Sunday 5 October 2008 - SWCP - Noss Mayo to Bantham

Deep Brown Water

21 km walk - 9.30 to 16.30, 1000 metres ascent.

Rain lashed down all night. It was still raging as we dashed through the garden to the main house for breakfast. An excellent, leisurely affair.

Still raining.

Fully clad in the latest waterproof gear, we stepped bravely out onto the SWCP.

The rain stopped. The barometer and the thermometer raced each other up the scales. Our morning stroll started along a fine old carriage track fit for a king. "King George" we were told.

On to lunch beside the River Erme.

A puzzle: "How do we cross that?"

Nobody was on hand to provide guidance by crossing before us.

So it was on with the Crocs for Andrew, and bare feet for me and Sue. We chose the widest spot and had luckily timed our crossing to coincide with low tide. Deep Brown Water from last night's deluge over Dartmoor soon engulfed us. It was Fast Flowing. Thigh High. Walking poles were deployed. Short Steps....

But we made it!

On we tramped in lovely sunshine. A white-haired man with a gaudy rucksack appeared at Westcombe Beach. Colin, with unfamiliar gear that has skipped a century!

"The old stuff still works fine" he insisted, having perhaps donated it to a museum.

On to Bigbury-on-Sea. The hotel at Burgh Island is too pricey for us, and we've missed the ferry. But Vida, from Aune Cross Lodge in Bantham, is on hand to zoom us around to her excellent B&B, from where it's a short lurch in front of a lovely sunset to the Sloop Inn for another dose of Dartmoor Ale and a substantial nosh.

Next day