Weather: Sunny intervals, warm.
Distance: 14.5 km, (9 miles)
Total Distance: miles
The cooked breakfast was OK, but I suspected the orange juice was off because it was slightly fizzy and the were six Kelloggs cereals to choose from - no muesli or bran, just six large Kellogg’s varieties. When I was leaving the owner told me his sorry story of how his wife and children had left him and gone back to Canada. He was planning to sell up and return too. Now there's a cheery way to start the day.
There were three large hills to the east of Sidmouth so
I prepared myself for the climbs. Walking on the beach did not seem a
possibility at first because the tide was still in. The first part of the path
up the cliff was in fact closed and a small
detour led around a well-to-do area of Sidmouth. At Salcombe Mouth I chanced
going down onto the beach. The tide was evidently going out so I chanced
walking the beach to Western Mouth. I
thought I was OK until I rounded a corner and found the tide just too far in to
make it OK. Another person was on the
other side of the 10 yard blockage so we
both waited patiently for 15 minutes for the tide to retreat. I don't know how long he had been waiting
there. When I did cross he appeared a
local man out for a long walk and informed me I could walk all the way to Beer
in the next couple of hours since it was an especially low tide that day. I had
not had a day where I had walked so much on the beach for a long time. It was hard walking and I kept going mainly
because I forgot to ask the local man what time low tide actually was. At the
Beer end there were a couple of places were a lot of rock hopping was required
and I had to go under rock arches in a number of places. Past Beer, a place I did not really see
because I was on the beach, I continued on the beach, over wave breakers, and
onto what appeared to be clay interspersed with a turquoise mineral.
It had been a pleasant walk if hard going, a real test
for my foot on which I had been receiving physio in work. I had tea and a piece
of marble cake outside a seaside cafe before heading along the prom into
Seaton. I was very early - it was only 1 o'clock. I explored the town, but wasn't as impressed as I'd been with Sidmouth. The town had a bit of a run down appearance and a fair share of charity shops. I
surveyed the "what's on" boards and found that The Pirates of
Penzance was on that night. I waited for a shop to open to buy a ticket and
then bought some newspapers and went to the Sleeper pub serving a nice local
bitter, Beer Engine Real Ale.
I stayed in the Harbour House B&B on the east side
of the town. It was a pleasant terraced house overlooking the harbour, well
part of it probably was, but my room overlooked the Shell garage and the Racal
Electronics works. I had a shower and went in search of food. I feared another
chip shop meal since I had seen nothing else in my tour of the town that
afternoon. On my way into town however I happened to stumble on an Italian
restaurant. It was very pleasant though being 6.30 I was the only customer. The
cannelloni was a smallish portion but adequate and very tasty. The restaurant
was actually opposite a Haven Holiday park which did not seem to match somehow.
I thought of the park a couple of days later when the whole of the Northern
part of the Isle of Portland had to be evacuated to make safe a large wartime
bomb and the evacuees were sent to Haven holiday parks in the area.
The Pirates of Penzance was pleasant enough though like
many operas I lose interest in the less famous bits. I had a headache which did
not help. Being very scruffy amongst people out in their best togs meant that I
became almost transparent as people tried hard to ignore me!
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