LoveTravelEngland
  • 2019 Trip Blog
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St Ives

The train ride to St. Ives is one of most spectacular train journeys in Britain. Try to sit on the correct side to catch the sea views as the train trundles along, and witness the amazing tribute to Victorian engineering as the track hugs the cliff and somehow doesn’t topple straight over. 

The train stops just at the top of the steps leading down to Porthminster Beach: Step off the train, turn to the right, and meet a sub­tropical climate you’d never in a million years believe was in the UK. Palm trees? Balmy breezes? Magnificent stretches of silky white sand? The town is a working port, as it has been for eons, where fishermen still land their daily catches, much of it shipped off to some of the finest restaurants in the world.

It’s a perfect town to base yourself while exploring the area. For one thing, there are plenty of buses to take you hither and thither across the wild, rugged corner of the country.
 
Then, when you want a break from hither and thither, St Ives offers winding cobbled streets leading off to even smaller streets and passageways—to shops and tearooms and rugged trails along the coast, restaurants and pubs and famous art galleries, staunch stone buildings that have survived furious storms longer than you’ve been alive, and colorful doors and explosive displays of flowers. Is there anything else? 



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Step off the train, cross the parking lot, and meet the sea.
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St Ives is also beach and rocks and surfing and boating.
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It's also the coastal path, which runs wild and dangerous alongside the sea.
Three St. Ives Slideshows

Saturday 9/21

Land at Heathrow, train to paddington, train to Exeter, train to barnstaple, walk to The Old Vicarage—where we are staying until Thursday.
Have to remember how to read these boards.
Our room.
Love the bath!
First, tea in the garden.
After our tea we walk to the bus station to pick up bus schedules. Hop the 21 to Fremington, which is where we left off last time.
On the path.
Ha! Bob wants “he was a character” on his tombstone.
Fairly uninteresting walk, mostly along marshes.
Security idea for PP@L
We’re on an old railroad line, cute tunnels and all. This looks like a tunnel from the Thomas videos.
Our first pub. This is Instow.
My new favorite drink. It’s cucumber and elderberry and so good I have two. Which means we are finished for the day! We’ll complete this stretch of the walk tomorrow.
We order fish& chips takeaway rather than eating it in the pub because (a) it’s about half the price, and (b) fish & chips taste best outside! Check out the newspaper wrapping!
Not so healthy but it’s the first night and we’re on the coast where the fish is fresh, so.

Sunday, 9/22 Morning

Ate a marvelous breakfast, then walked straight out of Barnstaple to pick up the path heading northwest.
We fill out a little form the night before, choosing our breakfast time and meal items. Plus, there’s a sideboard of granolas, yogurt, fruit, etc.
View from our table.
Walking through Barnstable before hike.
The path. Heading first to Braunton.
The path is flat and fairly unremarkable. Sky is threatening.
We reach Braunton, almost pass right by this, then decide to stop for a short break.
Lovely inside, nicest people.

Sunday, 9/22 Afternoon

We walk Braunton to Saunton, intending to catch bus at Saunton, except I read Saturday’s bus schedule instead of Sunday’s because it’s so easy to do that and we soon find out there is no Sunday bus service in Saunton.
This Is looking back to Braunton. Path leads along this estuary. I think it’s an estuary.
Blackberry bushes are everywhere!
We’re right next to military training grounds.
Lunch break. Sandwiches. Forgot to pack dessert.
Ha! We see this sign as we close the gate after walking across the field.
It’s here that we realize that no bus will be coming. Luckily there’s a golf course right next to the path and we bum a ride to Braunton, which we know for sure has Sunday buses.

Saturday, 9/22 Evening

Our main goal on Sunday every time we come to England is it to make it to a Sunday Roast Dinner. Usually we miss it. Today though we are lucky: we find a good place in Braunton and end the walk on a full-belly note. Total miles today: 11.5.
Roast beef, potato, assorted fresh veggies, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding. Yum.
Waiting in the rain for the bus back to Barnstaple.
The Vicarage at last! We are both exhausted.
This waits for us every afternoon. That’s fresh cream on top.
Washed our clothes though not very thoroughly.
Choose breakfast and go to bed!
  • 2019 Trip Blog
  • Our Hikes
  • Town