Hartland Quay to Morwenstow, 13km, 1271 metres of climbing

‘Obstacles do not block the path, they are the path’

Hartland Quay to Bude is acknowledged as the hardest stage on the entire South West Coast Path. It is a slog across soaring summits and plunging coombes and has ten major ascents and descents as you scramble across valley after valley. The young, fit and hardy do this 25 km stage in one day but the older (and wiser?) ones like us, choose to do it in two days with a stop at Morwenstow.

We both slept really well last night and felt fresh and ready to get into it this morning. The start was surprisingly gentle across grassy meadows and hill sides of blue bells. The first point of interest was an impressive waterfall at Speke’s Mill Mouth.

From there it was five calf-popping ascents and knee wrenching descents, but the views of the dramatic coastline were awe-inspiring. Great ragged ridges of rock stretched out into the Atlantic Ocean, backed by high surf fringed cliffs. The coast is punctuated with high jutting headlands and tiny, often inaccessible beaches.

Some highlights of the day:

We crossed over from Devon into Cornwall. Called Kernow round here. We can now have a Cornish pastie. It would not have been right to have one while still in Devon. Devon also has a tradition of pasties and they don’t put swedes or parsnips in theirs.

High on a cliff above Marsland Valley is a small stone hut. It was constructed by the author, poet, playwright and pacifist Robert Duncan so that he could have views out over the sea while he was writing.

Further along on Vicarage Cliff we came to another tiny hut made of drift wood and timbers salvaged from ship wrecks. This was the hut of Robert Hawker, clergyman, writer, maverick and saviour of ship wrecked sailors. He used the hut, sometimes under the influence of opium, for writing and watching out for ships in trouble.

Tonight we are staying in The Bush Inn in Morwenstow. It is the most northerly inn in Cornwall and claims to be the second oldest in the country, dating from the 13^th century. The name of the inn is said to derive from when an actual bush was hung outside the inn to signify a new batch of ale had been brewed.

The inn has a religious past. Behind the end of the counter in the lower bar is a piscina carved from serpentine stone where monks prepared the sacraments for holy communion. Also In the lower bar is a ‘leper’s squint’, a small window from which poor unfortunates could observe the service without having to enter the building. In the middle bar is a crude celtic cross carved into a flagstone, although it could actually be the imprint of the bottom of an ancient cheese press.

Morwenstow also has a delightful medieval Anglican church, Saint Morwenna and Saint John the Baptist. The church yard contains many un-named head stones for the bodies of sailors plucked from the sea and given a Christian burial.

A hot, sunny day today, perfect walking conditions, great scenery. What more could you want? We are starting to feel strong and in another day will be right into the rhythm of the walking.