John O'Groats to Lands End - Day 42 Evening

Left Minehead yesterday at 4pm for the start of the South West Coastal Path in the pouring rain.

The Coast Path is great, feels really wild. Bracken covered hills, purple and yellow flowered, or forest right down to the sea's edge. Well signposted to so it has been really difficult to get lost.

The rain didn't let up at all and about nine I pitched my tent by a river in a wood seven miles short of Lynmouth. My sleeping bag, my matress, a pair of leggings and a pair of socks were dry and that was it. Everything else was wet. And it rained all night. And it was still raining this morning. I tried to wait out the rain but it just wouldn't stop so I got up and got packed in the rain and everything just got wetter, including my last pair of socks.

I got going about 11am this morning. It took me till almost 2pm to do the seven miles into Lynmouth. Once out of the woods there was a fierce wind coming off the sea which sucked the energy right out of me.

In Lynmouth paid six quid for an all day breakfast which was a bit on the light side. Had to supplement it with two Mars Bars, a chip butty and some kind of Thornton's ice cream on a stick product which was very expensive but very nice, like a Magnum but better.

All this took time because all Lynmouth really wants to sell is fudge and pasties at fudgtastic prices. It really is a tedious little place. Quite the Melrose of the South West. So it was about four in the afternoon when I left only having done about seven or eight miles all day.

I abandoned the Coast Path for the moment and headed across country with the intention of taking a more direct route and making faster mileage. I took the A39 towards Barnstaple.

I fancied some comfort after last night's soaking so when I saw a nice campsite at about 7.20 I decided on an early night. I'm at the very well appointed Kentisbury Grange. It's lovely. The nice friendly young woman who signed me in sold me some very posh cookies and crisps which I am having for supper. I've already had a shower and even washed and tumble dried my socks. Whadayathinkuvthat?

I'm eight miles outside Barnstaple but the weather looks as if it's clearing so I should be able to get an early start tomorrow and knock a whole bunch of miles off.