Morwenstow to Bude

Aug 9
3 min read

Updated: Aug 10

April 8, 2025 - From the Itinerary: still rated as challenging/strenuous. See yesterday's post for the description. As an aside, Hartland Quay is 109 miles from Minehead (the start of the SW Coast Path) and ends 508 miles from Poole (The Path finish).

Total distance: 8.30 Weather: high 60s, partly sunny and windy.

In general today felt a bit better. Breakfast was tasty scrambled, cheesy eggs with a sausage and some toast. I forgot to take photos because it turns out the couple I didn't share my bench with yesterday was sitting right next to me. They are Dutch and hiked from Minehead (the start of the Path) and will go to St. Ives - just short of where I end my hike. I apologized for not sharing yesterday. She asked me why i thought they wanted to sit down (i didn't say anything, but her face at the time looked really tired and unhappy). She said she "needed a place to pee". thankfully it wasn't near my bench.

The walk started behind the Inn with a lovely downhill bypassing the uphill from the bottom of yesterdays combe (yay). In the below photo you can see some people at the top - i think that was the Dutch couple....

I missed the Hawker's Hut, but I wasn't going back up that hill just to see it. This hut was built from timbers retrieved from shipwrecks and where an eccentric poet lived a hundred years ago.

There was a beautiful viewpoint where the cut through met the Coast Path and I saw a lovely bird there - perhaps a Northern Wheatear.

I soon came to the antennae park and almost missed the right turn which wasn't marked. I realized I can't text and walk because I also ended up in a farmers field surrounded by electrified fence. I had to slide under the fence to get back on the track.

Steeple point also had some lovely views. All the views were pretty much the same today - left towards Penzance or right to Devon.

Unfortunately I wasn't at Duckpool at night to see the glow worms, but it was a pleasant enough area. At the top I stopped for lunch

Sandy Mouth Beach had too many people. Before and after I might have seen 10 people all day, but the beach had many swimmers, surfers and very white British people. Also a lot of caravans parked willy nilly on the hillside (last photo below right). I was curious about the water temperature which seemed to be the same temp as the air - 80 degrees. At the bottom near the beach I had to walk through a field with cows - always exciting as you don't know if they will get really curious and come towards you or run away. At the top was a hang glider who got very lose.

There was also a bench with a slogan I found un-motivating: the way is easy for those with no preferences.

Closer in to Bude I passed by Crooklets Beach - also lots of people. On the way in I passed several friendly sheep. What I found interesting was the cat painted on the sign - not sure of its significance.

I also realized it's time for new gloves....

Bude itself has quite a history and I visited the museum. This museum was housed in what was once the Bude Canal's blacksmith's shop. There was a fair to raise money for the Ukrainians on the grounds. Bude was a port and also a canal which has since shut down for commercial business and is only used by tourists. My hotel window looked out over the canal. Interestingly enough, one of the lookouts on the Titanic was from Bude and he survived the shipwreck. Supposedly he was off shift and asleep....

Here is my hotel and room. I stayed at the Falcon Hotel. It was established in 1798, is the oldest coaching house in North Cornwall. It has been run by the Brendon family for most of its history.