This summer I hiked about 140km of the South West Coast Path along the North Devon coast. I started out at the trail terminus at Minehead and walked just before Westward Ho! After the very dry June that blessed my previous cycling trip, I was about to wade into an incredibly wet and stormy July – even by British standards.
The first day on the trail was a beautiful 16km hike from the campground near Minehead to the small town of Porlock at Porlock Bay. Although I arrived pretty early in the afternoon, I decided to stay here to not avoid getting stuck wild camping somewhere in the forecast heavy rain for the next day.
I ended up sitting out a day in Porlock due to a full day of constant rain and strong winds. Thankfully the town had a great little pub and the campsite a sheltered area to chill and mingle with other campers – so I wasn’t stuck in my tiny single person tent.
Starting from Porlock the path went back to the storm beach, walking along loose pebbles to Porlock Weir. From their the path sneaks up the hill and keeps hugging the steep costward slope through lush vegetation, offering shelter from the early morning rain.
Overall I only had a couple of days worth of good weather and was hit by three days that were just neverending heavy rain. That my new tent was leaking didn’t necessarily help – although it made for a great gear test for my upcoming Te Araroa trhu-hike.
But despite all that it was a beautiful route with spectacular views along the rough coastline of North Devon.