Porlock Weir to Combe Martin
I got up at 6 am and it was still on the edge of darkness. The bivy kept me dry and warm and I had an ok sleep. The sky was clear and this was the beginning of my good weather spree, which lasted for 12 days. I decided not to use the A-frame tarp setup anymore. I strarted walking by 6.30 when it was light enough to see. It was quite chillly until about 10 am when the sun started rising above the hills.
I was using my usual walking pattern of 50 minutes in an hour, which I would change later on. I met a walker who was going the other way and would be finishing his hike tonight. By lunchtime I got to Lynmouth, where I had my first and last fish and chips. I also managed to fall into some very spikey bush there:)
I spent about an hour resting on the beach and took off. The fish and chips was really filling and I found it difficult to walk. I even made a resolution not to eat big meals in the middle of the day (how clueless I was…)The rest of the afternoon was quite rich with level changes, but I was still fresh and full of energy. Navigation was also a piece of cake:
It got quite hot during the afternoon and I spent most of it topless. I got to Combe Martin at 7 pm and walked straight into a seafront pub. A pint, a soup, a sandwich and a chat with a Scottish dude. It was his first walk ever and he was going to do the whole Path. Unfortunately that was the end of his hike, because he busted his knee. Well, traditional heavy gear can do that to you, and he had it all. Poor guy walked into a fully stocked outdoor shop and walked out of an empty one:) I spent too much time in the pub and it was starting to get dark. Suddenly I realised that I was still in a village and that it would be hard to find a place to camp. I started walking and found a holiday park just outside the village. I paid 9 quid to pitch for the night (thats way too expensive), quickly set up camp and went to bed.
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South West Coast Path 2009 