A long road...

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Hello all

I have had a busy couple of days but very enjoyable. On the first day in Bude I hopped on the bus to Boscastle and hiked to Tintangle castle and the scenery was absolutley breathtaking. The path cuts along the coast, which consists of many large hills. It was a beautiful day and a easy hike, only taking 3 hours to compete, but with much of that time taken up just staring at the numerous waterfalls and the coast. It was very relaxing to do the hike becasue the entire time you hear the surf crashing against the rocks on the coast below. Walking along this path I really felt the age of the land. Seening cathedrals that have existed for a thousand year is impressive, but it pales in comparison when you consider that the coast had been there long before men were attempting to reach the heavens. Tintangle castle was okay. The view of the coast paled in comparison to the scenery on the hike there and the ruins were really ruined, consisting of mostly foundations, but it was worth it to see Merlins cave, which is essentally a tunnel extending through the bottom of Tintangle that you can walk through when the tide recedes.

One of the great things about the Cornwall coast are the Pasties. For 1£ you can get a giant pastry filled with meat and potatos, or sausage, etc, etc. These make cheap and delicious food. The Northshore Backpackers Hostel in Bude was a very nice place as well with friendly people as well. I would love to go back at some point.

The second day I took the bus to Boscastle againg and hiked back to Bude, which was about 19 miles and took 8 hours. I didn't like this hike as much, partially because of the rain and partially because of the fact that fog rolled in off the sea and at time I could only see five feet in front of me. Combined with the rain and the steep slippery slope my mind was more preoccupied with not falling over enjoying the scenery. But it was diffinitly worth the time it took. I kept thinking back to J.R.R. Tolkins "The Hobbit" where Bilbo has the song about going over hill and dale. It was alway neat crossing a hill because you could sometimes see the coast further down and you never knew what to expect, which gave the entire journey an air of mystery. The last half of the hike consisted of fairly flat land thorugh sheep fields. The first half more than made up for the flatness later on. With names of some points like Highcliff which had over 200 steps that were about 12 inches high and made me walking along the 30% grade road later on seem like a brake, it was a tiring hike to say the least.

Today I made my way to Edinburg, which took most of the day. A 2 hour bus ride from Bude to Exeter and a 8 hour Train ride. Not bad for essentially crossing the entire country. I have no idea what I am going to do yet but I'm sure I can think of something.

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Photos

Edinburg Castle
The view from just infront of my Hostel

Comments

[anonymous]

Great Journal!
Wow! I am really enjoying your journal. Your journey so far sounds amazing. It is fantastic that you are able to throw the occasional photo our way, too. Please keep up the journalling! - Cousin Brent