Day 2 Porlock to Lynmouth (12.5 miles /20km )

 Day 2        Porlock to Lynmouth  (12.5 miles /20km )  

There is no easing in gently to The South West Coast Path….I had read this many times in my planning and today I was able to confirm this.    It was a dramatic, wild and leg testing section and a very memorable hiking day – crossing over from Somerset into Nth Devon taking in the best of Exmoor and an undulating landscape of 3000 plus feet of climbs and descents.  

 I’m not sure about the 20km as I ended up at 26km – each one as varied as it was spectacular.   I finished in Lynmouth thinking only of a hot shower and a cup of tea… acutally wrong order.   

There were to be no stops on the trail today to buy any tea or supplies so it was a take everything with you , tea -less day – (my new word , meaning a day free of tea and hopefully not one I will have to use often.).  Knowing this I thought I should make the most of the breakfast part of the Bed and Breakfast .   Chris and Clare have this down – it was excellent and thank goodness with what was to come.   My sister who has my back in all instances is following closely not only the walking part but most importantly the stays and food situations along the way , had already googled the menu at my B and B before I hit the village – she knew before I did about the local bacon that would come with my eggs and that there would be grapefruit slices.  It was an excellent start to the day and I left full of gratitude for this beautiful stop. 

Unfortunatley my good fortune ran out in the sandwich department.   Everything in the village was yet to open so I had to pop into the Co-Op where the only choice was a chicken and bacon sandwich that looked like it pre-dated some of the buildings in Porlock.   Even the lady at the check out gave me a look as if to apologise for it in advance.   There will be no sandwich pictures today.     

The walk begins with the stunning surrounds of Porlock and Porlock Weir .   It is no wonder to me that this area famously attracted the poets as it was poetry inspiring scenery as I happily walked in the sunshine.    Known as the Poets of Porlock, in  the 1700’s with the birth of the Romantic movement in literature many moved to Somerset unable to resist this landscape as muse.   It turns out that William Worsdsworth got himself North and South in the pursuit of lovely countryside – he put the ramble in rambler .   As well as being the very air of the Lake District,  he decided to move here for a while with his sister the poet , writer and nature loving Dorothy – all to be part of this landscape and to be near his pal Samuel Taylor Coleridge.     The walk that follows in the footsteps of The Romantics , The Coleridge Way , ends in Lynmouth as do I today.   William, Dorothy and Samuel would walk for miles around this area causing quite a stir – at the end of 1700’s walking for pleasure was still considered unusual, particularly for women,  and was viewed as quite a radical act.    I think Dorothy Wordsworth was quite a woman for her time – it occured to me today that at my imaginary dinner party of having anyone living or dead , Dorothy Wordsworth would be on my guess list.   I’d pop her in between Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson.   These are the things you get to ponder on a long walk by yourself.   I’m glad I’ve sorted it out.  

With the change in elevation today came the change in terrain.  Up and up into dense and gorgeous woodland and a stop at the what the map descibes as a hidden gem of this trail.   Culbone Church.    England’s smallest parish church and over 1000 years old it holds just a congregation of 30.   It was nestled away only accessible the same way I reached it – on foot up a long steep wooded hill side .   Gods way of getting the steps up of his parishiners.   As well as the intel on the grapefruit slices , Em also let me know that Mike and the Mechanics filmed the video to In The Living Years there.   That was the song I have been singing down the paths to the sheep for the rest of day .   Full volume.  

I chose the route today that Henry once again suggested – a higher alternative route up after Culbone Church through Culbone Woods dense and gorgeous and the housing place for lepers in the 16th century.   There was even a tiny window in the church called a leper squint so lepers that were banned from entering the church could still watch the service.   Somerset is not a bad place to be a leper is my feeling.     The path continues through rolling lush fields with sheep and lambs running alongside me and I didnt see one other soul –  which was handy as many of the gates I had to pass through had latches that needed an engineering degree to fathom – so I climbed as many as I opened and the dismounts weren’t always graceful.    I stopped for the sandwich – the less said the better,   and to rest my legs briefly at the point where the alternative route met with the lower path and to prepare for the climbs to come .  They initially started moderately with the blue sea again my stunning companion to the right and vivid rhododendron decorating the trail and laying down a purple carpet in greeting.   

And then the leg testing finale that was peak Exmoor.  Wild and high open moor stretching out in all directions and the slow , steep climb to the top of Butter Hill, the highest point of the day – covered in thick cloud making the trail hard to pick out – I had to stop for a ginger nut.   No tea obviously to dip it in so I didn’t take too long on this stop at the top thinking of the downhill that was sure to come.   A narrow , steep , rocky descent  down the cliff face made me so grateful for the weather that I had been blessed with.     I eventually wound down and turned a corner and there it was …  the seaside town of Lynmouth!   

I headed up to Lynton where I was staying for night at the North Cliff Hotel which is perched on the cliff and feels like a Victorian mansion majestically watching the sea meeting the cliffs- I was greeted with a lovely warm welcome and I have had what felt like a home cooked meal in the dining room ,breakfast is included and even better  as I was raving about my soup of the day the lovely cook offered to make my sandwich for tomorrow –  a cosy single room with the view from my window that sums up of the magic of this special day.    

Dear South West Coast Path  – I know its early days but I think today might make the final top 10  – but just in case I forget to tell you , today was truly spectacular.   

                                                               Stone of the day 

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                                                                The thoughtful Leper Squint 

      going over it instead                  Sandwich seat ..just didn’t include sandwich  

                                                      My view as I tuck in for the night xx