Packing up from a holiday is always sad, but we will have happy memories of watching the latest BBC series ‘Boat Story’, playing scrabble and watching the pony and ever-changing sea out of the window.

Before the long drive home we decide to walk through Bude, to stretch our legs but also to shorten the walk for next time. Park up close to where we left off yesterday and amble along the 200-year-old Bude Canal, poking our head in a couple of the wharf shops and stopping to read a sign on the history of the area.

Opened in the summer of 1823 the canal was used to transport lime rich sand up country for farming. Today it is a calm wide body of water leading to a sea water lock and the remains of a rail track and enjoyed by an occasional duck and a fisherman. We walk around the castle (doesn’t look very old!), on the edge of the river Neet and across the footbridge towards the town. There is a lot of work going on – looks like a new crazy golf course plus flood defences by the Environment Agency.

We take a slight detour from the coast path for todays all important breakfast. It’s always tricky selecting a restaurant but we hit upon the perfect spot – the Deck Restaurant at The Edgcumbe Hotel cooks a delicious breakfast. The friendly staff even offer us a discount because my husband works for the RNLI! Haha I politely decline but Nigel was chuffed with the mistake. We admire their Christmas tree and re-trace our steps to the coast path, deciding to pop back here on our next visit.

The path meanders through car parks and behind Summerleaze Beach to above the Bude Sea Pool. Even on a grey day like today someone is taking a dip in the stiller, but I’m guessing not warmer, waters of the sea pool. It’s free to swim but a contribution is welcome to the upkeep.

Walking alongside the cricket ground, Nigel is excited to spot the holiday cottage above Crooklets Beach where he stayed with his parents in the 1970’s.

The last section of today’s walk takes us over Maer Cliff, owned by the National Trust. It feels quite exposed on a windy rainy day but the yellow flowering gorse brightens up the view.

 

At Northcott Mouth, at the end of Maer Down is a wooden low-rise building, painted pale blue, and marked on the map as The Bungalow. Here, we reluctantly turn round and trek back to the car for the long journey back to East Sussex… and it was a very long journey.