I have to preface this post by saying I had quite the aching knee last night, nothing that Advil didn’t fix, but it made me aware that walking long distances on hard surfaces are not in my best interest.

So today I’m traveling uber-lite with just my wallet and a bottle of water (and a homemade treat, thank you Sophie!). Sophie will transfer my backpack to Instow for me this afternoon (thanks again, Sophie!!)

Rain in the night led to a bright, partly cloudy day. The Path today joins the Tarka Trail, this portion being a paved rail-to-trail conversion all around the River Taw estuary. I’ll be on it for the next 2 days….

I first passed a Royal Marines base, then a long beautiful tunnel of trees, which then opened up to the estuary with old houseboats tied up sitting in the mud. Except for the surface the walk was wonderful . Lots of walkers, joggers, bicyclists, all with a friendly hello.

By 6.5 miles I had reached Barnstaple and decided that that was enough walking for the day. Instead, I rented a bike and cycled the rest of the way! The ride was more of the same: estuary, glorious green tunnels, and loads of people. I went all the way to Bideford which is 3 miles past Instow so I’ll have a little less to walk tomorrow.

Upon reaching Bideford I had a sandwich by the pretty old bridge. Then, of course, I had to ride all the way back to Barnstaple to return the bike, then take a bus to my inn in Instow! So lots of extra total miles but a very welcome 9 miles saved on the feet.