D114: BRIXTON to PLYMOUTH
Monday 15th April 2024
Today miles: 18.7 Total miles: 1929.8
I’m so, so happy to be back on the English Coastal Path. I’ve walked lots of miles and bagged 30+ Wainwrights in the English Lake District during the winter months but I’m looking forward to the next stage of my four thousand mile adventure walking clockwise around the UK.
The first three days of walking is along the edge of Plymouth Sound before crossing the River Tamar towards Torpoint and then into Cornwall. I should then be able to reconnect with the South West Coast Path.
I recently booked myself into the Plymouth Backpackers for a couple of days and I’m hoping there’ll be no drama.
I arrived in Brixton around 6.50am, after spending almost eighteen hours sat on my backside on three different buses. Despite feeling fatigued, I’m still motivated and raring to get going. The first two miles out of Brixton are straightforward enough and despite being overcast, windy, with occasional light rain I didn’t feel the need to unpack the waterproofs from my pack at any time. I got my first sight of the coastline near Warren Point and it was well worth the wait, the strong wind was whipping up some decent size waves, crashing against the rugged Devon shoreline. After a few minutes admiring the view I moved on, walking along a clearly defined, dry, dirt track. The following three miles was a slow descent down towards the shoreline. As the sky above began to darken I carried on walking until eventually the heavens opened up. It then belted down for the next two hours and I got a proper soaking. I remembering stopping at an old, knarley wooden seat to put on my waterproofs and then moving on as quickly as I could. Hopping across the muddy puddles and trying not to slip.
I had celebrated my thirtieth wedding anniversary late last year and Gemma had given me this beautiful leather bracelet with an attached St Christopher medallion as a special gift. It wasn’t expensive and I had promised to wear it whenever I was away from home. It held huge sentimental value. I wasn’t aware until much later in the day but my much beloved gift had been snagged on my backpack and had sadly detached itself from my wrist. After walking in the heavy rain for two hours I was eventually able to find some short term shelter at Haybrook Bay. After an hour of rest, as I was getting ready to leave, I then realised that the bracelet was missing. The views improved as I passed by several small bays and associated villages, I’d have enjoyed them if I wasn’t still cursing the loss of my anniversary gift.
On reaching the Mount Batten Point and Fort I stopped again and studied my map. I had originally intended stopping at Plymstock and catching a bus into Plymouth however I had made good time so I decided to walk the additional five miles into the backpackers hostel.
I dropped into a small grocery store at Plymstock and picked up some snacks before crossing over the River Plym at Laira Bridge. I was surprised at how nice the walk around the many marinas and industrial estates actually was and the two hour walk just flew by. I reached the backpackers hostel around 4pm and spent the remainder of the evening mingling with the many interesting individuals who live at the hostel.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 