Day 16 More gruelling but not as hot

Today was noted in my guidebook as “the toughest day on the path”. Somehow I hadn’t noticed this. My friend Karen was not daunted. I was.

We left Bude well-stocked with pasties (Karen and her children had two each) carrying plenty of water. It was raining but not heavily. We passed the rock swimming pool which looked different with the tide in. We passed a couple of cafes, we were feeling carefree. Until the ups and downs started. And went on, and on, like yesterday, except there were more of them

We had moments of light relief-like seeing the radio telescopes being pressure washed, and confusing signs.

We had lunch, and today I have two pasty reviews.

I bought my pasty at the post office. Unfortunately I don’t know which bakery it came from, and those of you who have read the previous pasty reviews will already have ideas about it. Pastry-poor, didn’t survive the trip in the rucksack. Crimping-seriously sub -standard. Filling -very potatoey indeed. What can you expect, buying a pasty from a post office? I hear you mutter. In my defence, it was very handily situated… definitely the poorest pasty so far.

The second pasty was Karen’s but I don’t have a photo. Pastry good, Crimping very good indeed. Filling average, but better than mine. Yes, she bought hers from a bakery.

After lunch is a bit of a blur. Lots of hot, sweaty, breathless ups and steep downs. I ought to say that Karen, Amy and Mylo were powering through, rather like mountain goats. It was just me that was sweaty and breathless. We stopped many times for water, Karen deciding that she would risk stream water rather than dehydration. Even though it wasn’t as hot as yesterday that was probably a sensible decision.

A highlight of the afternoon was the waterfall. The map mentioned many waterfalls but they were a little underwhelming. This one, however was perfect for rejuvenating our feet. Not to mention the sedimentary rock display.

The momentous thing that happened today was that we left Cornwall and entered Devon. Devon didn’t have a welcoming sign, or I would have taken a picture.

I left Karen, Amy and Mylo to carry on to Hartland Quay, whilst I cut across to reach the Youth Hostel at Elmscott.

I am in awe of their cheerful determination and I know that without them, today would have been a lot more difficult and not half as much fun.