12th - 22nd September (Tour 2) Part 2 Hurley Riverside Park Bude Camping and Caravan Park

Tuesday 12th September - A nice sunny start to the day and a quick getaway for our 240 mile drive from Hurley to Bude in Cornwall - and that really was a Plan B!  Originally our itinerary was for our second site to be in Somerset but 'Hey Ho' we like Cornwall better.  

Happily our drive was another easy one and only took a little over 4 hours so in the early afternoon we were set up and ready to start the second part of our 'holiday' on the windy site with distant coastal views that is about 8 miles outside Bude.  

Friday 13th September - much less windy today and lots of sunshine for our first coastal walk of this tour!  John picked Hartland Point which was a bit strange because we've come to Cornwall but that was back in Devon!  

Our drive to get there was a little over 20 miles but the last few of them were of the white knuckle variety😱😰😨 as our sat nav 'guided' us along barely car width lanes before kicking us out at The National Trust's car park at East Titchberry.   From there we were able to  almost immediately pick up the Coastal Path that initially led us past a large mushroom The Civil Aviation Authorities Radar Station that is still in use today.  However, it began life in 1941 as a naval VHF intercept station linked to the Enigma Code Breaking operation at Bletchley Park.  Later, in June 1942 during the 2nd World War it formed part of a comprehensive system of radar detection covering the British coast in response to an aerial and naval threat from Germany. However, it seems that the German pilots eventually realised that if they flew low enough they could evade detection. 

From there we didn't have much further to go before we came to Hartland Point with it's Lighthouse near the base that was built in 1874.  The rocky outcrop stands 325 feet high and marks the point of the western limit of the Bristol Channel with the Atlantic Ocean continuing to the west.   Apparently the Romans called it the Promontory of Hercules!

Our walk continued for about 3 miles along the coastal path and the going was quite tough as it followed the contours of the cliffs with numerous ups and downs (with long flights of steps) along the way.  However, although we had to watch our step for trip traps our attention was mostly focused on the lovely coastal views that included Lundy Island.   We paused for lunch on a well placed bench overlooking sharp jagged rocks before looping inland to make our walk a tough circular 6.5 miler. 

Saturday 14th September -  A lovely warm sunny day from start to finish 😎- and today was another one that we spent in Devon 😂!  Our plan was to go to Bideford and to Nordic Walk 👣 along part of the Tarka Trail from Bideford to Instow and that is exactly what we did - 8.5 miles of quick walking!

The Tarka Trail is named after Tarka the Otter and is a 30 odd mile traffic free route  that runs from Braunton to  Meeth Halt Railway Station, however many of the web sites describe it as a 180 mile figure of eight loop much of which is over footpaths and bridleways through the Devon countryside and coastal paths.  

Our walk today was along a section beside The River Torridge were there were loads of old ships floundering on the mud flats that also attracted plenty of bird life. 

Then it was lunch in Instow while gazing across the towns lovely beach and more distantly over to Appledore where we once stayed on a wild camp spot in our motorhome.  

Then it was a simple matter of retracing our steps and seeing the views from the opposite direction.  Our 'Fit apps' told us we'd walked 17,700 steps and burnt nearly a thousand calories so I guess Nordic Walking must be good for us!!!

Sunday 15th September - a mostly overcast day but still warm and no rain until the evening.  And what did we do??? We went back into Devon for a third day running 😂 and that was to visit The National Trust's Cotehele.  After a couple of hard days walking we thought this might offer an easy option and I suppose it did but we still managed over 4 miles and probably half of that was steeply uphill😲.

Cotehele was the ancestral home of the Edgcumbe family from 1353 and for nearly six centuries it remained in their ownership until in 1947 the 6th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe passed it on to the National Trust. The old house stands high above The River Tamar and with it's very extensive lands it offered us plenty to do.   

We started our tour by visiting the house which was full of ancient relics, and from there we moved on to the Mother Orchard where scrumping was being encouraged!

The Trees were old and somewhat neglected so the fruit was a bit scabby
but we did manage to find a few edible ones.

Then as we left the huge orchard we came across this display which was completely made up of fruit!

It would have been easier to scrump from here!
I think this was maybe where all the best fruit was hiding. 

Our next stop was on a viewing platform that overlooked  The Calstock Viaduct which is a Grade II listed structure that has 12 arches and which was completed in 1907 to form part of Devonport and Southwest Junction Railway.

The Calstock Viaduct which spans The River Tamar

We then proceeded down to the Quay side where we learnt that The River Tamar forms most of the boundary between Devon and Cornwall as it flows south from it's source at Woolley Moor near the North Cornwall Coast and continues for 61 miles before emptying into the sea at Plymouth Sound.

The Tidal Tamar

It was on the Quay side that we also met Shamrock - the last River Barge to be built and operate in this area - she is now being renovated and will hopefully sail on the Tamar again sometime in the future. 

The Shamrock

Monday 16th September - A mostly sunny day and for our 4th day in Cornwall we did something different!  Instead of leaving  the county for our days entertainment we stayed in it and visited Wadebridge from where we walked along the lovely Camel Trail to Padstow and back!  

The start of our walk at Wadebridge

As we started our walk beside the River Camel the tide was out but that gave us glorious views over the mud flats and of the many birds seeking a snack!

By the time we reached Padstow we were starving but that was soon put right by a little excursion into The Old Custom House where I indulged in not so good fish and chips and John had an Angus Steak Burger which he said was one of the best he had ever had!  

Padstow Harbour

Padstow was absolutely heaving with people going in all sorts of odd directions so after we'd eaten we didn't linger long before setting off on our return journey and enjoying the views from the opposite direction.  

In all our walk was a little over 11 miles - I Nordic Walked and John just walked but in total we did about 22,000 quick steps  so it was no wonder we were a little foot sore by the time we got back to the car!

Tuesday 17th September - a warm and sunny day throughout and today was our day to go to Tintagel!  Parked up and then walked away from Tintagel until we got onto the coastal path and from there we made a slight detour so that we could overlook The National Trust's Trebarwith Beach which we visited back in 2015.  It's located around two miles south of Tintagel and has a long stretch of sand backed by caves and cliffs. 

Once we'd had our fill of gazing over that we about turned and followed the Coastal Path back to the entrance to The English Heritage's Tintagel Castle - another place that we've looked at before but never actually visited!  

However, today we coughed up our 17 quid (senior) entry price and crossed the magnificent bridge that was installed between 2018 and 2019  and that spans a 30 metre gap above a 58 metre drop between two cliffs to reconnect the entrance to the Medieval Castle ruin. 

The dramatic site dates back to the Early Middle Ages, it was probably built around 1230 and it seems that the rocky headland was a royal settlement and thriving trading port used by Cornish kings.

As we progressed around the castle there were loads of legends and stories to entertain us but when we got to the promontories highest point we had to take pics of me right on the edge and John hiding in a sculpture - I'm not sure if it was a knight or a monk!

He's in there somewhere!

From there the only way was down but we didn't go quite as far down as the lower bridge and the cafe! 

Instead we climbed back up a very steep hill to the Castle entrance point in Tintagel and once there we decided to turn today's entrance fee into a 15 month membership for the additional sum of £65!  We had already looked at the sites map and decided there would be loads of other places we would like to visit.  

The View Beyond Tintagel Castle

Once back on Tintagel's streets my eye was caught by a pop up shop selling Rock Gin!  As I approached the gentleman store holder he asked if I would like to sample his wares and I think it would have been rude not to!  He gave me a couple of swigs and this tempted me to cough up 40 quid for a bottle of peppery rock gin that was quite unusual - but extremely nice 😋!  

As you can see we have had a slurp😀

Then once John dragged me away from there we visited The Old Post Office which was purchased by The National Trust in 1903 for £200!   

The back of The Old Post Office

And one of the bedrooms

It's name was probably derived because  it briefly held a licence to be the letter receiving station for the district in Victorian times but it was first built over 600 years ago as a farmhouse and through it's time it has been used as a greengrocers, a dressmakers and also shoes have been made there. 

Today was supposed to be an easy one but we still walked  6.5 miles and did 11500 steps!

Wednesday 18th September - A hot 🌞sunny🌞 day and to pass our time we decided to walk from Widemouth Bay to Bude, and the initial plan was to walk back via Bude Canal but we enjoyed being on the Coastal Path so much that we scrapped that idea and retraced out steps instead!

A distant view of Widemouth Bay where we had to pay the extortionate sum of £10.50 to park!

The views from the cliff tops were stunning and in the warm sun the butterflies were flitting from flower to flower to collect their nectar. 

Bude Beach

Our way was quite hilly and slightly taxing because it was so hot but as we neared Bude we were distracted by The Storm Tower which was designed in 1835 and later became an essential landmark for navigating ships. More recently the Storm Tower has faced challenges due to erosion and this led to it's first relocation inland in 1881 but it also underwent a second relocation in 2023 to protect it from the crumbling cliffs and the encroaching sea! 

Once down in Bude we headed for The Brendon Arms Public House were we indulged in a ham and cheese Ploughman's that was so massive I had to being half back for my tea!  Then after that we went to admire Bude Canal with it's sea lock which is one of only two in the UK.  

Then all that was left was another trek over the  lovely coastal path and that resulted in our mileage for the day being 8.75 - maybe tomorrow will have to be a rest day!

Thursday 19th and Friday 20th September - Both nice days with plenty of sunshine and yesterday, as planned we had a lazy day on site while we caught up with a few basic tasks like washing, cleaning and relaxing.   However, by evening I'd started to feel quite unwell 🤒 and by Friday morning I was ill enough to necessitate a trip to the local Urgent Treatment Centre 😢.  That little visit took nearly 3 hours and by the time I got back to the van all I wanted to do was put my feet up and feel sorry for myself!!  Hopefully, with the magic of antibiotics  I'll feel better tomorrow and we'll be able to get on with our holiday but if the weatherman is to be believed (he's saying heavy rain and thunderstorms) our activity could be curtailed again! 

Saturday 21st September - mostly fine and with a bit of sunshine until 5pm but then light rain started to decorate the caravan windows!  And had I recovered?? Mostly, but I still felt the urge to take it easy so first it was a shopping trip to Wadebridge and later a nip to Bude to walk on the paths that pass over The National Trust's Maer Cliff.

The views from high up on the cliffs were spectacular but we weren't tempted to go to far - just a couple of miles and before sitting on a bench in some warm rays.  

Tomorrow we're moving on again, this time to Cofton near Dawlish Warren in Devon and that will be our home for another 10 days.  So for now its Bye form us and we'll see you soon 😉xxx