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We take a bus, which is a 45-minute ride through spectacular countryside, to Lynton, a tiny village that sits right along the South West Coast Path. Our first stop is a little cafe that has wi-fi and cream teas. Now we're in Devon and are eating Devon clotted cream, as opposed to Cornish clotted cream. Not sure I can tell; they're both delish.
Today we are squeezing in a tiny hike before we settle into the B&B. The stroll from Lynton to Lee Abbey is a rare treat on the SWCP—a mostly level 2-mile meander. It takes you through the prehistoric-looking Valley of Rocks, where the goats far outnumber the hikers, then opens up to the serene grounds of Lee Abbey. Unfortunately, we double the mileage by getting lost and taking the long way back to Lynton. Sigh. 
If you have good eyes, you can see the wild goat in the center of the photo. He's brown and shaggy.
Look carefully at the top right for the climber. From this angle he looks brown and shaggy too.
See the tiptop of that next little pile of rocks? That's our next goal.
Do we look calm and peaceful? We are not. We are scared. Very scared.
The view from the top. Not so very long ago we were way over there taking a picture of way over here.
According to the Devon Walks booklet, there is a shortcut for people who have a hurt ankle and want to go back. (See my arrow above.) "This will take an hour off your walk" the writer promises. "You can trust me" is implied.
We walk down to Lee Abbey, just as the map tells us to do, then take the path that leads off the coastal trail and toward the shortcut. It's beautiful and peaceful and we assume all is right with the world.
We say a fond farewell to the Abbey and proceed carefree along the shortcut path, thinking of the tea and lunch and scones waiting at the restaurant back in Lynton. Suddenly, the shortcut makes a sharp turn way sooner than we expected. Shouldn't we be headed to the other side of the hill? Doesn't the trail go around the cliff so we see the sights on the other side?
But no. The trail starts leading back the way we just came, but in a seriously upward manner.
Instead of going to the other side of this hill, the path leads us on the same side we just walked. See? There's the rock pile we climbed an hour ago! |
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And then the trail dwindles to nothing. We keep going for a bit, until we are forced to conclude that we'd gone wrong somewhere. We turn around. Bloody hell. Eventually, we find the real trail, which just goes up and up forever and ever. And every time you think you're reaching the top, the trail laughs at you.
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Until eventually, we are at the top, and back exactly where we were 2.5 hours ago. Only higher. And more out of breath. And a tad cranky.
Whew. The end is in sight.
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