Day 8. Hoops Inn to Hartland Quay

The wind and rain were still doing their best so I waited, in vain, at the Hoops Inn for it to pass over.

It eased off a bit after an hour so I made my way back down the steep path to Buck's Mill and then steeply up the other side.

The weather was awful but the walk away from Buck's Mill, through woods and open farmland was lovely and then it joined the Hobby Drive, a disused cart track above craggy rocks, with names like Bight a Doubleyou, for the last three miles into Clovelly.

Here the path heads in a north west direction for the only time on the south west coast path, which was handy because the wind and rain were coming from the south west and the path was protected from the worst of it.

Looking down to Clovelly.

Stopped at Clovelly for a quick pint and a sandwich in the New Inn with the barmaid looking down her nose at the huge pool of rainwater spreading beneath me.

Didn't have much time in Clovelly as I was trying to make up for yesterday's slow progress.

Leaving the tourist crowds behind it was a pleasant walk through the well managed Clovelly estate with easy paths through mature woodland to cliff top viewing points and down to secluded coves, like Mouthmill.

After the estate it was a fairly level walk through open farmland with the phallic radar tower at Hartland Point as a guide and the wind constantly trying to knock me off course.

The radar tower gives off a low humming that gets gradually more noticeable but I haven't changed my tee shirt for a few days so perhaps it was me that was humming.

Another change of direction at Hartland Point to turn south again and another change to the much harsher, exposed, rocky terrain and even harsher weather with no protection from the Atlantic gales.

No photos here as I'm afraid the phone seemed to be dying but the rain had found a new lease of life.

We walked this wonderful stretch on a pleasant day last September doing about 30 hpm (hello's per mile) but today I was the only idiot out there.

The staff at the Hartland Quay Hotel were more welcoming so I stopped for a refresher before having a quick look in the little museum; the number of shipwrecks along this treacherous coast is astounding.

I've done all this area several times before but never tire of it.

A steep climb up to the camp site at Stoke Barton Farm to finish a long day.

5.5 miles from the Hoops Inn to the New Inn at Clovelly and 11.5 miles from there to the Hartland Quay Hotel - make sure you have an excuse ready if you get invited to a North Devon pub crawl.