The most of section 14 in the SWCPA handbook
16.3 km along the coast and 0.5 km Inland
From the campsite a path lead directly to the Coastal path. So, as it was forecast to be hot and sunny, we decided to walk in the morning and unusually we planned to catch the bus back at the end of the day.
It was only about 10 minutes’ walk, through farmland, having just been cut for hay, to the Coast path. From here an easy walk towards Widemouth Bay. There was a poorly signed diversion where the path had been eroded and we had to join the road for a short distance. Then across sand dunes and down to Widemouth Bay, for a swim to cool down.
As it was nearly high tide, there was only a relatively narrow strip of sand. A large group of children and teachers arrived for a picnic, presumably to celebrate the end of term. I walked back up to a signed “One-stop” shop to buy lunch for later, but they didn’t offer much, so I just bought rolls and a packet of cut ham.
Then we walked across the sand and stared going up. The guide had warned us that, although the section from Bude to Widemouth Bay was easy, the rest of section towards Crackington Haven became severe.
Not much later we joined the road, the a steep assent and decent to Millbrook, where we decentred to a shingle beach and spectacular geological markings in the cliffs where the rocks had been folded into zigzag patterns.
The path continued with a series of fairly level cliff top paths and steep valleys. We stopped for our DIY lunch in the shade by a stream near Bynorth cliff, one of the valleys.
Not long later, somewhere near Dizzard cliffs, a white dog, with a black face came up to us and started to follow. He seemed to know the path and ran ahead, over and under the stiles and gates, so we assumed that he was from a nearby farm and would soon make his way home.
However he continued to follow, or sometimes lead us, and even jumped over a gate when we tried to persuade him to go home. Luckily we met a friendly, local, young couple who phoned the owner and offered to reunite him.
There was one last hill before we descended to Crackingon Haven and we had time for a quick swim in the sea before catching the 16:44 bus, which was about 10 minutes late, back to the campsite.
