Coast challenge update week 5

I think this week's run has been the toughest so far, and therefore in some ways the most satisfying. Particularly because it means I won't have to do this part again, thank god!

Today I ran the 16 miles from Ilfracombe to Croyde. Coming out of Ilfracombe there was an impossibly hilly start, which was a cruel initiation into coastal running for Gareth, who had decided to accompany me for part of the run. It only took a couple of miles of the relentless zig-zags up the Torrs cliffs to make him regret his decision and turn back, leaving me to face the thigh-burn alone.

The ups and downs got increasingly steep around the village of Lee and on the way to Mortehoe, where I kept coming up against endless stairs cut into the hills and seeming to climb to the clouds. Though I had to give in and walk more often than I liked, I am proud to say I tried to keep going, and at one point I was actually clapped by a small group of women walkers watching me attempt to run up one of these stairways! (Although 'run' might not be an accurate description of the snail-paced leaps and halts I was managing.)

Morte point is an incredibly dramatic rocky corner on the path to Woolacombe. Rounding the corner and seeing it's spiky form spreading out below me was a real highlight and made me wonder why I haven't been there more often. Living near so many great sights seems to make you complacent, but that's one of the best things about doing this coastal run- it's a fantastic way to get out and experience the natural beauty on our doorstep.

After Morte point the path got more level, and the run into Woolacombe, along the beach and around Baggy point at the other side would have seemed positively easy by comparison if I wasn't already exhausted from the preceding 9 miles. There were loads of people out walking around here and for the first time in my coastal challenge I experienced the mild irritation of having to wait for wide enough points in the path to overtake white-haired walking-stick-wielding hikers and families dawdling along. Still, I think I preferred seeing people out enjoying themselves and using the path to the isolation of recent weeks, not to mention the pleasantness of having people to say 'hi' to and the reassurance that if I fell over a rock and injured myself it wouldn't be too long before someone stumbled across me!

Route week 5:

Ilfracombe (outside Landmark Theatre on the promenade)- Lee- Bull Point lighthouse- Morte Point- Woolacombe- Putsborough beach- Baggy Point- Croyde Bay (ended in Down End car park on south side of Croyde). 16 miles in total, all on the Coast Path, woohoo!

Distance on Coast Path:

38 miles to date


Map: