Roller Coaster

Well, I wasn’t going to have a second monster breakfast in two days. I think Randy talked me into it. However, no problems walking it off today. After breakfast, the first port of call was the pharmacy. Randy’s left knee was swollen, and it was giving him some problems. He got a stretchy knee support brace. We then proceeded down the hill, turned left, and started walking with the sun shining. It wasn’t long before we started climbing, and it started to drizzle, although I didn’t get wet as the breeze kept me dry. Before long, we were fifty metres above sea level, and the views were stunning. But not long after, the track turned inland and was really narrow, up and down like a yoyo,and the prickles from the bushes, leaving trails of blood on my exposed arms and legs. The coast was never far away. It seemed for many kilometres,  you were either going up or down really rough terrain for a large chunk of the day, there wasn’t much  sign of civilisation, meaning no shops for food, not that I needed any. I did stop a few times to have a cuppa from my trusty flask. We did keep crossing paths with one lot of English people who were walking for a few days from the east coast. Every now and then, we would go through a gate and walk through lush meadows across farming land. Only saw a few sheep. We finally arrived at Clovelly, pronounced Clu velly, and then it was another tough 300 metres down a steep hill of small cobble stones. By now my knees had had enough. A village with beautiful quaint cottages dating back to the fourteenth century. It’s so small and steep, you cannot get a car in here. People use a sled to bring their groceries and everything to their house. Anything larger, and a donkey is used. The three hundred year old inn, where we are staying tonight, is covered in scaffold as I speak for a repaint and renovation. The youngins running the bar and restaurant come from a long line of generations. I feel really relaxed here and part of the place over the time of three pints and a glass of red plus my seafood pasta, and a cheese board, which Randy and I shared. Makes a hard day’s walking very rewarding. After dinner, we walked down to the quay and had a night cap at the Red Lion, before struggling back up the hill back to get some well earned sleep.


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