Friday 20th April: Weather: 10°C all day: Eerily misty just on the cliff edge, sunny just 200 metres inland
Bude to Crackington Haven: 17k walk: 9am to 3pm walk: 3pm to 3.30pm bus: 700 metres Ascent and Descent
Accommodation: Wyvern House Bude
Wyvern House, 7 Downs View Bude
Early morning golfers in the mist
Cliff top walking in the mist
Cuppa tea Widemouth Beach shelter
Surf lessons for the kids, 9·C
Good paths along cliff to edge
Two surfers at Millook Beach
Pretty white flowers of Blackthorn
Thick mist hangs over the cliff edge
Lunch new Tresmorn
My photo of Ian at lunch is better
Back in Bude googling supertmarkets
A strange day but great for walking. The mist clung to the cliffs like fairy floss to a stick, whilst just 200 metres inland, the sun shone brilliantly and we could see the mist “hanging” above the cliff tops.
6am start as usual and a few phone calls home before breakfast of muesli fruit and yoghurt followed by a full English breakfast of which we ate the messy part - the eggs and baked beans, and put the rest in our container. Our plan is to walk to Crackington Haven, about 17k along the coast and catch either the 2.48pm or 4.48pm bus back.
It’s misty and cold as we leave at 9am and cross the Downs View Rd to the Golf Links where there’s some hardy souls playing golf with no idea of where the next tee is. They’re probably thinking the same about us - walking the coastal path with no views anywhere! Past Sainsbury’s, through the tow, across the canal and up the headland. It’s gonna be a misty day but pleasant for walking in the cool mist on safe grassy tracks with no heavy back packs, just morning tea, lunch and wet gear.
After 2hrs of cliff top walking at 10°C, we’re looking for a place for morning coffee and spy a shelter shed at the back end of the toilet facilities at Widemouth Bay. It’s a cosy spot out of the cool breeze. There’s about 20 kids in the surf having a board riding lesson. I’m sure some of them have no wetsuits on. Brrr! Along the edge of farms on the cliff top path which sometimes switches to the nearby country road. A motorist comes by an stops “Would you like me to describe the view that you don’t see” he says with a thick Cornish accent. “It’s a really splendid coastal view - some of the time - but mostly it’s misty”. Thanks for telling us what we no already know.
Down the lane we descend to the little beachside hamlet of Millook where there’s two surfers waxing up their surfboards ready to plunge in. One is an Aussie who reckons that this spot has the best waves in Cornwall. We chat a few minutes. He lives in Stretton, about 9 miles away and comes to Millook all the time.
Back on the track over the headland through the pretty white flowers of the sea blackthorn bushes covering the cliffs. The mist is thick but the track is good until we see a sign indicating a steep descent to the Strand, and to exercise extreme caution along this section of the path with crumbling cliff edges. Time to detour back onto the country roads towards the farms of Dizzard. And to our amazement, after walking only 200 metres inland away from the cliff edge, the mist disappeared and blue skies appeared. On looking back, we could see this eerie mass of heavy mist hanging just above the cliff edge with just a few misty wisps rolling across the farm lands.
A few past the pretty collection of farmhouses in Dizzard, there’s a sign to Tresmorn, a farm we had hoped to stay at for BnB tonight but was full, like everything else in the area, forcing us to stay a second night in Bude. But there’s a seat by the road side, out of the wind and in the sun and it’s 1.30pm. A perfect spot for lunch of fresh bread cheese, tomatoes and mayonnaise. A farm dog appears and relishes a few pats and tickles, but when he tries to lift his leg to trade mark my back pack, it’s time to move on.
More country roads following the signs to Crackington Haven, all the while watching this eerie cloud of mist hanging above the cliff edge. The road is roller coaster all the way and as we near Crackington Haven, a coastal village, we merge into a thick mist again. It’s almost 3pm and checking the time table at the bus stop opposite the Cabin Cafe, confirms thatwe’ve just missed the 2.48pm bus. Looking around for a spot for afternoon tea, we spy a bus coming down the hill. He stops and I ask him is this the bus to Bude. He replies “if you’re going to Bude, you’d better hop on.” And we did. Apparently the 2.48pm bus was late. Bus drivers in teh South West seem to have their own sense of humour. On the first day of hiking when caught the bus from Taunton to Minehead, we hopped on, handed the frive a £10 note, expecting everyone was going to Minehead and he says “Could you give me a clue where you are going!"
The bus hootles along the main road, passing in and out of the mist when the road came close to teh cliff edge and at 3.30, we arrive in Bude shrouded in mist and cold. Nothing had changed since we left this morning. A quick walk around Bude Castle then up to Sainsbury’s to buy 4 more cans of the Cornish ale Tribute, cheese, bread and Carnation milk, and back to our Wyvern House BnB to have a hot shower and catch up on blogging and emails while sipping a cold beer before dinner. Stretched out on the bed, dinner is at 6pm of sausage, bacon, capsicum and tomato with mayonnaise. It’s too cold to go out.