D146: CROYDE to ILFRACOMBE
Saturday 21st September 2024
Today miles: 14.0 Total miles: 2393.2
Last night on returning to my tent around 10pm I immediately noticed that several other much larger (family) tents had appeared in my field. Unfortunately the people temporarily residing in these canvas shelters decided to give no thought to anybody but themselves. One of the groups which was about twenty metres away had several youngsters with them and they were shouting and being very loud until around three in the morning. That’s the huge negative consequence of staying on a big, popular holiday park on a weekend. Anyway, I left the holiday park this morning around 8am, shortly after grabbing a few snacks from the small on-site shop. There’s a huge one hundred year old whale bone on display on the edge of town. It’s strange what objects people will exhibit. Almost immediately I’m walking along the top of low(ish) cliffs towards Baggy Point. I could hear loud voices coming from the bottom of the cliffs and I initially thought that somebody must have fallen and was shouting for help. As I looked down I saw several people in wet/dry suits clambering over the rocks. They were all laughing, not screaming. It’s called Coasteering and it involves scrambling, leaping, swimming around the cliffs and exploring sea caves. It looks like something I’d like to try out in the future. It’s nice walking and the views were spectacular, particularly from Baggy Point. The route then drops down to Putsborough Sand where there’s a small caravan park and a (free) public toilet. I dropped down onto the sandy beach, removed my shoes and walked along Woolacombe Sand. The tide was fairly high and several times I had to leave the sand and clamber over a pile of sharp rocks. This was painful with bare feet.
I was making really good time so at the end of the beach I climbed up onto the edge of town and took an extended break on a nice wooden bench. Leaving town I went into full sheep mode and took a wrong turn by following a group of several people assuming they were following the coastal path. I realised my mistake and got back onto the path which follows a minor road up a steep hill, before turning left up a set of wooden steps behind a hotel. There’s a decent path across the cliffs with the Bull Point Lighthouse in the distance. The blues skies began to disappeared above the dark grey clouds and an hour later it began to rain, not heavily but enough for me to throw on my waterproofs. There’s a few steep hills to negotiate before I reached the outskirts of Ilfracombe.
On arrival at Ilfracombe I noticed that the Tarka Trail has now been marked by dozens of footprints printed on the pavement. These helped me to wind my way through the terraced streets and down the hill into the town centre. At the public park there’s a young(ish) couple having quite a loud and heated argument in full view and hearing of everybody passing them by. The substantial pile of lager cans on the floor and the obvious slurred conversation was a clear indication of the condition they were both in. A few minutes later I was booking into my hotel and chilling in my hotel room. I have a friend who once holidayed in Ilfracombe with his family in the 1970’s and 1980’s. He gave quite a positive description of the town when I mentioned I’d be visiting. I think he’d be disappointed if he ever decided to visit again.
The Main Street is decent enough but the sea front is very run down and in need of massive development. The hotel where I’m staying is the only one of several huge buildings that isn’t currently boarded up.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 