A walk in the park

First, the title: a simile, in that there were no parks. OK, so there was one park in Appledore, but I did not visit it. Second, the name of the town, which is always written with a ! at the end.......the town got its name from the Victorian novel, set in Elizabethan England, featuring Sir Francis Drake and the Spaniards, a real Swash Buckler, no doubt, titled Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley, not the other way around!

Why here is Mr. Kingsley himself!





The walk today, with diversions, was an easy and lovely 15 1/2 miles. The first small portion continued along the asphalt Tarka Trail, but a much prettier section than yesterday's. The trail, an old railway track, has, along its length length, interesting, instructional signs such as:




I never did see any of those kilns, though.

First meander was through the smallish town of Bideford, host to a remarkable number of optical shops. But would you believe that very few carry reading glasses, or, as they are called here, readers. ¡Qué rara!

By and by I happened upon a candy store, the kind where there are jars of sweets lining the shelves and a man behind a wooden counter. One takes the jar of one's choice to the man who measures out the amount you want. What was curious about this shop was that it was open well before 10:a.m., the usual opening hour for businesses of this type. I queried the man about the early hour. He told me that he opens at 8:00 a.m. so that children—though there are not many there—on their way to school, could stop in to buy some treats. How wonderful is that!

After Bideford came the adorable town of Appledore, which is a very short ferry ride from Instow, whence I had set out. However, the ferry runs only once a day for three hours at high tide, which, today, was late in the afternoon, and besides, to have taken it would have meant cutting out about 2/3 of the day's walk. Appledore is known for its dry docks and ship building and such. There was historical information, such as this posted:




A rather odd and optimistic passenger list, definitely not influenced by the Noah story.

Some towns install metal foot markers in the pavement to point out the route:



I love those markers!

A better name, by far, than our "dead-end:"




A section of the estuary that looks like a bunch of mossy jig-saw pieces:




A different Pebble Beach!



Some gigantic white mushrooms in Westward Ho!




Stayed at a gorgeous Victorianish B and B called Culloden House. Enjoyed feeling "dressed up," even if for just a few hours!

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Location:Westward Ho!