Day 12 Bideford to Barnstaple

We set off early today from our camp, after a nice breakfast and coffee in their great utility room. It had rained during the night, we were nice and dry inside the tent but it was still wet when I packed it up, so that added some weight to my pack today. Luckily it was a fairly easy walk. Started with some hill climbing and scrambling through fields. We passed through Bideford, which has some urban areas on the outskirts but has a historical centre as you get towards the river. Soon we were on the very well defined Tarka Trail (which also crosses with the South West Coast Path at various points). It was easy flat walking and we passed through some lovely little villages. Instow was very pretty with views to Appledore across the estuary. We stopped for lunch at the old Fremington station, which was very nice. Then on in to Barnstaple where we met up with Emma (our daughter), Danny (her husband) and Elsie (our granddaughter). We’ve spent a lovely couple of hours with them at Westwood Ho and we will all have dinner together tonight. Great end to the day.Read more