Best bits: amazing views
Worst bits: more hills, up and down
Distance: 19.4 miles
I had a great view of the beach this morning from Priscilla. The promenade and beach were full of people at 8 am.
After a short walk along the prom, it was back uphill again. The first thing of note was this geoneedle.
Bob and Chris from the Cardiff outdoor group were looking at one of the information points as I arrived there. We had a great chat and they gave me a few recommendations of things to watch including Camper Vibe with Emily and Louise.
I came closer to the firing range on Straight Point. I could see the red flags flying and then the firing was in full flow, at times like firecrackers and others single shots. The noise shattered the peace and tranquility of the morning. As I came round the headland I could see the shells landing in the sea.
It wasn’t long before I was climbing uphill on the red cliffs. These cliffs are clearly unstable and there was plenty of evidence of recent landslides along the way.
Sometimes like today admiring the views in glorious sunshine and I’m feeling happy I’ll suddenly catch myself and feel guilty that Angela is not here to share it with me.
The path moved away from the cliff edge and into more pleasant woodland tracks. There were many insects around today, note to self I now need to carry insect repellent.
It’s a real sign of spring to hear multiple birds tweeting in the trees and hedgerows. I’m no twitcher so I’ve no idea what type of birds they are and I can’t even see them to help me identify them.
The land here looks like parched earth and the farmers fields are very dry however there are signs of new growth for their crops.
I took a little detour away from the beach at Budleigh Salterton to see if I could find a café for a cup of tea. Result!
I’ve not been wanting to upset the system with my feet and so I’ve been still wearing my waterproof socks. However, today I decided to swap back into normal socks to see how it goes in the warmer dry weather. All good.
The path was closed at her point due to a landslip, so I had to detour along the road. ladder and Bay.
The sun was quite strong today fortunately I had my sunglasses with me and my buff which when positioned properly covered the back of my neck.
Just before Sidmouth there had been a major landslide during the winter. Apparently, this whole section dropped in less than 10 minutes completely changing the landscape.
Vince and Sarah very kindly bought me lunch today. They have been coming to Sidmouth for many years and I knew the best place to get cake.
Then back up the rather large hill where the coastal path used to pass behind the houses on the cliff edge. Due to coastal erosion a lot of the outbuildings and houses have disappeared off the edge of the cliff so now the path runs in front of the houses.
Cristine and Sue were interested in my story and we chatted a while.
Angela was from Hebden Bridge and was on a day off from her coach trip.
There were many more landslides to see. The coastal path was still going up and down, up and down and back down to sea level before climbing back up the cliff.
Later in the afternoon, the mist came down and was to stay for the rest of the day. The temperature dropped quite rapidly along with visibility. However, it did make looking back quite eerie.
You may recall that I met Debs and Jim a couple of weeks ago. They offered to help me should I require it. So today Debs kindly collected me from Branscombe Beach and took me back to Priscilla at Exmouth.
Then I had to drive in the fog and the dark towards Branscombe. Having been a passenger in Deb‘s car earlier, I decided that Priscilla probably wouldn’t manage to get down some of those streets. So instead I elected to drive to Beer. What a great name for a place. 
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