The Ankh-Morpork Times
 
David Eggerschwiler
 
Blogs
Ankh-Morpork Times
Lists
 
Previous
Weedy and Leafy Sea Dragon
Galapagos Penguin
Caribbean Reef Shark
Hippocampus Pontohi
My first whale shark!
The Island of Sharks
Whales and Dolphins
Mountain Hiking
Penguins, Albatross and other birds
Stewart Island: Hiking, Birding and Kiwi Spotting
 
Archives
July 2003
August 2003
September 2003
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
February 2004
March 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
April 2010
May 2010
July 2010
September 2010
April 2011
June 2011
February 2012
April 2012
September 2012
October 2012
November 2012
December 2012
January 2013
February 2013
June 2013
September 2013
November 2013
March 2014
August 2014
September 2014
October 2014
November 2014
December 2014
January 2015
April 2015
July 2015
January 2016
February 2016
May 2016
September 2016
October 2016
May 2017
August 2017
November 2017
May 2018
August 2018
October 2018
November 2018
December 2018
January 2019
September 2019
May 2020
Current Posts
 
Atom Feed
 
Powered by Blogger
 

Thursday, August 03, 2017

Coleridge Way

For this years vacation we planned something new, a long distance walking holiday. Since I hadn't done this before we looked for an easy route to start with and the Coleridge Way in South-West England fit the bill perfectly. Coleridge Way is dedicated to the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in English literature at the beginning of the 19th century and who lived in this area during that time.

We started in the quaint village Nether Stowey, where Coleridge Cottage, the house he lived in at the time and now a museum, is located. Of course we started off with visiting it and we learned a good bit about the poet and about the living conditions at that time. We stayed the night at The Old Cider House where we felt very welcome and had a splendid home cooked dinner and Furmity for breakfast, yummy!

The first day of walking led from Nether Stowey to Williton. On the way we crossed a beautiful hill and spotted a half wild horse family (two horses with a foal).

Williton itself is a bit off the main hiking route, but it was the closest place with accommodation. And the detour was well worth it. On the way we crossed a meadow with hundreds of sheep and in the hedges we spotted dozens of wild rabbits! Unfortunately, they stayed in the shadows and so we couldn't get a good picture.

After settling in at the White House, we headed out towards the railway station to look for a Geocache. A great decision! The station dates back to 1862 and still looks the same. A perfect place for a group of reenactors ;)

The second day was a short stretch to Roadwater where we arrived around 3pm, just in time to check into our room in The Valiant Soldier, a traditional English Inn. Since it was still early we headed onwards to Washford for another old railway station. This one was turned into a museum, which unfortunately was closed when we got there. But the walk there was wonderful with beautiful views of Bristol Channel and Wales.


Day three was another short distance to Wheddon Cross. Since we knew that we could walk more, we made a detour at Kingsbridge up into the Moor to look for a couple of Geocaches, most of which we found :). On top of the hill we spotted a small group of wild ponies in the distance! (Too far away for a picture, but still a beautiful sight)

Back on the trail Coleridge Way led us across Lype Hill, which was a huge meadow with hundreds of sheep. We were definitely blessed with animal encounters :)

Exhausted but happy we arrived at The Rest and Be Thankful, another 19th century inn where we had a great dinner and a good nights sleep.

From the Inn we saw the next days challenge: Dunkery Beacon, with 519 meters the highest point in Exmoor. And even though it was not on the official trail, we added it to our route because this was the real Exmoor and we didn't regret this decision. The views on the hill were stunning. And at the top we were greeted by a large group of wild ponies who weren't bothered by the tourists at all!

At the bottom of the hill we met the trail again and after crossing a small forest we spotted a deer, which quickly fled when it noticed us. The way continued to touristy Porlock and for us a bit further to Porlock Weir, a tiny hamlet and harbor. We couldn't resist to go for a short dip in the channel. Due to the cold water it was only a short experience ;).

At the beach there were leftovers of what looked like a bunker from the second World War, but it definitely had seen better days ;)

After another relaxing night at The Bottom Ship we started what turned out to be the most strenuous day to Brendon. On the one hand because the sun was shining brightly today, making it the hottest day so far and on the other hand because of two steep inclines which were in the open. In addition we added a scenic detour which added another couple of hundred of difference in altitude.

Completely exhausted we arrived at Millslade Country House where we received a very warm welcome with fresh lemonade, which was perfect for this day. After another delicious dinner, a relaxing night and a brilliant breakfast (pancakes with berries), we sadly departed. We wouldn't have minded staying a couple of days more.

And so we started our last day towards Lynmouth, which is another tourist hotspot. This we noticed soon, because the number of hikers and day guests increased dramatically. Whereas we had been walking for several hours without meeting someone, we crossed paths with others now every fifteen minutes. Nevertheless, it was a nice stretch through the wood and in the afternoon we finally arrived at the end of Coleridge Way, which was marked by a statue of Coleridge.

Since it wasn't too late, we did another extension and walked to Poets Corner which offered stunning views of the Valley of Rocks.

On the way back we even spotted a couple of wild goats on the cliff!

In summary, we were sad that it ended. We had a fantastic time and were very lucky with the good weather. On the other hand we were glad for a day of rest. All the walking did leave its marks with very tired limbs. But plans for the next walking holiday are already brewing in the back of our minds :).

We arranged this trip with the help of Encounter Walking Holidays, who were very friendly and did a great job in supplying us with all needed information (including gpx-track for my new GPS-device) as well as organizing all accommodation on the way.

Labels: , , , ,


 
 
Last Played
 
 
Library Thing delicious Youtube
Xing / OpenBC LinkedIn
 
Visitors
Locations of visitors to this page