Around Britain

As I entered Paddington Station I checked my watch and it wasn't there. I looked up the sleeve of my jacket and found it halfway up my left forearm. The strap had become detached. It's a cheap watch that's done excellent service but recently it's been losing time. I had wondered whether the battery needed replacing.

There'd been a signalling failure and only two of the usual four lines remained operational between Paddington and Ealing Broadway. The only platform allocated on the departure board was for the Heathrow Airport train. Then a notice flashed on the board that my train to Exeter St. Davids was being restricted to just the front five coaches. In the event I was able to take my booked seat, the booked seat next to me was not taken, the carriage was far from full and the train departed one minute late.

Subsequently my train was held up by a slower train in front (an excuse that's wearing rather thin). I missed my connection at Exeter. Instead of being on the 13.13 to Exmouth it was the 13.51. On exiting Exmouth Station I aimed for a church spire on my route through the town and reached a car park near the sea front. The road I then took veered inland heading east. There had been much new building along this road. Further on it started to turn back on itself so I transferred onto the SWCP.

A notice board told me that I was now on the Jurassic Coast. This begins at Orcombe Point and covers 94 miles of coastline. The start of this World Heritage Site is marked by a geoneedle. Fossils had been found here of species that existed before the Earth's most severe mass extinction which occurred about 250 million years ago at the end of the Permian period. The cause is not known for certain but the scientific consensus is that it was volcanic eruptions. These resulted in the level of carbon dioxide in the air increasing from 400 ppm to 2500 ppm. To illustrate what this means the level was 280 ppm before the industrial revolution but that has now risen to over 400 ppm.

The wind was blowing hard as I left the Geoneedle and the path was steeply upwards. I had to reach my hotel in Otterton before dark so I took a Permissive Path to Gore Lane. This was a narrow old road, asphalted but with no vehicular traffic. It had high hedges on both sides which kept the wind at bay. I made good progress towards Budleigh Salterton or so I thought. At the end of Gore Lane I reached the Country Park/Holiday Resort near Sandy Bay. Various garish notices gave details of unappealing activities. Apparently the resort guaranteed FUN even when it rained. I quickly put distance between myself and the resort on the road which provided access to it. This took me to Littleham on the fringes of Exmouth. I had spent much time getting almost nowhere. Visions of being lost in the dark became acute.

The road onwards took me towards Knowle. After walking through woodland I reached the B3178 and then a busy roundabout. I left the roundabout in the direction of Budleigh Salterton and at once crossed a bridge over an asphalted path going east. I scrambled down to this and walked speedily through woodland. It was the route of an old railway line and it brought me to a minor road leading towards Budleigh Salterton. I followed this as a cycle route was indicated going to Otterton and Sidmouth. This took me through a built up area on the outskirts of Budleigh. When I again reached the B3178 the cycle route had disappeared but Google Maps showed that I was 2.5 miles from my hotel.

The narrow concrete strip on the grass verge of the B3178 held all the way to East Budleigh where I turned right onto a minor road. The light had held and I reached my Otterton hotel at about 6 pm. The Kings Arms was a good looking pub with a popular restaurant.

Distance today 8.91 miles; total 3729.92.

The breakfast chef wasn't working this week so the hotel provided a continental breakfast. I said I didn't mind but wouldn't want to pay the full charge of £11.50. I was told there'd be no charge for breakfast. As I sat in the dining room looking out two buses went buy. The weather forecast is so bad for today that I half wished I was on them.

The day started well. I left Otterton on the road to Ladram Bay. Traffic was minimal as the road was used only by locals and tourists. The drizzle was light. There was a steep climb on the SWCP before the descent into Sidmouth. I slipped and fell on the muddy downhill path leading to the seafront but continued unscathed.

I passed through Connaught Gardens. The author R.F.Delderfield had been a Sidmouth resident and was commemorated with a plaque. As I entered the town I saw a couple of men playing croquet in the grounds of the Sidmouth Croquet Club. I stopped in the town centre for a coffee accompanied by a rock cake freshly out of the oven.

Many grand people have lived in Sidmouth as is recorded on the blue notices placed on buildings around the town. They built large homes and some of these have been converted into swanky hotels. The town appears to have thrived in Regency and Victorian times. The standard of architecture remain impressive and the buildings are well maintained.

I found the road leading out of Sidmouth towards Salcombe Regis. It went through a ford although pedestrians could cross the stream on a bridge. Whilst on the steep climb out of the town I spotted one of the blue notices outside a substantial house. It recorded that a barrister, retired from his London practice, had come to live here and write a four volume history of Salcombe Regis from Saxon to Victorian times.

Later on this road I passed an Observatory called the Norman Lockyer Observatory. It was shut and, apart from the fact that it was sometimes open to the public, there was little information about it. Once I got home I discovered that Norman Lockyer had been an active amateur astronomer. He had discovered helium and was one of the founders of the scientific journal Nature in 1869. Retired to Sidmouth he obtained support in 1912 for the building of the Hill Observatory renamed the Norman Lockyer Observatory after his death in 1920. It's now a centre for amateur astronomy, meteorology, radio astronomy and the promotion of scientific education.

Later on the same road, close to Salcombe Regis, I passed a thorn tree backed by a stone with an inscription. This read “A thorn tree has been maintained here since Saxon times when it marked the boundary between the cultivated fields of the combe and the open common on the hill. It has given the name thorn to the adjacent house where the manor court was held and to the surrounding farm.”

At Trow I briefly walked on a path beside the A3502 before taking the cycle route past a donkey sanctuary. A sign indicated that donkey-assisted therapy was available nearby. Shortly after this the rain became harder but there were still periods when it eased. I passed through the extensive village of Branscombe which had two pubs, the Fountain Head and the Masons' Arms. The latter had a large TV screen for the benefit of its customers sitting outside the pub in a covered area.

Branscombe was followed by another steep climb. I came to Raizen Lane which offered a direct route to Beer in one mile. I left the road and followed this track which descended steadily. I envisioned a swollen stream at the bottom through which I'd have to wade but, instead, I came upon a street in Beer. I walked into the village and found the SWCP. This rose on several flights of steps. A man ahead of me stopped. I said that I hoped it wasn't a dead end and we fell into conversation. He was a keen walker and had many stories of his exploits. At the same time he was curious about what I was doing so I had my say. Eventually I started to get cold in the still falling rain so I explained my need to keep moving. We shook hands and discovered we were both called Anthony.

After negotiating the cliff top path above an angry sea I reached the edge of Seaton. Google Maps took over and I reached my hotel just before 4 pm. I was soaked but content with the day's progress. The hotel was run by an elderly woman who seemed to do everything. However, no evening meal was provided so I was directed to the pub opposite which served a very adequate lamb shank.

Today's mileage 12.91 miles; total 3742.83.

After Sidmouth, Seaton seemed unpretentious. However, the Post Office stores did provide me with both the FT and the Times. The elderly manager of the hotel acted as waitress at breakfast. I did wonder whether she was also the chef.

In vastly improved weather I set off along the sea front turning inland before the towering cliffs and crossing a bridge over the River Axe. Inland there was a sizeable lake fed by the river. Immediately I faced a steep hill on a narrow road. Lyme Regis was only 7.5 miles away so I stopped frequently to take deep breaths. There was no need to hurry.

A woman with a small pack passed me. I wondered if she was doing the SWCP. At the end of this road I found the Club House of a golf course. The SWCP crossed the course but there was no sign of any golfers. I left the course on a path and caught up with the same woman who'd paused at a path junction. She was a Canadian doing the SWCP from Exmouth to Lyme Regis, well equipped with maps and pamphlets that had been sent to her by the SWCP Association. She mentioned how hard yesterday had been and told me she'd taken a bus from Beer to Seaton.

A notice board at the junction proclaimed that the path ahead was arduous and not to be lightly undertaken. I moved on leaving the woman studying her pamphlets. At first the path crossed open land and was not challenging. Later, near Culverhole Point, it entered a wood and it remained in woods almost till Lyme.

I reached Goat Island. This was the site of an enormous landslip of arable land occurring in 1839. It became a tourist attraction with paddle steamers taking crowds of people (including Queen Victoria) to view it from the sea. The path now began to twist and turn with frequent flights of steps up and down. Yesterday's rain had left many puddles and stretches of the path were churned into mud. I fell once as my sandals slipped and slid on muddy slopes. Not wishing to fall again I proceeded with care. Often the safest course was to plough straight through the water and mud rather than attempt to get round.

Leah, the Canadian, caught up with me at a sheepwash. Her approach had been silent so her sudden appearance surprised me. The sheepwash was off the main path so she went off to inspect it. I said that I'd see her later. After a spell of difficult walking I came upon a bench with a view of a rocky coast pounded by waves. I decided to stop, consult my map and take on hotel biscuits and water. Leah came up just as I was donning my rucksack to move on. She was travelling with just a day pack as she'd organised a courier firm to transport her luggage between her hotels. She planned to spend time with friends in London after reaching Lyme. After we'd chatted for a while she took my place on the bench while I pressed on. Leah was the only person I encountered on the path until I was close to Lyme.

I was aware of passing the hamlets of Whitlands and Pinhay inland of the path. I now met a few walkers some of whom were on their way to Seaton. A precipitous descent down Ware cliffs took me to the end of Lyme's promenade near the Cobb.

The Tourist Office that I'd patronised on a visit a few years ago was gone. After taking possession of my room I wandered around Lyme. I wanted to check where I should catch tomorrow's bus to Axminster Station. Next to where the Tourist Office had been was Lyme's museum. The two men at the desk were very helpful. They told me that a road had been closed so the bus stop had moved. On Broad Street (the main shopping area) I bumped into Leah. She'd had a fall and was coated in mud. Now she headed for her hotel having drunk a pint on arriving in Lyme.

Distance today 8.25 miles; total 3751.08.