7th June: Hartland

When I started-off on this running odyssey I was working fitting kitchens for a nationwide supplier with my good friend and fellow Hook resident Si. He was bemused to say the least upon seeing the state I would be in on a Monday after one of these long runs and wondered why anyone would put themselves through such a thing that leaves them unable to walk properly till the Thursday afterwards.

Anyway, Si and his wife have decided to leave the village in which both of them have lived all their lives and start a new life elsewhere with their young family - mostly because Hook as it has developed and changed over the last 40 years is no longer offers to children what it did when they were growing up: a compact semi-rural place for kids to explore and roam free… Something Si and his wife want for their kids.

Having sold-up they have bought themselves a place on the Hartland Peninsula in North Devon - a stones-throw from the Cornish border in a tiny hamlet that barely merits a mention on the map, let alone a signpost, where the other few houses all seem to be owned by the same family and linked to the next door dairy farm.

Their 18th century farmhouse is for them to use as the family and the grand plan for the 10 acres of field that comes with it (and its ramshackle collection of barns and outbuildings in various stages of dilapidation) is to turn it in to a campsite to provide an income long in to retirement age and a business for the children to take over and run when the time is right.

From the front of the house you can see the sea off on the horizon and the south west coastal path runs less than a mile away as the crow flies… Ideal running for someone like me and part of the coastal path I have yet to explore.

This week in the van I carted a load of ‘stuff’ left behind in Hook to Si’s new homestead and set about exploring the area on 2 feet with a decent run.

I had planned in advance a half marathon route, downloaded it on to my Garmin to follow, then promptly left my Garmin at home. The good thing with having planned the route in advance is I had a good memory and idea of where I should be going so undeterred by having no electronic way-finding (there is only an intermittent mobile signal there - forget about mobile data!) I set out on the run from memory.

Emerging from the avenues to see the sea.

Getting closer!

The first leg took me south then west from the farm through the sharp hills of the country lanes, mercifully most of them being lined with trees and their and enclosing you with a protection from the blazing sun, and deposited me at the nearest ‘beach’ at Welcombe Mouth.

The beach at Welcombe Mouth

From here it was a steep climb up on to the coastal path and the northerly heading along it savouring the sights as the cliff disappears off next to you some 200+ feet to the rocks below.

The climb on to the coastal path.

Meandering my way along I had to contend with what passes for a traffic-jam in this part of Devon:

The majestic cliffs stretched on for the next 5 miles or so, with one bench I passed bearing a plaque commemorating a shipwreck - the bench being constructed of salvaged timber from it.

The bench.

The plaque.

Eventually the cliffs lowered a little and I found myself at a stream which tumbled over the cliff’s edge as a waterfall. Just before the fall the stream formed a pool that was deep enough for you to sit-in akin to a natural ’hot-tub’, albeit without the heat but with a cracking view over its lip out along the cliff to the sea as the fresh cold water tumbled down, with this all being enjoyed by a bunch of bewetsuited coasteerers.

The 'tub' at the top of the waterfall.

The fall in its full glory.

Shortly beyond this is the Hartland Quay hotel and museum where through the car park lay another big climb back to the cliff top path once more and the final coastal section that ended just past an idyllic cottage with a small waterfall in a tumbling stream just before it.

The cottage marking the turn inland.

Climbing back on to the cliff top rather than continuing along the coastal path it was a trip inland over farmland before hitting the country lanes and the journey south back to the farm. Travelling over these deserted seldom driven lanes, through one village whose church spire was a beacon visible from afar, to the occasional hamlet the roads were a section of one hill after the other, mercifully some of them avenued as the ones I had run earlier which gave respite from the beating sun.

The start of the return leg.

At the bottom of one of these avenue hills I ran past Hartland Abbey, which way back in time was the manor house and seat of power in this peninsula, the owners owning most of the land and controlling local commerce, including Si’s new homestead.

A glimpse of Hartland Abbey.

Through a village and up and down the hilly lanes bisecting farmland this last leg made me appreciate how remote this spot of the country is; not a car was seen and the only sound other than the birds was the occasional distant sound of a tractor and a couple of fast jets from the RAF screeching across the sky.

I was accompanied on the run in part by the album by the underrated and almost entirely ignored at the time of release 'Delaware' by the Drop Nineteens on the iPod - it was great to listen to an album straight through for a change rather than just hearing alternating tracks on shuffle.

The album cover

Back to Si's in a time that was longer than I had anticipated through the challenging nature of the terrain on the coastal path plus the hills getting to and from it, although sitting down in the shade with a lovely ice cold cider to cool-off before the drive home was very welcome... I thoroughly enjoyed my time exploring the area on two feet, a place I would probably never have visited if it were not for Si moving down there.

The location is absolutely stunning and the run was not too difficult but provides a good challenge, with the circuit easily breaking-down in to different sections so you are not on one type of terrain continuously. From speaking with Si and his wife we have some plans for this area, so watch this space, although not for a couple of years!



Eat pies.
Drink beer.
Run far.