Walk from Hartland Quay
May. 18th, 2015 06:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sawylHaving decided to walk the North Devon coastal part, we left Exeter early in the afternoon and after a somewhat tortuous route across country, arrived at Hartland Quay at around four. It was a beautiful day for walking, despite seriously gusty winds, with brilliant yellow gorse flowers, little ragged robins, foxgloves, and all manner of flora I couldn't identify. Here are a few highlights from the walk — the full album is over on Google+.
As soon as we arrived we were struck by the weather: driving Atlantic winds and louring clouds alternating with strips of brilliant sunlit sea. The tidy was coming in as we arrived, driving the sea onto the rocks in front of the quay.
Looking east, with the cliffs framed by the hotel and the visitors' centre.
Spectacular rock formations on the other side of the from the hotel. As we set out, an intrepid soul was getting out of the water after his afternoon swim.
Two flat planes of rock sticking up out the surf like knife blades. Not a good place to land your boat...
E watching the waves break on the rocks. We spent a great of time trying to match these rocks to information in the guidebook, only to discover much later on that the section of the book we'd been using referred to stuff west of the quay, while we'd spent our afternoon walking east...
A popular spot for climbing, judging by all the anchor points at the top...
Walking back towards the sea after a short inland section to loop around a small stream.
A beautiful little waterfall marking the outflow of the little stream on to the pebble beach.
Hartland Point Lighthouse with the island of Lundy in distance.
The cliffs of Hartland Point, up from the lighthouse, with the shot carefully framed to exclude the less than photogenic Coastguard Station.
Realising that the original plan to walk to Clovelly and back was somewhat over-optimistic — the signs indicated it was 10 miles in each direction! — we walked as far as the headland east of Shipload Bay and turned to retrace our steps. As we were walking back, the sun broke through the clouds, granting us some truly spectacular views of the path we'd just walked.
Looking west from Hartland Point on the on the return leg of our journey, with the sun catching the face of a huge wall of rock.
We got back to Hartland Quay at around ten to nine, arriving just in time to put in a food order before they started to wind down for the night. After a lovely pub supper — just what was needed after a walk of 8-9 miles with plenty of ups and downs — we hopped in the car and headed back to Exeter. This time we ignored the satnav's advice and went via the A39 to Bideford, the winding A386 to Okehampton, and the A30 for the last leg into town. We got back at around twenty past eleven — slightly later than planned! — but if we'd come back any earlier, we'd've lost the setting sun breaking through the brooding clouds to catch the cliffs in all their glory.
What a wonderful way to spend a perfect spring Sunday...
As soon as we arrived we were struck by the weather: driving Atlantic winds and louring clouds alternating with strips of brilliant sunlit sea. The tidy was coming in as we arrived, driving the sea onto the rocks in front of the quay.
Looking east, with the cliffs framed by the hotel and the visitors' centre.
Spectacular rock formations on the other side of the from the hotel. As we set out, an intrepid soul was getting out of the water after his afternoon swim.
Two flat planes of rock sticking up out the surf like knife blades. Not a good place to land your boat...
E watching the waves break on the rocks. We spent a great of time trying to match these rocks to information in the guidebook, only to discover much later on that the section of the book we'd been using referred to stuff west of the quay, while we'd spent our afternoon walking east...
A popular spot for climbing, judging by all the anchor points at the top...
Walking back towards the sea after a short inland section to loop around a small stream.
A beautiful little waterfall marking the outflow of the little stream on to the pebble beach.
Hartland Point Lighthouse with the island of Lundy in distance.
The cliffs of Hartland Point, up from the lighthouse, with the shot carefully framed to exclude the less than photogenic Coastguard Station.
Realising that the original plan to walk to Clovelly and back was somewhat over-optimistic — the signs indicated it was 10 miles in each direction! — we walked as far as the headland east of Shipload Bay and turned to retrace our steps. As we were walking back, the sun broke through the clouds, granting us some truly spectacular views of the path we'd just walked.
Looking west from Hartland Point on the on the return leg of our journey, with the sun catching the face of a huge wall of rock.
We got back to Hartland Quay at around ten to nine, arriving just in time to put in a food order before they started to wind down for the night. After a lovely pub supper — just what was needed after a walk of 8-9 miles with plenty of ups and downs — we hopped in the car and headed back to Exeter. This time we ignored the satnav's advice and went via the A39 to Bideford, the winding A386 to Okehampton, and the A30 for the last leg into town. We got back at around twenty past eleven — slightly later than planned! — but if we'd come back any earlier, we'd've lost the setting sun breaking through the brooding clouds to catch the cliffs in all their glory.
What a wonderful way to spend a perfect spring Sunday...
