After walking from our campsite to Lynmouth we passed a B&B, 'The Captain's House', that had a sign out indicating it was open to non-guests for breakfast. Despite having already breakfasted, we reasoned that if we ate another 'hearty' breakfast here it would save us carrying too much. So that is what we did, breakfast number two less than an hour after breakfast number one. Then having had second thoughts about carrying food we decided to order a packed lunch as well, which the B&B were happy to provide and which proved to be of a high quality with lovely home-made cake. While there, we spoke to a young European girl who was to be walking in the opposite direction to us and asked for some advice on the walk. Turned out she was walking with no directional aids whatsoever and we ended up giving her our paper OS map, as we had our GPS to back us up.
Initially, from here we were walking just off the road but when we left it the path was green and heavily vegetated on both sides, albeit the path itself was relatively clear. Walking on the side of the hill, with the road above us, we had lovely vistas and front and rear and in the early morning light, the colour palette of blue and green was very vivid.
It was fine walking, in beautiful countryside with that wonderful feeling of solitude that you get when walking in what feels and looks like wilderness yet, incongrously, not too far away civilisation was whizzing by. When you reach The Foreland you can choose to whether to go round the front to the Point where the lighthouse and the Keeper's Cottages are located or to cut across the neck at the back of the Point. We had decided beforehand that we would not take the circular route but, as a wee side bar to the main walk, we diverted up a smaller path to take us to the trig point on Butter Hill where we could enjoy the coastal views at the greater height.
There is a very nice natural spring or holy well in the trees known as Sister's Fountain, where we spent some time sitting on the hillside listening to the gurgle of the stream. The spring is thought to have been enclosed in the early 19th C, possibly by the Reverend W S Halliday, who built Glenthorne House, which lies just below the hill and which is the cause of the diversion inland (It was on the market in 2018 for £5.5 million). I even ventured in to the well to try out the water and found it to be very cold and refreshing, particularly welcome on a very muggy day. It is claimed that Joseph of Arimathea drank here on his way to Glastonbury, so I was in good company!
Lying just to the front of the beach, the pebble and shingle ridge has over hundreds of years offered a variable level of protection to Porlock Weir and surrounding areas. The barrier has, however, been breached many times over the years (most notably in 1990) creating ever-changing fresh and seawater environments. There is evidence that over time the barrier is both moving inland and becoming thinner following a drastic reduction in the amount of sediment and pebbles that is moved along the coast from Foreland Point and the cliffs. As the changes take place in the barrier, it becomes more vulnerable to actual physical breaches in the wall and to waves coming over the top of the barrier in stormy conditions, both threatening the local communities.
We were beside a Belgian lady in a camper van and over the next few hours spent some time chatting to her. Later, we went out to the local pub where we had dinner before returning to the campsite to take advantage of the good laundry facilities. Although we were close to the end of our odyssey on the SWCP, our journey would continue on for a week or so yet, as intended walking as far as the Severn Bridge. Once the camp kids were in bed the site quietened down and, before long, we joined them in slumber land.