20180521 Braunton – Instow

Date: 20180521

Time: 9:25 – 14:20

Distance: 22.8 km

Stay: Instow Barton B&B, Instow

Walk

Today an easy route is planned. The distance is not that big, but more important the complete route is flat.

After Braunton I go via a cycle / walking path towards Barnstaple. On the first stretch I first pass a nature reserve and then an army base. The route follows an old railway line and the river, the Taw, to Barnstaple. During this part I meet quite a few other walkers and also cyclists.
In Barnstaple I take a look around and take a short break for a cup of coffee. The museum, which is apparently worth a visit, is closed due to renovations.

When leaving Barnstaple, there is the possibility to take an alternative route avoiding walking along the busy road. This alternative, however, goes along a very large construction site and does not seem much better. I just follow the standard route. The part along the busy road is not too bad and is very short.

I continue via the Tarka Trail, again along the river Taw, only now on the other side and in the other direction. This part is possibly even more straight than the first stretch of today. It is also a pretty boring part. I can see where I walked this morning (on the other side of the river). Halfway I pass a converted train station, Fremington Station. There is now a tea house. Unfortunately no beer …
On the Tarka Trail there are also other walkers, but many more cyclists.

A bit before Instow the path goes more towards the river through a dune-like landscape and fields. That changes into a more industrial, but discarded, area. Via a cricket field I reach Instow. I’m there around 2:20 PM, a little less than 5 hours for a bit more than 20 kilometers, including a break. That is more or less my normal walking pace.

Although today’s route did not excel in terms of views or other sights, it was still a good route to walk. It was mainly about asphalt (bike path), apart from the last part. Especially the absence of any height difference was greatly appreciated by my knees.
The ‘heaviest’ climb of today was to the B & B, which can also be seen in the height graph of today below (note the scale).

In the end I walked about 22 kilometers today to cross a stretch of 6 kilometers as the crow flies (over the Taw).

Weather

It was nice walking weather today. Mainly cloudy, but a nice temperature. However, I noticed that I missed the breeze from the sea today. The past few days that has been constantly present unnoticed. Today it was there only on the very last part at Instow.

Lyric of the day

Because today I’ve only walked along the river, today’s lyrics are from Bruce Springsteen, The River:

I come from down in the valley
where mister when you’re young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school
when she was just seventeen
We’d ride out of this valley down to where the fields were green

We’d go down to the river
And into the river we’d dive
Oh down to the river we’d ride

Then I got Mary pregnant
and man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
and the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No flowers no wedding dress

That night we went down to the river
And into the river we’d dive
Oh down to the river we did ride

I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain’t been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don’t remember
Mary acts like she don’t care

But I remember us riding in my brother’s car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I’d lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she’d take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true
Or is it something worse
that sends me down to the river
though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
my baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride

Photos