Date: 10th – 13th January 2002
Participants: Graham Beevor, Howard Hillier-Daines, Drew Rush, Malcolm Rush,
John Schmitt and Geoff Wright.
Two of our regulars were missing this year, so for our very first trip to Devon, we were down to just 6 hikers. Malcolm Duff’s excuse was that he had moved down to Wiltshire and was running a village store and Post Office that made it difficult to get time off.
Geoff drove down separately and despite the weather not being very good had no problems. However, the freezing fog on the M4 caused problems for the other drivers - their inability to see through their windscreens necessitated a short stop.
The result of this was that Geoff arrived at The Denes, our B&B in Lynton, first and chose the single room. The rest of us shared a double and a triple. Our hosts John and Sally McGowan who had set up their business a year earlier, were very welcoming. John was also very keen on hiking and walking and involved with the Doone Run, an annual cross country race of about 10 miles, which takes its name from the book Lorna Doone, and covers much of the area around Lynton and Lynmouth.
Friday
The plan for Friday was to cover some; 19km (12 miles) to be precise, of Exmoor, so we went south to Hillsford Bridge and parked the cars. From there we picked up the Two Moors Way, also known as the Tarka Trail, and headed south.
There was not much to see but it was a nice bright day that made for a very pleasant walk. We were a bit surprised therefore when a very posh sounding girl in hunting gear and on horseback, wanting to know if we had seen the hunt, approached us. She was obviously lost as we had – it was on the other side of the valley, about a mile to the west.
Our destination was the Exe Head, the source of one of the South West’s great rivers, which meanders for 58 miles before entering the English Channel at Exmouth. As the Tarka Trail comes down from the north and turns to the west the river starts as a trickle in the gully.
We continued on the Tarka Trail and decided that we would stop for lunch at Pinkery Pond, not too far away. Malcolm had set the pace and arrived first, settled himself on the dam and started to have his lunch. The rest of us were a bit behind but upon arrival decided to move around the lake a bit so we could sit in the sun – Malcolm though stayed where he was.
It was in fact quite pleasant and we could have stayed for quite a while. However, we did not, and we continued on the trail to Woodbarrow Gate, where the trail turns south.
We turned north and went down onto the moor as we headed for Shallowford.
From here it was east to North Furzehill and then north to South Sparhanger, before crossing a muddy path through fields to Smallcombe Bridge and then back to the cars.
Back at the B&B we changed and then looked through the visitor information before asking John, the owner, to recommend a place to eat and drink. We walked to the Bridge Inn, with part of it built on stilts, overlooking the West Lyn River and had a good meal.
Saturday
Saturday’s hike included a walk along the South West Coast Path, so we drove out on the A39 to County Gate, where we parked the car in an official car park.
We started by following a footpath north, into Glenthorne Plantation, where we joined the Coast Path as it came in from the east. As well as being narrow and exposed in places the route was also in one place difficult to follow because of a diversion due to a landslip.
Nevertheless, we did eventually reach Foreland Point, and were battered by strong winds upon rounding the headland where the lighthouse was.
Even as we headed south it was still very windy and on at least one occasion we were nearly blown off the path.
As we got further down the hillside our lunchtime destination came into sight – a pub that goes by the grand name of The Exmoor Sandpiper Inn.
We stayed here for a bit and even checked out the Sunday lunch menu – thinking that it might be a suitable place to lunch after the morning walk and before our journey home.
After lunch our thoughts turned to the hike back to the cars, and although the pub was located on the A39 we obviously did not want to hike along the road. We therefore doubled back slightly and took the footpath across the fields, through Kipscombe Farm to Dogsworthy Cottage, where we rejoined the main road.
We completed the remainder of our 14km (8.5 mile) hike along the road, battling a strong head wind.
We ate and drank at the Bridge Inn again.
Sunday
After settling our bills and bidding farewell to John and Sally at the B&B, we heading once again out of Lynton on the A39. This time we did not travel as far, stopping at the car park just past Countisbury.
We followed the footpath down the slope in the direction of Wilsham and just after crossing a small stream it started to rain – the signal to stop and put on our waterproofs.
It was then a case of cutting across to the path that runs along the side of the East Lyn. From here we followed the river downstream as it meandered its way to Watersmeet.
fter a short break we continued along the riverbank before taking the steep path up out of the valley to the main road. From there we walked east to the Exmoor Sandpiper Inn for Sunday lunch.
The short walk back to the cars after our meal completed an enjoyable weekend, which had made a change from climbing peaks over the previous three years.