Day 4 - Holsworthy to Barnstaple

Day 4 - Holsworthy to Barnstaple

Not many photos today. The heavy rain keeps the phones away in plastic bags.

The White Hart hotel where we stay was built in the 16th century.  It feels like it with its pokey little rooms, low ceilings and rough finish.

But we have a good night's sleep. In the morning,  as is becoming our routine, we repack everything ready for the bikes.  At 9:00 am Peter Rivett from Lands End Cycles arrives with a new bike for Zita. Peter and I spend 40 minutes swapping the handlebars. He's driven 100 miles to get here. Which is fair enough considering the hire cost of the bikes and the trust we have put in them.  Once the bike is set up the gears seem good and during the day Zita is very happy with the new reliable stable gear changing.  

The forecast is for rain. It has been threatening to rain since yesterday afternoon.  It starts to rain. Really rain. We have toast and tea / coffee for a simple breakfast. Then reload our bikes at the back of the hotel and  head off with coats on for the first time this trip. We get to the edge of the town centre but the route is confusing. I am trying to use my phone with google maps and the book guide to help but  everything is getting hopelessly wet. I get very frustrated at how difficult it all is. After some false starts we eventually take a path and follow one set of markers which prove to be correct. Often our biggest trouble with route finding comes as we try to leave towns and cities.

 Peter Rivett - Mr Lands End Cycles -  told me earlier today that in fact all the marking on the national cycle trails in the UK is done by volunteers. That explains the highly variable standard of marking and significant gaps we have found.  Also he claims farmers take signs away.  Great! We get out of town and into more climbing in the heavy rain and a head wind. Unpleasant.  We are suspicious of the trail markers but today it's too wet to use the guide or phone much so we need to trust them.

We head for Sheepwash (great name) for lunch but somehow miss a turn and end up somewhere else a mile down the road.  So now a tough extra climb retracing our steps. We find our correct turn but, incomprehensibly, there is no marker at this important turn.  Maybe vandalized? We arrive at Sheepwash, a beautiful village with many thatched roofed buildings. We get into conversation with a local. We talk about the mystery turn and extra cycling we did by mistake. He tells us the sign was destroyed in a car crash there a while ago and no one has  got around to replacing it yet.  I wonder how many trusting bikers have been led astray there!  

The local pub where we go for our lunch is a classical old English pub.  We are drowned rats but welcomed warmly. Inside we have tomato soups and share custard and a hearty brownie.  I dry out the soaking wet route guide under the hand dryer in the men's toilets so the pages won't stick together and become useless.  

Heading along at one stage I want to consult my guide and phone but must find shelter from the rain. We see a woman stacking firewood.  We ask  if we can use her road side shed. |She is very happy for us to. And as often on the trip with strangers we meet,  we have a great 10 minute conversation with her about our adventure and New Zealand. She invites us in for tea. But we must press on. However she takes a photo for us.

Back out into the still heavy rain. It is about 3:00 pm. Time is flying.  More uphill then a big swoop down to the beginning of the  Tarka trail, another repurposed old railway. This goes on for absolutely ages (maybe because we are tired)  just following the river then climbing up over a saddle and another long descent into the River Torridge. Following this river down to the estuary,  we continue past big areas where  many small boats are moored. The English certainly like their little yachts.

 We were told at our lunch stop that the rain should be finished by 5:00 pm.  By 5:00 pm the rain stopped and the cloud is clearing.

We cycle into central Barnstable. Our airbnb  hosts spent 3 months in New Zealand last winter. A conversation starter.  A very nice house and room for us which is a  good size for us to spread out our wet gear.

 5 minutes walk to an amazing (good price , fantastic food, very popular, lucky to get a table) Indian restaurant for dinner.
 Now as most evenings we spend significant time  searching for accommodation for the next couple of nights. We are carrying camping gear. But trying to camp  seems all too much at the moment. We see no evidence of small tent camping along our route so far. Two nights is the most we want to book ahead as we are never quite sure how long we will go each day. To get a cheaper price these bookings are not refundable. |So once booked we must get there.

Distance to date: 281/1912 kms.