A Walk in the Woods

By: Mike
Tea - from Porlock

Back at Sparkhayes Camp Site we put up our tent and brew our tea.  It's really good and we notice that it's Porlock tea.  So eat your heart out PG tips and all the other national teas.  Miles Finest Teas are great.  And apparently they do coffee as well - in Porlock.

Ah the tent. Brand new ultra lightweight ultra expensive but great.  Bought in the belief that maybe we might do real back packing at some stage. Maybe.  It goes up easy.  We did try it out on the sitting room carpet.  It's  a Ghost 3 from Mountain Hardwear. We would have had a great night's sleep if we hadn't slept with our heads at the feet end.  Also our sleeping bags turn out to be child-size. Luckily it was a warm night. And the air-beds are cumbersome.  Our camping is best described as 'work in progress'.   Forgot to take a picture of the tent.

Everything being ship-shape, we head out for a beer at the Royal Oak and a superb dinner at the Lorna Doone Hotel. I had lamb, Chris had sea food.  £60.00.

In the morning we talk to our neighbours who are on their way back to Switzerland in a camper van.  They look as if they slept better than we did.
Then the following conversation with a young couple with enormous back-packs.
Them:  That feather - did you pick it up on the hill outside Minehead?
Us:  Yes I did.
Them: Yes, we saw it there.
Us: How far are you going?
Them: All the way to Poole.
US: OMG.  How long?
Them: We've allowed 50 days.  It's supposed to take six weeks, so we have given ourselves eight rest days.
Us: Well bon voyage.  (inwardly 'what it is to be young..')

The path through Culbone Wood. Sea on the left

The path from Porlock via Porlock Weir -coffee stop - goes high up onto Exmoor again with wonderful views. We don't see them.  There's an alternative way through  Culbone Wood. It's shorter and easier - but still 13 miles and not so many ups and downs.  At this stage we reckon 13 is about our limit.
We pack up and pay £18 for camping and £2 to leave the car. We bump into some people who say. 'Ooh we saw you at Sparkhayes. Recognise the feather'

St Bueno's Church, Culbone

It's another lovely day. Not too hot and we stop to visit Culbone Church allegedly the smallest complete parish church in England.  It's also very old with Saxon bits. The village has almost disappeared.  Only a handful of houses and no proper road access.
 Scary windy path near Lynmouth

The walk in the woods comes to an end mid-afternoon and we start climbing.  In fact our weary legs have to heave themselves up Butter Hill which is nearly a thousand feet.  It's the last thing we need at the end of a long day. And it's windy.  Very windy.  Fortunately the wind is on-shore or we would both have ended up down the cliff and in the drink. Then disaster! I take off my cap to wipe away the perspiration.  No feather. We trudge on and there's the feather caught in the gorse.   A talisman.

It's after seven when we creep into The Rising Sun.  I know it because I had dinner here two years ago on a college reunion.  The Rising Sun does not disappoint.  In our room they have put our bags safely delivered from Sparkhayes by the Luggage Transfer elves. We have a fabulous dinner which features oysters which like us, have come from Porlock.  We sleep soundly in a real bed.  With sheets.

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