Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3

Lynton to Combe Martin

Summer, Buddy Holly, the working folly, good golly Miss Molly and Goats.
The genius Ian Dury.
A couple of hundred yards from Lynton is the Valley of Rocks.
A major tourist attraction for the Victorians and dubbed 'little Switzerland.

It's a mildly interesting set of rock formations but the Victorians were perhaps a bit short of tourist attractions and whoever dubbed it Little Switzerland had never been to big Switzerland.
But it has Goats - lots of them, and they are funny.
With their marble eyes and funny little beards they've pinched from Hackney hipsters.

What's the name of those beards?
The goats live up here in summer and move into town in winter to annoy the locals.
It's a lovely walk through the Valley and past the Christian conference centre at Lee Bay.

Don't misbehave at the Christian conference centre

On to Woody Bay and up on to the cliffs before a steady drop down into Heddon's Mouth where a short diversion along the river leads to the Hunters Inn and a welcome stop for lunch.
After a steep climb up there's a lovely hour or so along the cliff tops with Great Hangman, the highest point on the whole walk, looming ahead.
It is 310m high but doesn't look too difficult from here as we've been climbing steadily for an hour.
But just before reaching the hill there is a sudden, steep drop down to almost sea level to cross a little stream at Sherrycombe followed by a thigh-burning climb to the top.
Fortunately it was a clear day because the 360 degree view from the top is magnificent; to the north we could see all along the South Wales Coast, to the east back as far as Hinckley Point, to the south the high hills of Dartmoor and, on the Western horizon, Lundy Island.
I thought that Lundy would be my right shoulder companion for the next week but I was horribly mistaken.
From Great Hangman it's exactly a hundred metres drop to Little Hangman and then quickly down to Combe Martin.

Walking down to Little Hangman

We stayed at Newberry Beach b&b in Combe Martin and wearily walked a further two miles round trip to eat at the Pack o Cards.