20/6/2023 Morwenstowe to Bude (7.53mls)

David A reckoned this part of the path would be easier than the previous day's walk so the three of us set off from the Old Rectory Tea Rooms in Morwenstowe which unfortunately for Fiona didn't open until 11:30 so she had to wait an hour or so for a piece of the excellent Bakewell tart!

Taking the higher path back to Vicarage Cliff we soon came upon Hawker's Hut, a fascinating building which in fact is the smallest National Trust property. No great problems , but lots of lovely views as ever ...

... on the way to Stanbury Mouth. It was soon after that the David A stumbled and twisted his ankle which made walking more difficult for him especially as the ups and down on the next part of walk were on a par with the strenuous parts of the previous days walk.

It was a long and strenuous climb up to the GCHQ listening station and then on to Duckpool which signalled that the rest of the walk from here through the ups and downs of Sandy Mouth and Northcott Mouth were going to be busier - the number of walkers seems to increase in direct proportion to the number of easily accessible cafes!

Eventually we arrived in Bude, at the sea pool, where Fiona was waiting for us. The nearest car park to the pool is quite a walk across the beach so as Justine wanted to swim she set off to find the car to get her swimming gear. Well worth it though ...

... while David A rested his ankle ...

As the tide was out we were expecting that the sea pool would be empty of water but not so. The only restriction is that access to the pool is not allowed 1.5 hrs either side of high tide.

After the swim we walked up the hill to get a drink followed by a circular tour of the Bude one-way system looking for a post box and then looking for David A who had been dropped off at Sainsbury's for a newspaper. We gave up on the post box in Bude but managed to find one on the way back to Parkham after which we couldn't stop spotting post boxes - lots of I-spy points!!