Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 016 - Failand to Chepstow

 

Day:	016
Date:	Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Start:	Failand
Finish:	Chepstow
Daily Kilometres:	35.8
Total Kilometres:	497.5
Weather:	Mostly sunny in the morning with a high overcast in the afternoon
Accommodation:	Hotel B&B (£39)
Nutrition:	Cheese and ham sandwich and slice of jam sponge for breakfast; shepherds pie for lunch; Scotch broth, chicken pasta and toffee sponge and custard for dinner.
Aches:	Very sore feet and two new blisters
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	There's nothing worse than needing to get up to go to the loo when you're snug in your sleeping bag on a cold night in the woods.  Doesn't happen too often, but happened last night.  Apart from that I slept well and wasn't disturbed by anybody apart from the sound of cars on the nearby road in the morning.  Not much breeze last night, so a fair bit of condensation inside the tent when I packed up at 7:45am. I left about 8:10am and, after a couple of kilometres at the junction with a main road, passed a little store where I bought some breakfast and sat at a picnic table outside watching the world go by.  Then, conscious that I had a long way to go, walked steadily for the next two hours passing initially through some pretty rural country and tiny old stone villages along country lanes and footpaths.  Then I emerged into civilization at Easton-in-Gordano where there was a lot of settlement and industry and I joined a bike path attached to the M5 Motorway to cross the industrialised Avon. After crossing the River, the route followed a pleasant path along a thin park and woodland with suburbs either side.  It was easy walking on a lovely sunny day through woods and across parkland.  Lots of locals were out too.  I passed Blaise Castle, a folly built in 1766 by some noble and later briefly visited Blaise Hamlet, a little group of historic thatched cottage around a green designed by John Nash in 1809.  They were like something out of a fairy tale. I soldiered on, feet hurting, following the route that crossed a number of low rural hills and gave me my first view of the Severn Bridge that I was aiming for.  I reached the village of Easter Compton just before 2pm and ordered some lunch (they stopped serving food at 2pm, so I was lucky).  After lunch the route was mostly flat and across farmland via country lanes, bridleways and some difficult field paths.  In one paddock, I encountered some feisty young bulls who weren't disposed to let me pass and, at one point, one of them began pawing the ground with its head lowered.  I did a lot of yelling and waving of a trekking pole and escaped unscathed. I eventually reached the Severn Bridge at 5pm and began the long haul across.  By this time my feet were very sore and it was a bit of a trudge across the 3km span, although there were some excellent views.  At the end of the bridge I entered the outer parts of Chepstow, having resolved to take the first lodging I could find.  Unfortunately, I didn't find anything for another few kilometres, but then got a nice room at a pub serving cheap meals in the heart of the old town and just 50m from the Post Office where I collect my next set of maps and my on-mailed boots.  I think I will start wearing the latter again, but with two pairs of socks.  It seems my feet get more tired in the running shoes than they did in the boots.  Although it adds the the weight of my pack, I think I'll carry both for a while.  Occasional swapping may also help the feet. I'm now in Wales and tomorrow will start following the Offa's Dyke Path north from Chepstow.  If I had been able to book my room for two nights here, I would have had a day off, but they're fully booked tomorrow night.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 015 - Cheddar to Failand

 

Day:	015
Date:	Monday, 17 May 2010
Start:	Cheddar
Finish:	Failand
Daily Kilometres:	31.1
Total Kilometres:	461.7
Weather:	Sunny and mild
Accommodation:	Free camping
Nutrition:	English Breakfast; snacks during the day; chilli con carne and apple pie and custard for dinner.
Aches:	Very sore feet
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	Had a long night's sleep (10+ hours) and got ready to leave before having breakfast at 8:30am.  The girl doing the cooking is planning a trip to Australia and was chatting and quizzing me last night about where to go.  It would have been hard to get more English breakfast on my plate this morning! I wandered from the hostel through the small Cheddar shopping street to the Cheddar Gorge entry road where there were lots of tourist shops and the Outdoors Store where I planned to buy some new socks.  I arrived a bit early for their 10am opening and found a giftshop that sold books and bought myself a new novel to read, having finished my first, then sat in the sun drinking a Diet Coke watching the world go by.  The store opened at 10am and after quite a bit of consideration, I bought two pairs of inner socks and one mid-weight outer pair, and immediately put both inners on under my existing Thorlos.  There was no magical improvement (there are still plenty of healing wounds), but it did feel a little less coarse on my feet.  So it was not until after 10:30am that I began hiking and that started with a solid climb up one side of the Cheddar Gorge.  It was sunny and mild, a perfect day for hiking and views and I enjoyed the nice conditions, as were a number of other hikers.  At the top of the Gorge my path turned to follow the crest of The Mendips, another tree-less low range of hills covered in grass and heath, and enjoyed more great views as well as some very pretty woodland paths in the some of the valleys. My late start meant that I had little chance of reaching today's guide-book target, but I also knew that between The Mendips and the Severn Bridge, there were not any scenic "must sees", so during my break at about 12:30pm atop the moors, I spread my maps out in the sun and worked out a back roads and footpaths way to get where I needed to be in a semi-direct way.  Then it was descending to the north from The Mendips, passing some cave entrances on the way (with warnings) and an abseiling school.  The rest of the afternoon, with increasingly sore feet (but maybe no new blisters) passed pleasantly enough as my course took me through some small villages and some quiet woods and over some low hills until I reached Blackwell Green at about 7:15pm.  I had hoped there might be a B&B there but no such luck.  I decided to grab dinner in the village pub, which I did, then continue walking until I reached a small wood I could see on the map.  I didn't reach there until 8:45pm, by which time light was starting to fade.  It's a very small wood with cars passing nearby and, I suspect, is where locals will be walking their dogs in the morning.  However, beggars can't be choosers, and I quickly found myself a spot to set up camp and was very pleased to get my shoes and socks off and crawl into bed. It will be a longish day to get to Chepstow (across the Severn Bridge) tomorrow, but I may try to get there and then may take a day off to see if that lets some of the wounds heal.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 014 - Bridgwater to Cheddar

Day:	014
Date:	Sunday, 16 May 2010
Start:	Bridgwater
Finish:	Cheddar
Daily Kilometres:	29.9
Total Kilometres:	430.6
Weather:	Overcast and raining in the morning, occasional showers and sunshine in the afternoon.
Accommodation:	Cheddar Youth Hostel (£16)
Nutrition:	Egg & cress sandwich and flavoured milk for breakfast; Sunday roast for lunch; lasagne, salad and treacle sponge for dinner.
Aches:	Some new blisters and feet generally very sore.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I didn't get up until 7:30am, having stayed up later than expected catching up on email, etc., and sneaked out of the sleeping hotel via a fire exit (as asked to do) at 8:15am.  It was drizzling as I walked along a main road out of Bridgwater.  The guide book suggested a circuitous route to avoid doing too much roadwalking, but after my experience yesterday with seldom used paths, it was debatable to me whether it was worth the effort.  Generally the scenery was much the same - green fields, fences, sheep and lambs, whether seen from the road or an overgrown footpath.  I had resolved to be a bit more discriminating in future.  On the edge of Bridgwater, I found an open service station and bought a sandwich and flavoured milk for breakfast. Soon afterwards, I took a public footpath across the sodden fields to intersect with the guide book route.  It only took about 10 metres for my shoes and socks to be sodden.  My feet were already hurting.  The farmland round here is mostly long-reclaimed swamp, drained by a very large network of ditches.  The guide-book route was again a complex chaining of separate little-used footpaths (or field paths, since they generally stick to the edges of fields), which crossed the drainage bridges on a range of pedestrian bridges ranging from grand structures to flimsy arrangements using a plank.  I lost the paths several times during the morning, one time wasting more than half an hour trying to find my way off a farm (electric fences and barbed wire everywhere). I reached the very pretty village of Blackford soon after 1pm and went to the pub and ordered the Sunday roast special.  It was very tasty and large, and the patrons were friendly.  While eating lunch, I pored over my maps to see what the guide-book had in store for me during the afternoon, and determined it was mostly, once again, a determined effort to keep walkers off the road rather than an excursion past scenic highlights.  I decided to follow a different route to Cheddar, where I had booked a bed at the Youth Hostel tonight, using country lanes and back roads.  It was dry underfoot and I passed through more pretty villages and by historic farms and pubs.  If it hadn't been for my very sore feet, it would have been very enjoyable.  I reached the hostel at 4:30pm with the plan to go to the outdoors store in town tomorrow morning to buy some different socks and see if that makes a difference.  It's the last thing I can think of.  I have never had this much trouble with sore feet when hiking before, and it's getting very frustrating.  The store doesn't open til 10am so it will be a late start tomorrow and may put me a little behind schedule.  But, if I can't sort out the feet, I'll need a few days off for recovery anyway.

 

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 013 - Roadwater to Bridgwater

 

Day:	013
Date:	Saturday, 15 May 2010
Start:	Roadwater
Finish:	Bridgwater
Daily Kilometres:	37.1
Total Kilometres:	400.7
Weather:	Mild and sunny all day with light winds
Accommodation:	Hotel (£20)
Nutrition:	English breakfast, peanuts and energy bar snacks and an ice-cream during the day, beef & ale pie and vegetables and sticky toffee pudding for dinner.
Aches:	One new blister and very tired feet
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	After my 8am English Breakfast, I left the very pleasant and good value pub and headed out into a bright sunlit Saturday at 8:45am.  I knew I had some climbing in front of me for the day, so the views would be good and I had managed to dry out my shoes and clothes from yesterday, so was feeling quite chipper. My route quickly ascended to some high pastures where the views to the distant Quantocks, that I would be crossing later in the day, were spectacular.  It's spring and there are sheep and lambs everywhere.  The route passed through an old country estate, Nettlecombe Court with it's stately home and it's own church, not to mention park-like surroundings. My feet felt a bit better today, with the sore heel from yesterday gone, but a new blister between my two biggest toes on my right foot.  At my first break, at 10:30am, I got out the pen-knife and cut the deep blister open.  I knew it would hurt for the rest of the day, but with a smearing of antiseptic cream, it should gradually improve.  Maybe it's my hiking socks that are causing some of my feet problems.  They are Thorlo hiking socks, and I have always been a fan of Thorlo socks, but the merino weave is quite coarse.  I'll get some inner socks to try with them when I get a chance, but that may not be for a couple more days. Anyway, I carried on, revelling in the perfect spring weather and the constantly changing views.  The fields were mostly a rich green, apart from the odd golden crop, and wildflowers abounded along the lanes and footpaths and field edges.  I reached the picture-book village of Bicknoller at noon and debated whether to detour a few hundred metres to the only pub to get lunch, or take my chances that the only store  in the village, which was on my route, would have sandwiches of pasties.  I chose the latter option and regretted my choice as soon as I entered the tiny shop staffed by and elderly couple.  There was virtually nothing that appealed to me and I settled for a bag of peanuts and and ice-cream with a few cans of drink.  Nevertheless it was pleasant sitting in the sun at a picnic table outside the adjacent village hall watching the world go by.  On such a beautiful Saturday, everyone was out and about, and a few mountain-bikers whizzed through the narrow village streets on their way somewhere. After lunch, I enjoyed the gradual climb up a valley to the crest of the Quantocks, a range of low treeless hills (~400m) providing great views in all directions.  The route followed the crest for several kilometres and I met lots of hikers, mountain-bikers and some teenage camping groups, all enjoying the weather and views.  From the eastern end of the Quantocks, my route descended towards Bridgwater, my target for the day, but before getting there, followed a labyrinthine course of little-used public footpaths and rights-of-way across farms (and through farmyards) which, while scenic, were hard going.  The footing was often rough, the nettles high and painful, and I was tired, making it all quite onerous.  The last hours passed very slowly and I was very ready to call it a day when I finally reached the streets of Bridgwater, a fairly unprepossessing town, at 7:30pm.  I headed towards the centre, determined to take the first accommodation I could find, and ended up at a virtually empty pub, offering me a basic room with ensuite for just £20 (actually, when I went to pay after going out for dinner to a nearby pub serving food, the girl in charge told me there had been a mistake and since I had an ensuite, the room was £25...I countered that the TV didn't work, so we agreed to keep it at £20!).  I have since discovered that the pub was empty because the night was still young.  Now, as I write this, the whole place is reverberating and the bar even had a disco ball in action.  Maybe I'll go down later and show them some of my moves....

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 012 - Exe Head Bridge to Roadwater

 

Day:	012
Date:	Friday, 14 May 2010
Start:	Near Exe Head Bridge
Finish:	Roadwater
Daily Kilometres:	34.5
Total Kilometres:	363.6
Weather:	Raining during the morning, with cold winds and fog.  Overcast with occasional showers in the afternoon.
Accommodation:	Hotel B&B (£30)
Nutrition:	Salad sandwich for breakfast; cod, peas and chips for lunch, chicken and chorizo pasta and salad and rhubarb crumble and custard for dinner.
Aches:	Right heel sore, feet generally tired.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I woke twice during the night with my tent collapsed on me.  I still haven't mastered using my trekking pole as a tent pole yet, especially when it's windy, but think I know how to fix it next time.  I woke to hear it raining, as forecast, at about 3am, and it was still raining continuously, though not heavily, when I got up at 6:30am.  It took me about 30 minutes to sort out everything and pack as much as I could inside the tent, which had remained quite dry.  Then came fervent activity to get out of the tent, keep everything dry and take down and pack up the tent.  That went OK, although I began to feel quite cold and decided I needed to put on my Goretex long pants (for the first time on the trip) and my second sweater.  That made me feel a bit better and I set out across the rain- and wind-swept moorland.  I would have preferred it to be clear with views, but it's also good to see these places as they are for much of the year.  It was boggy underfoot and the route was often difficult to follow through the grass tussocks with livestock tracks (and crap) everywhere.  It was occasionally misty and I half-expected to see the witches from Macbeth emerge from the gloom. I felt like I must be the only person this stupid but, after an hour, spotted two more hikers with brightly coloured pack raincovers, descending the steep trail in front of me.  After another half hour I caught them and they turned out to be an Australian couple (in their 50s, I would guess) also walking from Lands End to John O'Groats and using the same guide-book as me, although they planned to take longer than the two months I had planned.  I had heard about them from a few hikers going the other way along the Coast Path, but thought it unlikely I would actually meet them.  We briefly compared notes in the abysmal conditions, barely able to see each other through all the gear we were wearing, before I continued on. The going was quite hard with soft peat and bogs to negotiate frequently, but I felt warm in all my gear, and not particularly concerned about my safety, apart from slipping into a bog.  My new shoes certainly did not look new now, and my feet were going to be wet all day.  The designated route was to take me over the summit of Dunkery Beacon, which I could make out through the misty gloom, but a bad-weather route was also available which skirted the slopes of the mountain and I chose that.  No point climbing to the top to stare at the fog, and it would be even more cold and windy up there. Now came a boggy descent across saturated fields to a stream and then a pleasant, though muddy, bridle trail to the village of Wheddon Cross which sat high on a ridge.  I reached there soon after 1pm, bedraggled and very mud-spattered, and cleaned myself up outside and removed my rain pants before going into a pub for lunch.  I could smell myself, so I'm sure the staff could too, but I guess they are used to hikers up here.  It was quite expensive and I went for one of the cheaper options - cod, peas and chips. I tried not to dally too much because I fancied the idea of getting to my goal, Roadwater, in time to eat when the pub there opened (probably 6pm) before hiking on another couple of kilometres to a Youth Hostel Barn, whatever that is.  I began walking again, having dispensed with the rain pants but keeping the second sweater on.  The walking was a bit easier, following some less muddy bridle trails and crossing many fields with grass shortened by grazing sheep.  In one field, all the sheep began to follow along and when I reached the gate to exit, I met the farmer coming the other way on his quad bike.  I made some reference to the sheep mistaking me for a New Zealander, but I think the joke went over his head. The route went over the summit of another large hill, Lype Hill, which had a few old mounds dating back to the ancient Britons, before descending, partially along a steep bridle path.  I later read in the guide-book, that it was slippery when wet, but that was too late.  I fell over twice on the way down, one of them once again twisting my bad knee at a grotesque angle, but once again, no apparent damage done.  I was limping a bit with what felt like a bruised right heel, and that was making me a little more awkward.  At lunch I had changed out the purchased insoles from my new shoes and replaced them with those that came with the shoes, but this only seemed to stop the problem getting worse. At the bottom of the hill came another attractive walk along a not-too-boggy bridle trail which followed a stream through woods and farmland and passed a few old cottages.  At the village of Kingsbridge I missed a turn and ended up walking along a country lane for the last 6km to Roadwater, instead of the suggested route through some woods and fields.  However, it was very pleasant, with only a couple of vehicles in an hour and a half, passing though some conifer forests, following a stream and passing some historic old residences. I reached Roadwater and the pub there just before 6pm and decided to ask whether they did B&B and at what price.  They had had a cancellation that morning and offered me a large room at a good price and I decided to take it, feeling in desperate need of a shower and not knowing what I would find at the hostel. Earliest breakfast is 8am, so looks like another sleep in tomorrow.  I think the weather forecast is for the rain to clear.  Fingers crossed.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 011 - Barnstaple to Exe Head Bridge

 

Day:	011
Date:	Thursday, 13 May 2010
Start:	Barnstaple
Finish:	Near Exe Head Bridge
Daily Kilometres:	32.0
Total Kilometres:	329.1
Weather:	Mostly sunny, light winds and one light shower
Accommodation:	Free camping
Nutrition:	English breakfast, pub ploughman's lunch, two disgusting lukewarm mini-pasties and an ice-cream for afternoon tea, and a salad sandwich and chocolate for dinner.
Aches:	Feet sore and some twinges in both knees.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I woke at 6:45am and while taping up my feet, realised I was running out of bandaids with no significant towns to be passed in the next few days.  So, I revised my plans and after the hotel's elegant but small English breakfast, walked back into Barnstaple where I bought some more bandaids and tape, mailed my boots ahead to Chepstow and, by chance, noticed an outdoors store and bought a waterproof map case with a neck lanyard.  This will allow me to keep my maps handy while using my trekking poles. The chores went smoothly and I checked out of the hotel at 9:30am and left Barnstaple via the village of Pilton. I was now off the Coast Path and following the route suggested by a guidebook.  I had 1:50000 maps and some sketch maps in the guidebook, but knew I would have to stay focused as the route connected and endless set of country lanes, roads, public bridleways, footpaths and rights of way.  Of course I enjoy map reading and navigation, so this was right up my alley.  Basically, the route left Barnstaple at sea level and headed up into the moors on inland Devon, and Exmoor in particular, which ar in the range of 400-500m elevation.  There was a fair bit of climbing as the trail passed initially through woodland along pretty wildflower bordered paths, and then it climbed into more open farmland. I stopped for lunch at a pub in the village of Bratton Fleming which sat atop a ridge, then continued on to the picturesque village of Challacombe, my last chance to by food for a day.  I had called a remote farm offering B&B near the planned end of my day, but they were booked, so it looked like I was camping.  The lady in the tiny store was friendly and helpful, but that didn't stop her selling me a couple of dried out luke-warm mini-pasties.  I bought various foods and drink to see me through to tomorrow afternoon and resumed walking with a much heavier pack. The route now climbed onto the crests of the Exmoor hills with views in all directions.  I could see Wales across the Severn Estuary.  The moors are treeless pasturelands and quite boggy in places.  My new white running shoes now look months old.  The route took me past the head of the Exe River which flows to the sea near Exeter where I used to stay on business in another life and go for morning runs along the river.  Also in another life I can remember running on Exmoor with friends when touring the UK in a combi-van back in 1974! I enjoyed the late afternoon moorland walking despite tired feet.  Still a couple of sore spots, but the running shoes are better than the boots.  I needed to walk until late because of my late start and eventually found a spot to camp in field already inhabited by some ponies, but there's not much choice, at 8pm.  One pony has a foal that has been running round and round, hopefully not through my tent during the night.  It's supposed to rain during the night and into tomorrow, so I'm anticipating a wet pack up in the morning.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 010 - Peppercombe to Barnstaple

 

Day:	010
Date:	Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Start:	Peppercombe
Finish:	Barnstaple
Daily Kilometres:	29.0
Total Kilometres:	297.1
Weather:	Cold morning, but mild and sunny all day.
Accommodation:	Hotel/B&B (£40)
Nutrition:	"Mega" breakfast for brunch, ice-cream for afternoon tea, sausages and mash and sticky toffee pudding for dinner.
Aches:	Feet sore, mainly due to old and new blisters
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I slept pretty well despite it being a cold night and my tent exposed to the wind.  The latter is actually a good thing because I have a very light tent, which although the roof is waterproof, it does not breathe and condensation readily forms.  However, it's also very airy, lots of insect-proof mesh, so that any kind of draft takes care of the condensation.  A very good sleeping bag is also required, and I have one of those. Anyway, I ended up oversleeping and didn't wake until 7:30am.  The skies were clear and it looked like being a beautiful day.  I began walking along the relatively low cliffs soon after 8am, listening to the wrap-up on the new government in the UK.  I've had a very entertaining week listening to all of the political programs on BBC4.  The Coast Path started well, giving views to the left over the rocky/pebbly beach and  grassy fields to the right, however, I soon reached a portion of "relocated" Path which wound steeply up and down, was muddy and slippery, and had high close vegetation on both sides.  Progress was slow and unpleasant.  When it wound its way down to the pebbly beach to cross a stream, I decided that it might be easier to walk along the beach.  This turned out to be a poor decision as the pebbles changed from small to large and I was constantly at risk of falling or twisting an ankle.  The trekking poles came into their own, keeping me upright.  Progress was slow and once, committed, returning wasn't really an option.  It was a rarely visited beach and there were all kinds of jetsam on the beach, including a still-inflated pink balloon with its string caught between some rocks. After about 1.5km and an hour, I reached a place where I could get up the cliffs and rejoined the Coast Path, which was now very easy walking (of course!).  Apart from wasting time, I was also quite hungry and thirsty, and looking forward to getting to Westward Ho! (yes, that is a place name, including the exclamation mark).  I arrived at the much-developed beach resort with it's odd mixture of caravan park and multi-story apartment blocks, about 10:30am and found a cafe where I ordered their "Mega Breakfast", deciding against the "Super Mega Breakfast" more on the basis of price than quantity.  After replenishing my emergency supplies with a couple of bottles of Diet Coke and a quantity of Mars Bars, I set out for Bideford via an assortment of footpaths and country lanes.  It was a beautiful morning, but my enjoyment was still being tarnished by my blistered feet.  I reached Bideford, a busy little town with traditional winding main street and old houses, about 12:30pm and spent some time in two pharmacies looking for First Aid supplies.  I bought some Elastoplast tape, found a nice bench in the sun on the waterfront, and once more attended to my feet.  It was 1:30pm by the time, I crossed the bridge out of town and joined the Tarka (rail) Trail and saw it was 9 miles to Barnstaple, my target for the night.  I wanted to get there before 5pm to collect a parcel of maps for the next section I had mailed to myself care of the Post Office, and had also decided to try and buy some decent running shoes to use as footwear instead of my boots.  When I hiked the Appalachian Trail 25 years ago, I started out with boots and had problems and switched to running shoes with success. I tackled the 9 miles of sealed bike path at a good pace, despite sore feet and enjoyed its rural path with occasional views over the river estuary to the left.  There were lots of other path users on bikes and foot, including several runners.  I had a break after six miles for a refreshing ice-cream and reached Barnstaple, a large town, soon after 4:30pm.  After getting directions from a taxi driver to the Post Office, I picked up my parcel and asked the lady where the nearest running shoe shop was.  She gave me directions and I hurried there, concerned that they would be soon closing.  They were indeed vacuuming the shop when I arrived, but the two young guys were helpful, despite not having my size in the first two types of Nikes I selected.  I finally went for a good New Balance pair (as used on the Appalachian Trail) and also bought some extra cushion in soles for them.  When I took my boots off to try the shoes on, I nearly gassed myself.  I thought I might have to give CPR to the young guy serving, but he soldiered on manfully.  I bought the shoes and wore them out of the shop looking, I'm sure, completely ridiculous in the bright white shoes as I wandered off looking for somewhere to stay.  I found a hotel, a bit more expensive than I would like, on the edge of the town centre, where I got a shoebox of a room, but nice and clean.  After a shower, more foot doctoring, and rinsing out my clothes, I walked back into town and had a pub dinner (Wetherspoons.....a chain providing cheap food in good quantities and looked down on by many). I have now finished with the Coast Path and head inland to Exmoor and beyond, following a less-travelled route.  I'm looking forward to it and hoping it won't be as physically demanding as the Coast Path.  Although, I'm actually feeling quite strong and fit, apart from the feet.  Here's hoping the new shoes do the trick.  I'll carry the boots for a day or two and then, if not needed, mail them back to Keith and Fin's.