Crossing the border.
|
Day 8 - Mowenstow - Bude
Author : Dave
Statistics:
|
A milestone reached.
Jason in washing line mode.
After a superb breakfast we we left the farmhouse in the surprisingly warm early morning sun and started to wander down the road. The landlady came rushing out and informed us we were going the wrong way - "it's OK, everyone does that". Seems we're as stupid as everyone else then. One of the downsides of the warm weather is that B&B's don't have their heating on, which means we can't dry out our socks and pants that we wash in the sink every evening. That's one of the problems with travelling light. Two sets on socks and pants each - the one's I'm wearing and the spare pair. Putting on damp smalls in an evening after a shower is a bit unpleasant and we hadn't been able to dry last nights washing thus a bit of improvisation was necessary. Bungee cords on the back of rucksacks are perfect for hanging out your washing to dry. If you ever see a slightly grimy looking long distance walker with socks and pants hanging on their rucksack, well - now you know why. To be honest I'm not actually sure how common this practice is. It seemed very logical to me but Jason took a bit of convincing. After an hour or so we passed a bit of a milestone - we crossed over the border from Devon to Cornwall. We had started in Somerset, walked the entire North Devon coast and will finish in Cornwall.
The weather takes a turn for the worst as we drop in to Bude.
We plodded on up and down hills past some superb coastal scenery in the blazing sun which was starting to get a bit warm now.
Although this was a short day the first two thirds was hard going on the
legs with constant and steep ups and downs. Around lunchtime it was all
change; terrain and weather. The undulations became less severe and
less frequent and it started to rain. Light rain at first but it
gradually got and as we rounded the headland past the top secret radar
station with razor wire fences and CCTV cameras every 50 yards, the wind
picked up and started to blow the rain directly into our faces. Bude
was only a couple of miles or so away now and pretty much a gradual down
slope over nice easy grassy ground all the way. An easy walk in favourable conditions. These weren't favourable conditions. This is where the Dave master plan and subject of much piss taking during the course of the week. My chav hat (more commonly know as a baseball cap). Wear one of these under the hood of the waterproof and the peak protects you face from the onslaught of the wind driven rain. For once, Jason didn't take the piss - well maybe he did but as he was a long way back because he couldn't see where he was going, I wouldn't have heard him.
So The end of the first week and our destination, Bude, is worth a mention. We had low expectations which usually means you are less likely to be disappointed but this turned into a very good evening. After checking into our cheap hotel attached to a Pub (The Brendon Arms) and having a cheeky pint Jason had first dibs on the bath and I went for a reccy round Bude as I needed to buy a cheap T-shirt that didn't smell like a goats scrotum for the journey home. Even washing two T-shirts I had every evening on rotation didn't stop them getting more than a little skanky by the end of the week. I found a curry house - perfect ! A pub that had live music on later that evening and real ale - double perfect. That was the plan for the evening sorted.
After wolfing down a pretty decent curry we set off for the Carriers Inn to watch the band there. The band weren't starting until 9:00 so we stopped off at The Globe which was a rather unusual place to say the least.... the clientèle I suspect were...errr....rather too closely related to each other. We put a pound in the jukebox which was then promptly turned off and the coin slots taped up. Odd we thought. Then things went from odd to downright bizarre when Kev's 'care in the community' karaoke came on. We started to laugh only to realise that the six fingered audience weren't. We legged it !
The Carriers Inn and the Whiskey Thieves more than made up for it though and would highly recommend both.
So The end of the first week and our destination, Bude, is worth a mention. We had low expectations which usually means you are less likely to be disappointed but this turned into a very good evening. After checking into our cheap hotel attached to a Pub (The Brendon Arms) and having a cheeky pint Jason had first dibs on the bath and I went for a reccy round Bude as I needed to buy a cheap T-shirt that didn't smell like a goats scrotum for the journey home. Even washing two T-shirts I had every evening on rotation didn't stop them getting more than a little skanky by the end of the week. I found a curry house - perfect ! A pub that had live music on later that evening and real ale - double perfect. That was the plan for the evening sorted.
After wolfing down a pretty decent curry we set off for the Carriers Inn to watch the band there. The band weren't starting until 9:00 so we stopped off at The Globe which was a rather unusual place to say the least.... the clientèle I suspect were...errr....rather too closely related to each other. We put a pound in the jukebox which was then promptly turned off and the coin slots taped up. Odd we thought. Then things went from odd to downright bizarre when Kev's 'care in the community' karaoke came on. We started to laugh only to realise that the six fingered audience weren't. We legged it !
The Carriers Inn and the Whiskey Thieves more than made up for it though and would highly recommend both.
