From Newquay we take a loooong train ride to Barnstaple. It takes most of the day. The first thing we do in Barnstable is get my ankle x-rayed at the Barnstaple AE. Our first experience with socialized healthcare and we're impressed. My ankle is only sprained. The next day we decide to walk the path to the next village, hop a bus to the village after that, then walk to the village after that one. That way we'll cover the trail in a way that rests my foot in between. 

The coastal path takes you through all kinds of terrain and surroundings. Two days ago we were sliding down sand dunes; today we start out walking through town and along a highway.

The nice thing about having a hurt foot is it makes you walk slower, which means you notice things you might have missed at a faster pace.

After an uneventful walk, we reach Fremington Quay. That's two miles so far today. We'll rest here for 20 minutes, then catch the bus to Instow and ferry across to Appledore. But once on the bus we realize that the tide is out (those damn tides again), which means no ferry.

​Sitting next to us is a friendly Italian man who now lives in Britain. He insists we stop at Bideford instead of going straight to Appledore because Appledore, he says, has nothing of interest. As the bus pulls in to Bideford, Bob and I look at each other in dismay. Bideford looks dreary. But the gentleman is beaming and nodding for us to get off the bus with him. What else can we do?

That's Bob's polite OK-we'll-give-the-town-a-look-see look. Which we do.