Josie Travels

Recommended route: Clovelly to Hartland Quay – 10.3 miles
My route: Clovelly to Hartland Quay – 10.3 miles

My one and only day of hiking hungover on the South West Coast Path, and it was one of the best days I had on the trail! The weather was dreary, a light drizzle with a cold wind blowing in off the ocean, and I was thrilled about it. It gave me a much needed break from the relentless heatwaves of the previous week, and I had a big smile on my face as I finally started getting the moody photos I had wanted all along, it was the perfect hangover cure.

I walked along some of the highest cliffs of the entire coast path, skirted a small section that was closed due to a landslide, and the days highlight was the stunning Beckland wildflower margins running along the edge of certain fields, encouragement for local wildlife to thrive while also being able to farm the land.

Eventually the rain started to pick up and I had to put my camera away, I lost almost all visability, and almost got blown over a few times from the gusts of wind whipping around the clifftops. I had, of course, run out of food at water pretty early on and I was thrilled when I reached The Point cafe and had what may have been the best cheese toastie of my life, but also may have been the fact that I felt like I had been lost along the stormy cliffs for days.

When I reached Hartland Quay I walked inland to Stroke Barton campsite, a lovely little place with a small field for hikers, hot showers, laundry, and some indoor space to keep out of the bad weather. I walked down to Hartland Quay for dinner at the Wreckers Retreat pub, and was feeling good about the day. However, my things were still soaked through after spending the night here, so I decided to take a bus to Bude to dry out in the sun before tackling the hardest section of this hike.

You can view the full itinerary here.

If you would like to see more photos, you can view the full album here.

You can also follow the journey on Instagram!