Floyd's Travels and Thoughts on Life: 2016

Monday, October 31, 2016

Return to England in October 2016 for more hiking and exploring

In October 2016 I traveled to England for 17 days. My main goal was to solo hike an 80-mile section of the Southwest Coast Path (SWCP) which follows the coastline of Somerset and Devon, crossing through Exmoor. Following the hike I visited several different cities and villages throughout England, some of which I wanted to return to and others which were new to me. As usual, whenever I visit the UK, I traveled by train, using a Britrail Flexipass. Along the way I met some old friends. When I arrived at Heathrow airport I traveled to Redhill and checked into a B & B for 2 nights. The next day I traveled South to Brighton, one of England's premier seaside resorts, and spent the day exploring.

Brighton Pier

Royal Pavilion in Brighton

Returning to Redhill, I joined English friends Annie, Andy, Toni, and Dee at the Plough Pub for Quiz Night. A good time was had by all. The following day I boarded the train and traveled to Minehead, where my hike was set to begin. The SWCP is 630 miles long and is Britain's longest national trail. In the past I have hiked sections of the path in Devon, Cornwall and elsewhere, but I had never hiked the very beginning of the trail, which begins at Minehead and then goes South following the North Devon coastline. My seven day solo hike was exhilarating but quite challenging and strenous at times. Here are some photo's of what I saw and experienced during my hike on the SWCP from Minehead to Instow.

SWCP, looking north from Hurlstone Point

SWCP leading to the village of Bossington

Hurlstone Point

Tea shop in Bossington

Cream Tea

After my first day of hiking, an easy 9 miles, I spent the night in the attractive village of Porlock.

Main Street in Porlock

Porlock

Leaving Porlock the next day, I hiked to Porlock Weir and then entered Culbone Woods. Leaving the woods I followed the coast path signs and the landmark wild boar gatepost, and headed towards the village of Lynton.

Approaching Porlock Weir

Wild boar gate post on the path

Coast Path sign

Day 3 proved to be the most scenically dramatic and physically challenging, a 14 mile test of endurance that first went through the mysterious landscape of the Valley of Rocks, followed by a stretch of beautiful coastline, then a descent into Heddon, one of the steepest valleys in England, then the ascent back out of the valley and up to the coastal cliffs, and then finally an ascent up to the top of Great Hangman the highest point on the SWCP and located on Britain's highest sea cliff. The weather cooperated on my hike, with only a few brief showers and frequent sunny spells. This made for enjoyable hiking and allowed me to better enjoy some of Southwest England's most dramatic and beautiful coastal landscapes. When I finally arrived at my B & B in Combe Martin my feet were protesting and my thighs were burning.

Castle Rock, in the Valley of Rocks

Woody Bay

Climbing out of the deep Heddon Valley

SWCP

Approaching Great Hangman

By the cairn at the top of Great Hangman

The descent down to the village of Combe Martin

Watermouth Bay

Approaching Ilfracombe on Day 4

On Day 5, hiking from Infracombe to Woolacombe, I encountered gorgeous coastal scenery.

Croyde Beach, on Day 6 of the hike

Heading to the village of Braunton, Day 6

Taw Estuary on Day 7, the last day of the hike

Harbor at Instow, looking towards the village of Appledore

When my hike was over, I joined my friend Clive and his sister Lindy and husband Richard for an evening meal at a pub called the Beaver Inn in Appledore. The following day, using my railpass, I set out to explore other places in England.

York Minster in York

Queen Street in Biddeford

Ruins of St Mary's Abbey, York

Kings Manor in York

One of the best half-timbered buildings in York, 1480

Durham Cathedral, one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in all of England

The home of the Bronte's in the village of Haworth

Statue of the 3 gifted Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Ann, in the garden of the Bronte house

Haworth Church graveyard. Most of the Bronte's are buried in a vault beneath the church

Haworth

Bridge of Sighs in Oxford

On my last day in Oxford, I spent several hours at the Natural History Museum (which is free, unlike most other Oxford attractions), where I saw a very impressive collection of dinosaur skeletons, a block of orbicular granite 2.7 billion years old, and the room where the historic debate occurred between Thomas Huxley, Darwin's "bulldog" and staunch friend and defender, and the Bishop Samuel Wilberforce. The debate happened one year after the publication of Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, one of the most significant books ever written.

Granite block in the Museum

Stele outside Natl. History Museum, Oxford

Natural History Museum, Oxford

Plaque outside door to the room where the famous Huxley-Wilberforce debated occurred in 1860

Monday, May 9, 2016

Hiking the Coast to Coast Path in England, April 2016

In April 2016 I traveled to England with my daughter Susan, and we hiked the Western half of the Coast to Coast path, a distance of 88 miles. We arrived at Heathrow, validated our rail passes, and took the train to Paddington Station, and then took the underground to Euston Station. There we took a train for a 7 hour trip to Carlisle in Northern England. At Carlisle we took a train to St. Bee's, a lovely village on the Cumbrian coast next to the Irish Sea. We had a half-day to explore St. Bee's, and the next day we began our hike. We hiked 31 miles on the first two days to Rosthwaite, and arrived there with sore feet and legs and aching muscles. We took an extra day to rest up in Rosthwaite and explored the nearby town of Keswick. Then we resumed hiking, and five days and 57 miles later finished the hike in Kirkby Stephen.
The scenery in the Lake District was spectacular and for most of our hike we experienced mild temperatures and sunny skies. We took rain gear knowing that the Lake District can be very wet, but we never got rained on; instead, we experienced small bits of hail and snow on some days at the higher elevations. One time it snowed heavily. Snow blanketed the ground and made the trail impossible to see. The Coast to Coast path through the lake district is not well marked and at times Susan's GPS was a life-saver and allowed us to stay on course. Everywhere we went we encountered gorgeous landscapes, lovely lakes, quaint attractive villages, and daffodils in bloom. This is the area that inspired the poet William Wordsworth, and when we arrived in Grasmere we visited his grave in the graveyard of St. Oswald's Church.

"I wandered lonely as a cloud

that floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

a host, of golden daffodils"

I hike often in England, and this was one of the most rigorous and challenging hikes of them all. Some of the hills seemed more like mountains, and some days we finished the hike with very sore feet and aching muscles. Some of the up and down going was a bit treacherous at times, and I was glad to have a hiking pole and Susan as a companion. After finishing the hike in Kirkby Stephen, and before returning home, we took the train to Oxford and explored some of the city.

DAY 1- Arrive St. Bee's

St. Bee's beach on he Irish Sea

St. Bee's Priory Church

DAY 2 - St. Bee's to Ennerdale Bridge, 15 miles

Start of the Coast to Coast walk at St. Bee's

Approaching Fleswick Bay and St. Bee's lighthouse

Red sandstone of Fleswick Bay

The path in Nannycatch Gate Valley

A well-deserved drink at the Fox and Hounds pub in Ennerdale Bridge

DAY 3 - Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite, 16 miles

Lake Ennerdale, the Western-most lake in the Lake District

Beautiful Ennerdale Lake

Lakeside woodlands and moss-covered rocks

The hills that await us

A brief rest at BlackSails YHA before climbing over Loft Beck

The grueling climb up Loft Beck. Susan is checking her GPS

DAY 4 - Rest Day in Rosthwaite at the Royal Oak Hotel

DAY 5 - Rosthwaite to Grasmere, 9 miles