08.04.2022: A nice day for walking, acceptable wind, not too warm but not too cold. Fantastic.
Well, I hate walking on tarmac roads with hiking boots especially on long distances. And I knew that these sections would come to walk around several estuaries. Instow to Bideford is an old railway track which is part of the Tarka Trail and it is finest tarmac and best suited for going by bike. Hence I started to cheat a little bit and left my van in Bideford, went by bike to Instow, went back and pedaled up to Appledore, chained my bike and walked to Bucks Cross. Altogether something like 20 miles. If I would not have cheated and walked the complete stretch or only from Bideford I would have been able to catch a bus in Bucks Cross. Now, I was in-between the busses and had to wait 2,5 hours… (hope my children do not read this) and I had an attempt with UBER but no vehicle was around to take me back to Bideford. So I tried to hitch hike. Last time I did that must be more than 30 years ago. And it was a very strange and sobering experience. The reaction (if there was one at all) of the drivers was not really polite. I started to freeze, was hungry and thirsty and felt almost into a depressive mood!
But suddenly there was a car stopping. Wow, I did not expect that to happen. The driver (Mark) was even talking some German, we had a good conversation and he even took me straight to my van! Mark, if you read this just get in contact with me and I make sure the next Weißbier in Bavaria is on me!!!
He also explained to me that Bideford (Bi-di-ford) „by the ford“ means and ford is an old word for a path (not bridge) over the estuary. When it is low tide you can just walk over the ford (I guess).
The Walk itself was a mixture of easy and flat walking and also some climbs – I really felt knackered in the evenig!
When I went into Barnstaple I met with James in Wetherspoons (cheap but food) and we tried to have the meal with the most calories to get back the energy.
Below are some pictures of the coastline. Please click to enlarge if you want. Also below are my Komoot Tour Details, the Relive Summary Video and a Timewarp Video.