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Hike #13: Westward Ho! to Appledore

They brag about Westward Ho! being the only town in England with an exclamation point. But really? Only in England? Not the whole wide world? How many towns can there possibly be with an exclamation point? I had to check this out. 

It turns out that St-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! in Québec has two explanation points. Ha! Beat that Westward Ho! And, closer to my home in Ohio, Hamilton! half-heartedly included an exclamation mark in its name too. But as you'll see from this article, we can't really count Hamilton. 
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Westward Ho! was founded after Charles Kingsley's novel Westward Ho! was published in the mid 1800′s, and eventually became a popular holiday spot. And that's all I know.
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We are a bit confused about where the path goes. We know the goal is Appledore. Supposedly it's about five miles away; but as we start off and I looked in the distance, I quietly panic. Quietly because I don't want to not do our very last walk of this trip. But damn. Look how far away that corner of the land is. Surely that's more than five miles.
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But bob insists we're only going to the town we can see in the near distance. It makes no sense until we realize there's an island in between us and that far away land; we don't have to go around it after all and thank God because I am on my last leg literally. Hahaha.  
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It is unbelievably windy; it's all we can do to walk, let alone take pictures. Which is why there aren't many. Plus it's fairly uninteresting. At this point on the walk we are hoping there is a bridge to Appledore so we didn't have to walk around, but there isn't, so we do.
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​We reach Appledore and explore the side of town we'd missed last week.
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Then we sit on a bench along the coast, mix up some gin and tonic, calculate how far on the coastal path we've walked this trip (about 40 miles), talk to a local man and his white golden (who doesn't talk much), eat an ice ​cream cone, and hop a double decker back to Barnstaple. Finished walking ​for this trip! Heading to Bath tomorrow, then London, then back to Ohio.
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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
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