelter from the freshening westerly breeze and we stopped for a good sandwich which we had bought in the coffee shop in Hartland.
We returned inland, following a series of roads, with very little traffic, and footpaths. Only a little before the end we came across a tea-room, which where we stopped for a Devon cream tea. This was Donton Mill and the garden was open, at a price, but it looked in a bit of a time-warp, but had been impressive in the past.
Only another couple of fairly steep road and tracks took us to the church at Stoke, who were also offering tea, then down to our car at Hartland Quay.
