New Valley Hills

It was cold last night. I deployed all my warm gear and fell asleep comfortably. Woke up three hours later roasting so shed most of it, then some of that went back on at 0400. Coldest was 8C.

Thick socks, quilt foot box closed up, quilt strapped down, warm mid layer worn with hood up.

Cold start, then unexpectedly the sun came out all day. Wind nonexistent to light breeze so it was shorts and tshirt weather as long as one kept walking briskly. The wind and sunshine of last two days have dried out much of the path after the soaking it got on Friday.

I spend much of the day clearing my chest and sinuses of the cold remains.

I don’t like cows in my path, best if they’re the correct side of the fence. I started this walk saying hello to them in a pleasant voice, by name according to their sex “Hello Charley, hello Susan”. This has changed. I now have a mantra I chant as I cross their land “I’m benign, you are bovine”. Helps calm me and hopefully by verbal signalling they don’t see me as a threat or of interest.

As I leave Cornwall I’m reminded of a tale from the one-toothed man of Padstow. I’d carelessly held my tent flap open as I unpacked. He took this as his opportunity. His voice was an over loud baritone bruised by alcohol and fags.

You’re walking the coast path are you, he tells me. Much of it’s now owned by the National Trust, who aren’t very liked in Cornwall since their Project Neptune started buying coastline. There’s a story in there, he warns me. My mother said to me you don’t listen to me, well you now listen to this, she told me. Do you remember being billeted with two sisters when we sent you out of London as a child? Do you know who they were? Their name was Hunter and their brother was Robert who was the legal mind behind the creation of the National Trust.

As he settled in for the next instalment a car turned up, he jumped to attention and scurried off crowing about selling caravans. I shut my tent, I was very tired and in no mood to listen to a pub bore.

This is a great walking section. Scenery and hills galore!

I was told if it had rained hard recently,

Campsite has a lounge room in their old stone barn with sofas and a kettle. And a coast hikers only cupboard with free beverage making ingredients. Yesss! I have two hot sweet mugs of decaf tea before bed.

Abbey and Kevin from Ilfracombe are coming the other way. We trade tips on campsites and shops. Kevin is a keen bikepacker. He’s envious of my tent. He’s had Long Covid, a heart attack, balance issues since Covid, and is still out tackling the path a week at a time. 👏