As a consequence of long-shore drift, the pebbles are gradually moved along the shoreline eventually becoming part of the pebble barrier. In recent years, the level of drift has diminished and the ridge is not being replenished naturally to the historical level. Over a short period, the local council moved pebbles from the spit of land at Grey Sands on the estuary to re-inforce the barrier, but this source has now been depleted and the area is being left to find a stasis with the sea. In numerous areas on our journey we have seen the consequences that man-made barriers can have on natural processes and, no doubt the concrete sea wall to the front of Westward Ho! must contribute to the changes in the level of drift.
Given the consequences of global warming, particularly the likelihood of higher sea levels, one wonders what, if any, is the long-term future for the Burrows and the surrounding area. In Storm Eleanor (2018) and previously during the major winter storms of 2014, the area was severely damaged. The beauty and ferocity of the storm, as well as the extent of the damage of the 2014 storm can be seen here. One can only imagine the sense of anticipation and perhaps dread that locals feel when Spring and Neep tides are forecast to coincide with storm weather conditions.
At the top end of the Skern by Appledore Bridge, it is possible to walk along the shore if the tide is right. We were fortunate that as we had set off the tide was full, slowly receding as we walked so that it was low enough to enable us to walk the shore to enter the western end Appledore, albeit still wet and slippy.
Appledore is a lovely little village with narrow meandering streets that give it a timeless quality. Given its location at the point where the Taw and Torridge Rivers meet, it was no surprise to find it had a fine ship building history. Before we reached as far as the shipyard, however, we were overtaken by the need for a second breakfast and stopped in a local hostelry. Early starts can be a fine thing, but they can play havoc with your waistline.
It was shortly after leaving The Coffee Cabin, where we had enjoyed some really nice food, the route takes a short detour inland to go round a yard. We were pleasantly surprised to find Babcocks International was the owner of the Appledore shipyard. Babcocks was a major employer in the area where I was born and brought up, known then as Babcock and Wilcox. When you were leaving school in the fifties and sixties in the Clydebank area of Scotland the company was probably in the top four or five destinations for those seeking apprenticeships. The company was closely related to another of the major employers in Clydebank the Singer Sewing Machine Company where, again surprisingly, boilers were made for Babcocks. Isaac Singer, the American owner of the sewing machine factory was also a major share holder in Babcocks at that time. On the day we passed by the Appledore Shipyard it was closed, with signs saying its future was under discussion. Sadly, in November 2018, Babcocks announced they saw no future for the yard and after one hundred and sixty three years of business Appledore Shipbuilders was formally closed down in March of this year (2019).
Walking through East-the-Water on the B3233 it was not too difficult to keep to task as we walked by the side of the road. Just before Torridge Bridge the route leaves the main road to go on to a pedestrain / cycleway, which still entailed walking on a tarmacadam surface. Really, from the entry in to Bideford until you reach Barnstaple, if you take the Tarka Trail, you are walking on one kind of solid road surface or another. It is a lot of 'road pounding', resulting in very hot feet and sore feet. We stopped once or twice to take photographs looking back to Bideford and across the river to the Babcock shipyard at Appledore with its large ship shed, other than that it was heads down and head for home.