The Exeter Green circle walk

catch up with my latest walk around the city of Exeter on moonraker52.wordpress.com

Stonebarrow and Golden Cap

The road up to Stonebarrow from Charmouth is very narrow and a bit of a lottery as far as meeting other cars is concerned. Passing points are few and far between so great caution is needed. Once you  have arrived at the car park to start your walk all fear of crashing into somebody else soon fades as you take in the breathtaking views. Leaving the car park I followed the footpath that heads eastwards to Morcombe farm and then south to Muddyford lane. There are wonderful  views across the rolling countryside where fields are divided up by hedges like patchwork quilts . At the end of Muddyford lane I joined Langdon lane and made my way a long quiet tracks to the edge of Seatown. The footpath then turns right and follows the South West coastal path to the top of Golden Cap the highest point on the south coast of England. Once you are at the top the views are splendid and it's a great spot for a picnic. As I was eating mine I saw a Raven and a Peregrine falcon soaring over the cliff top. Descending Golden Cap you meet the breathless walkers coming up the other side as I headed for the landslip area that makes up Cain's Folly. From here there is a short but steep climb back up to Stonebarrow car park and a circular walk of 7 miles is completed. Now all I have to do is get back down Stonebarrow lane without crashing into anyone.

Sea mist

I needed to get back to my longer weekly walks again, following  a recovery break, after travelling  back from Scotland. I woke early and left home at eight to take a slightly more inland route to Sidmouth about 9.5 miles away. To my surprise when I looked out of the window a dense mist was blowing off the sea . It has a smoke like quality in the way it moves and wafts its way between the trees and buildings. The coolness of the air changed very quickly as the mist enveloped the landscape and unlike on a rainy day where you have a rain shadow under trees,  in sea mist conditions,under trees becomes the wettest place to be. They are coated in a thick layer of damp which drips off them forming a splash zone below. Every time you brush against a mist covered object it shares its water droplets with you. Out along the hedgerows I saw new birds learning the tricks of the trade from their parents. A family of cows white in colour merged into the mist along with the white Cow Parsley. Although I got close to the sea I could not see it as the sea mist swirling around me driven on the breeze tried to blow my hat away. On reaching Sidmouth I bought a pasty and whilst off guard had to fend off a seagull who had designs on stealing it. Luckily for me  my wide brimmed hat alerted me to his approach and shielded some of my pasty .He escaped with a meagre beak full.

Reflections on the West Highland Way and The Great Glen Way

Having been home a week my feet are nearly back to normal and now I realise how you can have a bit of a love hate relationship with a journey. The hate bit comes from the days when things don't go as planned or you are nursing particularly painful blisters with miles still yet to travel. The love end of the relationship is the simplicity,ease and interesting nature  of the journey where new places are discovered which will remain firmly in you mind long after the journey is finished. I often wake and find that I have dreamt of a journey that contains elements of my walk. Looking at the maps spread out on my floor I find it hard to believe that I have walked almost the length of Britian. 916 miles in 8 weeks with just 126 miles left to travel to John O Groats. When I set out from Lands End on a wet morning all steamy and hot I was not sure I was going to make it .Truly the journey of a 1000 miles does start with the first step.

Drumnadrochit to Inverness- 15.5 miles

After a bit of blister management I set out this morning with a different game plan. The Great Glen Way heads up the A 82 before heading to the hills and taking a " round the houses" approach to getting to Inverness . This adds another three miles to the journey . When your feet are blistered a shorter less hilly  route is desirable . With this in mind I stuck with the A 82 and clung to the narrow strip of grass verge trying to avoid the heavy traffic. It was pretty horrible I have to say but if I pressed on I could make it to Inverness by early afternoon. Half way to Inverness I had to put some tape over my blisters and sat down on a rock by the side of the road. To my dismay as I was doing essential repairs some midges came to bite me. I fanned them away in between a bit of taping. As the miles passed the grass verges got wider and eventually I was able to join the peaceful canal towpath of the Caledonian canal for the final five miles . I followed this right into the city centre. All in all it was a really successful day and I arrived in very good time. During my 11 days of walking I have learnt some interesting lessons about persistence and faith. Some days I wondered if I would ever make it to Inverness. I found reading the Psalms a great help  in keeping me going when there were difficult days. 

Next year I hopefully will tackle the last leg of the journey from Inverness to John O Groats.

Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit- 15 miles

The walk up the road out of Invermoriston was very steep this morning but despite sore feet I never got out of breath at all. I soon passed an American couple I had met over breakfast and headed through the woods following Loch Ness. Apart form the odd person heading in the other direction that was my total encounter with human life. Plenty of wild life however with Hooded crows, Linnets, song thrushes and Jays. The Sitka spruce forests are tall and dark and contain many wind blown trees that hang over pathways  and are only held up by a  reluctant neighbour . On the trail I passed what was signposted as a cave but I think it would only fit a Hobbit. Owing to the high rainfall the forest has a dense carpet of moss covering the woodland floor. On arrival at Drumnadrochit my B and B was not open so I settled  my back against a Wellingtonia tree and listened to some music until my room was available . Only one more day of this leg left to do.

Laggan to Invermoriston - 18 miles

After breakfast I set out along the Caledonian canal, my first target of the day being Fort Augustus. The sunny warmth of yesterday had been replaced with grey cloud and a cool easterly breeze that funnelled down between the mountains. The old dismantled railway track which used to go to Invergary had now been turned into the Great Glen Way and I set out along it on my way to Fort Augustus. At Fort Augustus I took on supplies and followed the way as it now ran beside Loch Ness. There were wonderful views along the length of the Loch before I finally arrived in Invermoriston . This has an amazing bridge built on a giant lump of rock. My B and B did not open til 4 pm so I headed to the pub for some late lunch and to while away a couple of hours.

Fort William to Laggan - 21.8 miles

The change to better weather continued and I set out from Fort Willam a lot later than normal. This came about because I decided it would be best to post some of my rucksacks contents back home to reduce weight and make walking easier. This involved a trip to Morrisons to find a disused box and buy some packing tape. Twenty minutes later I was in the post office  and my package was on its way. 

Next a trip to the chemist was necessary to get some compeed blister plasters as my right foot was particularly sore with several blisters. My journey today was mostly along the Caledonian canal and then a 7 mile trail through the forest before eventually reaching Laggan. It was a hard day  but dispite the blisters I made good time arriving at 5 o'clock . I had my evening meal on a barge moored on the canal, so time to rest the feet before I walk again tomorrow .

Kinlochleven to Fort William - 16 miles

The weather is definitely on the mend so I put on the sun cream and hat this morning after eating a large breakfast . Leaving Kinlochleven involves a long climb out of its steep valleys . It takes me a while to get going each day and into a routine, so hills too  early into the walk are bad news. Reaching the top however the views back over Kinlochleven were wonderful . Our journey continued and it was great to have the inspirational company in a fellow End to End walker. When you hear other people's stories of how they have triumphed over difficulties and kept on going on you learn so much that you can apply to your own journey. The terrain today was very hard on my feet and the final stretch into Fort William seemed to take forever. I dumped my bags at my B and B and wondered down to the town centre to the "new" finish line .After two glasses of wine my sore feet seemed to trouble me less!

The Kingshouse Glencoe to Kinlochleven - 8 miles

After a hard day yesterday today was an altogether more relaxing affair. A walk up Glencoe and then up over the mountains via the pass know as the Devil's Staircase. This old military road was built in the 18th century to help the English army keep the Scots under control but had a short life of use. The "road" is really a rough stone track that climbs a gap in the mountains before zig zagging towards the top. After this there is a gradual decent into Kinlochleven passing the hydro electric  scheme pipes. Kinlochleven must be a tough place to live in winter what with the short day length and the way it is in the deep shadow of the mountains. Tomorrow is my final day on the West Highland Way as I set out for Fort William about 15 miles away.

Tyndrum to Kingshouse Glencoe- 19 miles

I was up early this morning to start the journey from Tyndrum which would take me via the Bridge of Orchy into the mountains and across the Uk's largest wilderness Rannoch moor. It had rained heavily most of the night and the sound of a river close to my bedroom made it sound even worse. My first problem of the day was crossing a stream which had risen overnight. I failed miserably and fell off a stepping stone putting one hand in the water and filling my walking shoes with river water. After emptying them out I headed on my way. By now the rain was pouring and when I spoke to an American women she gave me some excellent advice. She said "look at it as an adventure". It certainly was and I was greatful to spend the next six miles talking to a student who was having a gap year. After the Bridge of Orchy you head to the mountains before taking the Drove road across Rannoch moor. The sun broke out and shone across its vastness. I had been reading Psalm 20 

this morning. " May the Lord answer you when you are in distress ; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you".

I think it sums up my experience of the day.