The weather has spoken

I’m just walking between Salcombe and Bantham and the wind has really hit. The forecast is saying gusts of 50mph and I’m struggling to stay on my feet. The forecast is for Salcombe but I’m on top of the cliff so it might be more for me. They’re stronger than I’ve ever felt before anyway. A while back, when I was on a path integrated into a cliff, the wind knocked me over and I’ve bashed my elbow but I think it’s fine. I’m now in a field at the top and it’s got so bad I’ve just sat down and I’ll wait it out. I think otherwise it’d be dangerous.

My camp

I was probably more on a slope than I’d like but the camp was very pleasant. A really good spot a couple of miles away from the ferry and I don’t think anyone came by while I was there. It was really noisy though. The combination of the wind and sea was like standing on a tube platform when a train comes in. Nature knows how to make itself heard! Great camp though and I definitely got some sleep. The tent held up well, not a single peg was out of place in the morning so I’d say that was a really good recovery. I’ve decided that I now don’t like walking pole tents and your standard self standing ones are a lot better. A bit heavier in this case but I’ll take that sacrifice.

Heavy rain was forecast for the whole day so I felt extremely fortunate that is was still dry and I managed to get packed up easily without the complication of trying to stop things from getting wet.

Salcombe and the ferry

Really pleasant walk into Salcombe although I did use the scariest toilets I’ve ever been in just before I got there. It reminded me of the Blair Witch Project for some reason.

The path leads you directly to the queue for the ferry which I loved, although at this stage the queue consisted of me. Because of the wind it was pretty choppy and I wasn’t sure if the service would be on. The first boat was due at 8:30 and I was there at 8:10.

At about 8:20 another passenger appeared so I was hopefull that I’d get to cross. She was local so I assumed she knew what she was doing. I spoke to her a little bit and she said if it gets rough they sometimes change the pick-up point. She then pointed out that she could see the pilot in a little boat just transferring to the ferry. It looked like I was going to get across.

The ferry ride was brilliant. I think helped by the rough weather. Even getting on felt exciting. The lady I was talking to just hopped on as he got near the jetty while I was still messing around taking pictures. During the ride over she was chatting to the pilot / driver / captain and I was sat in the back taking pictures and videos acting like an excited child. The trip did not last long enough. I want to drive a ferry for my job.

Onwards to Bantham

There’s another ferry at Bantham but as the weather has really turned now with such high winds I doubt it’ll be running. This means I get the added bonus of a walk around the estuary. With that in mind I decided to book a campsite on the other side so hopefully I could get pitched up a bit earlier than nightfall and maybe get a shower. Although the weather currently is not helping that plan.

I stayed a while in Salcombe and had some breakfast and went to the coop. It was nice to take it easy. I then headed off along the coast again. Initially through a few streets, then round a couple of beaches and then back on out onto the cliffs. Again, the views are stunning and the power of the sea with this wind is immense. I could look back now and see roughly where I’d camped last night. It didn’t look so friendly now.

The footpath around the cliffs is quite tricky and with the wind got a little slippy and dangerous. Fortunately it then turns into paths beside fields so not as treacherous. However, as I said, the wind has now halted my progress. It’s not for the whole day though so positive thoughts and I’ll hopefully get going in a bit.