Day 29 Crackington Haven to Bude
We caught the first bus to Crackington Haven and arrived at around 10am. As it was a latish start we decided to enjoy a coffee and cake at the Cabin . . . . . and then we were off!
We walked to the top of the hill, which wasn’t as bad as it looked, before we meandered along the cliff tops and across farm land. It wasn’t long before we came across our first steep descent, towards Thorns beach, followed by a steep ascent.
The path dropped into two more deep valleys before climbing out of Mot’s Hole up to Chipman Point. The going is tough — and thankfully the steps up the side of the cliffs have been replaced by gentler zig zag paths. We may be walking a little further, but man, it is worth it!
We see lizards basking in the sun and at the top we amble along Chipman Point and come across horses grazing peacefully in the field.
At Dizzard Point we reach the highest point of the day and have apparently walked a total of seven ascents and descents. It feels like it. We pass an ancient woodland of dwarf oaks, which has been dated to between 6500 and 4000 BC.
The walk becomes gentler and we soon arrive at Millook, a pretty cove, so we stop to enjoy our picnic on the rocky beach. This blog gives some interesting history about the area.
After lunch we walk up and out of Millook and at the top of the hill we can just see the GCHQ satellite station on the cliffs beyond Bude.
While we have one or two ups and downs along the way, the walking this afternoon has become relatively easy and we can see the expansive beaches ahead.
After a little road work here and there we soon reach Blackrock beach, which is busy with kids playing in the rock pools. We walk along the towans (sanddunes) above the sandy Widemouth Bay and then walk along the flattish cliff tops with views towards Bude.
The path opens out onto the wide grassy downs and we soon reach the Pepperpot at Bude. The Pepperpot was originally built in 1835 as a refuge for coastguards — but has been moved to safer ground.
We arrive in Bude at about 4ish after a steady 10mile walk and enjoy a cream tea in the tea room at Bude Castle (1830). A great end to the day.
