While I was  chatting with Gayle on the phone this morning, I made the mistake of opening the curtains to show her the beautiful old cottages and pub across the road, and they were. The problem was the weather. It was raining and very windy. By the time I got to  breakfast, the five other people staying at the bnb had checked the forecast and decided to catch a bus. I said if you check the weather every day, you would be better off hiring a car. I have to admit they were right. When I left, I hooked up with a pom from the Midlands, just doing the first two stages. He had a gps. That made it easier as far as not taking wrong turns go. Especially as the weather got worse. Like yesterday, plenty of wooded tracks, only today, much steeper, much longer, and muddy and slippery, and fog, and misty rain. At least in the woods, we were protected from the wind. Not once was I able to remove my pack for a proper rest as it wasn’t worth doing. Whenever the fog lifted and back near the coast, the views were stunning. Under blue skies , they would’ve even looked better. At one stage, there were three people having a picnic. Must have been local idiots. Hey, they were enjoying themselves. In the afternoon coming out of a wooded area, I turned the corner onto a coastal path, and whamo, straight into the eye of a blizzard/storm. Completely exposed to the elements. The wind was incredibly strong. A thin stony and muddy track, with a drop off of probably 50 plus metres, made it all the more scarier. This went on for at least an hour and a half slowly descending into Lynmouth. Lynmouth is a picturesque village sitting on a sometimes wild ocean with a wilder river running through it into the ocean. I thought I was spent by the time I reached Lynmouth. However, the half hour walk to my accommodation was up the steepest hill I have ever tackled. When I finally got to my room, in this 285 year old hotel, I was so happy to see a bath .I filled it up and must have fallen asleep for at least an hour, soaking my frozen aching old bones. The rest of the evening was spent trying to wash my muddy everything and getting them dry for tomorrow, and that includes my shoes. After a fish and veg pub meal, I didn’t have any energy to explore this gorgeous little village. Tomorrow’s walking is supposed to be further, I hope I find someone to follow as when the weather is bad, you tend to concentrate on your walking and not looking for signs. Also, when the weather is atrocious, I have to remove my glasses. The skeleton photo is obviously some poor sod who didn’t make it.