Day 9 - Babbacombe to Exmouth 


Time Departed: 8.40am

Time Arrived: 3.45pm 

Distance: 24kms 

Cumulative Distance: 158kms 

Percentage Complete: 34% 

Number of Steps: 35,000 (228,000)

Walking Grade: Easy and strenuous 

Weather: Cloudy then sunny

Accommodation: The Dolphin Hotel 

Feelings: Henk - hopeful, Di - wary 


Today we completed a third of our walk. We woke to a very different day from yesterday. The day started out as overcast and cool which was great for walking and by midday it was sunny. We had two ferry crossings with the last one being at 4.10pm from Starcross to Exmouth. If we missed this last ferry we would have to catch a train from Starcross to Exeter then to Exmouth. This was also our longest walking day of 24kms so no pressure!


Our host, Bec, dried our gear overnight so it was good to put on dry clothes again after they were saturated yesterday. My boots were still wet despite Bec puttting in copious amounts of newspaper to soak up the water so I walked with wet feet today. Henk’s boots were fine. 


Bec recommended not doing the initial coastal path but take a route through Babbacombe as the path could be quite slippery and dangerous after the torrential rain. 



When we made it to the coastal path and looked out to the sea we couldn’t believe how calm it was after yesterday. 





As we met people on the path there was much talk of the yesterday’s deluge. The paths were very wet underfoot and we took our time as most of the paths were a red clay and slippery. We could see how the major landslides are affecting the coastline. 



The first part of the day there were quite a few ups and downs and I did my standard phrase, “nearly there”. 



After lunch it was mostly flat walking. We were conscience of our walking times to make sure we didn’t miss the last ferry at ten past four. 


We made the first ferry crossing in good time at 11.45pm. We were lucky that the small ferry was on our side of the river and we walked straight onto the ferry’s plank and we were off to Teignmouth. We couldn’t believe how strong the outgoing tide was on the River Teign and the little ferry gave it all to get to the other side. 



Our first break after 3.25 hours of walking was at noon on the promenade at Teignmouth near the Teignmouth Grand Pier which was originally built in 1865.



We took fifteen minutes to down our bacon bap. We chose to walk on the beach promenades which are long and flat. It was something different for us and many were out making the most of the sunshine. The promenades are very high with no railings and we wondered how many had fallen off the edge.



After lunch we had 12kms of walking remaining from 12.15pm so we had just under four hours to make it to the last ferry of the day. We walked briskly fearing we wouldn’t make it to the ferry in time. However, it was mostly flat walking and we made such good time we reached the ferry at 3.00pm in time for the 3.10pm crossing. It was low tide and we didn’t think the ferry would be working but thankfully it was. 



It was good to get to our hotel. Interestingly, today is the first time our bodies have felt stiff. We think it was to do with all the flat walking on the hard-surfaced promenades and the extra distance. Henk thinks it’s also because we walked faster. We relished the hot shower to loosen up the muscles. 


We had a great Italian dinner at a local restaurant only minutes from the hotel. Tomorrow is a rest day at Exmouth. 




Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2023 at 1:30 PM

    So interesting! What a great host you had in Bec!

    ReplyDelete

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