Slow finish

There were six of us in a spacious North Devon barn in late June. Exmoor is Martin’s favourite place. He was gyrating wildly to the sound of Europe’s ‘The final countdown’. Milo was unperturbed: he is used to his owner’s eccentric behaviour. The song has an apocalyptic tone – at least that’s my interpretation of … Continue reading Slow finish →

Skeletons on the Tarka Trail

We have been walking the SW Coast Path since January 2018. It feels as though we should have completed it some time ago. It was a minor casualty of Covid. At the start of 2022 we had 90 miles to go. We started our seventh holiday let week with the aim of covering at least … Continue reading Skeletons on the Tarka Trail →

There we were just a walkin’ down the path, singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do

(With apologies to Manfred Mann) Nineteen months after our last walk we were back on the path. Then we were confident we had covered 500 miles, so had 130 miles left to Minehead. Disappointingly we found that Poole had sneaked back towards us and that we had yet to reach the 500 mile mark. There … Continue reading There we were just a walkin’ down the path, singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do →

Wet and cold – but free

Time in Coronaland passes slowly. In those far-off days we had not considered the idea of ingesting disinfectant to combat a virus. Nor had we then understood the medical wisdom of the POTUS. Today the week we spent walking in Cornwall at the end of February seems a lifetime away. We walked freely on the … Continue reading Wet and cold – but free →

Rain and a bounty of seals and choughs

We drove down to Cornwall in atrocious conditions. It was the last day of British Summer Time and the beginning of our last walking week in 2019. The house Wendy had found in Crantock near Newquay could accommodate six plus Milo, but parking in this tiny holiday village was difficult. The clocks moved back and … Continue reading Rain and a bounty of seals and choughs →

Round the bend with choughs and Poldark

We stayed away from Cornwall for the summer to make room for everyone else. We decided it was safe to return at the end of August for our third week in 2019. Wendy got us an eccentric house in Long Rock, just west of Marazion. It had good views of Mount’s Bay and close views … Continue reading Round the bend with choughs and Poldark →

Six wonderful spring days get us past the half way mark

We chose a week at the end of March for our second bout of Cornish walking. As in January we were blessed with wonderful weather, a week of pleasant days that were fairly warm with almost no rain. As we left Cornwall at the end of the week temperatures plunged, hail bounced off the road … Continue reading Six wonderful spring days get us past the half way mark →

Cetaceans and pinnipeds

Our Cornish walk continued from Polperro. Walking down into the town we were able to look again at its buildings. There is a particular local style of painting over rough render which still reveals the contours of the stone. The streets of Polperro provided good examples. The narrow stream running by the main street was … Continue reading Cetaceans and pinnipeds →

First steps in Cornwall

The Cornish coast makes up 312 of the SW Coast Path’s 630 miles. Cornwall is a long way from Montacute, Weymouth and West London. These daunting facts demanded a change to our walking habits. Driving there for two days of walking no longer made any sense. Wendy’s internet search skills were brought to bear and … Continue reading First steps in Cornwall →

Meaningful walking

The first day of our December walk was to be spiced up by its coincidence with the “meaningful vote”. On our way down to Mothecombe we discovered that the vote had been pulled so we were going to be denied this excitement. In the event there was another rather different meaningful vote the following evening. … Continue reading Meaningful walking →