Woolacombe to Braunton - 15 miles

Woolacombe Beach

Today we walked 15 miles in 6 hours.  It was a relatively easy walk today apart from the wind.  We had to walk along three very big beaches and it was very, very windy on all of them.  However apart from that I’ve had a lovely day and now I’m very tired.



On my best behaviour beside the sheep.



Ann parked her car at Braunton and then Angela drove us to Woolacombe.  We were able to park both cars for free.  There were lots of people walking on Woolacombe beach and the tide was going out so I was able to have a good run.  That was fun.  It took us about an hour to get to the end of the beach and then I had to go back on my lead because we had to walk round the headland to Baggy Point and there were lots of sheep grazing.  I can’t be trusted not to go chasing when there are sheep about.  However, I was a very good girl.  I just trotted along sensibly by Ann’s side.  Angela was very impressed with me. 

I need the loo now!



Fun on the beach

   After we’d walked round the Baggy Point headland we got to Croyde beach.  Angela wanted to go to the toilet but lots of sand had blown off the beach and made a little sand dune that she had to climb over to get in.  It was quite funny – and no way could she shut the door so I had to stand guard.

Braunton Burrows

I found a tennis ball on Croyde beach.  Even though I’d been walking for 2 hours at this point I still had loads of energy left for running.  In fact I got to play with the ball for the whole of the time on the beach.  Then Ann said I had to leave it there for another doggie to enjoy.  I wasn’t really very keen on that idea but she took it off me, put me on my lead and threw the ball back on the beach.  I had to stay on my lead until we got to the Saunton Sands Hotel because the SWCP went along the road for a little while.  I was a very good girl and walked sensibly. 

From Saunton Sands Hotel we went down onto the beach at Braunton Burrows.  The beach there was ever so long.  It was only 1pm at this point which lulled us into a false sense of security.  Even though Ann knew this walk was 15 miles she thought it would just be a gentle stroll along the beach and then we’d be back in Braunton.  Actually it was a three hour walk along the beach, back to the car, with us walking directly into the wind!  It was ever so hard to walk & I started to get a little bit tired.  I didn’t do any running because I was concentrating on how to stop the sand blowing in my eyes.  There weren’t any streams for me to have a drink out of so Ann had to stop to give me some water because I was very thirsty.  If the tide had been in we would have had to have walked along the path which went behind the dunes.  In retrospect this would have been a better option as it probably wouldn’t have been so windy. 

When we got to the end of the beach we then had to follow the path through the dunes which ran alongside the River Taw, then we had to walk alongside a much smaller river; the River Caen, until we got back to Braunton.  I was a little bit naughty in this last section – I’d managed to stay lovely and clean for the whole of the walk and then about 15 mins before we got back to the car I went wallowing in a muddy pool.  Well, I needed to cool down a bit, though I have to say Ann wasn’t too pleased with me.  However, she likes to see me having fun so she wasn’t too angry with me.

Today’s walk has been great and I really enjoyed it but I have to admit I am getting very tired.  Ann says we have one more long walk to do tomorrow – Westward Ho to Instow which is 11 miles – and then I can spend the rest of the week relaxing.

 

At the end of our walk