A to B

Monday 23rd December 2019

Half the party have gone on a day trip leaving the sensible pair to fill in a few miles. For us it was Appledore to Bideford. The walk moves along the quay to a quirky part of Appledore. A quarry, some cottages and the odd workshop all side by side and then the huge, ugly mass of the now silent shipyard. The route is well marked and passes landside of the yard, almost immediately turning left into fields. A short downhill to the waterside and then the path treks gently up and down virtually all the way beside the river. Up ahead the great structure of the bridge carrying the A39 across the river and even further upstream the much more appealing Long Bridge of Bideford. The new road will have brought huge relief to the gentle town of Bideford I’m sure. Not a live otter to be seen but squirrels, pheasants, buzzards, gulls and robins. Half way along there was a live-aboard boat with the owner on shore wielding a chain saw. Standing guard he had his trusty two wheeled dog, that is 2 wheels and 4 legs in various states of decay. Malory minding her own business was confronted by a furious, barking wheeled dog. We proceeded but said creature was not having people walking on his patch of the foreshore. Anyone who has ever tried pushing a child’s buggy on sand needs to invest in a pair of wheels like the wheeled dog. He moved at a terrific rate of knots bouncing over the detritus of high tide mark with amazing dexterity. The owner dropped the chain saw mid log and chased after us as we all, legs and wheels, headed up the path. Turned out it was a friendly wheeled dog and Malory seemed impressed with the mechanics of the contraption as the two exchanged canine words. Quizzically we continued on our way and after a few turns in and around some beautiful houses followed by a couple of waterfront developments we arrived on Bideford quay just as the heavens opened. Once the rain stopped we moved along to the old bridge to see the statue of Tarka the Otter. What a lovely book that was and probably introduced me to otters for the first time. We did well, especially Malory who had walked 15 miles to my 4 the previous day. Well, she does have 4 legs and not a wheel to be seen. 3.5 miles today.

117.6 See how the miles are creeping up, bit like me on the trail – creeping!