Day 37  -of  our round coast of Britain tandem ride.

 Barnstable to Horns Cross.

 

Date: Friday 21^st May 2010   Distance: 24.78 Miles

 

The logistics of this next stage were quite difficult.

After driving from home on the Thursday we stayed overnight at the Premier Inn at Barnstable. Then after breakfast we assembled the tandem and locked it up at the bike rack outside the pub by the premier Inn. We drove to Bude, where our 3 day trip would end. Purchasing a weekly ticket was a great pain. You had to buy enough daily tickets for the duration, then at the library you had to obtain a code to leave in your car window- with the mass of tickets! No doubt this system has improved today!

Whilst waiting for the first bus we got our first “Cornish” pasty,( with Bude being in Cornwall,) from Pennenga Pasties. It was actually disappointing, reportedly with 25% meat but we didn’t think so. Nothing has surpassed the one in Hale, CornwallThere were 3 buses altogether- one to Holsworthy, one to Barnstable and one back to the premier Inn where our tandem awaited us.

 

Cycle paths took us into centre of Barnstable, then we picked up the Tarka trail, an old railway track. A man on the bus had told us about a possible passenger ferry from Instow, but it wasn’t happening and didn’t look like it would have taken the tandem with open stairs at either end. There was the shortest section of railway line ever at Instow, perhaps 100 yards with a signal box. This was marked on the map as a museum. Instow is on the estuary where the Taw and Torridge meet.

 

We continued along the Tarka trail down to the first bridge over river Torridge at Bideford, where was the only bit of main road that day. We went up through Northam to Appledore,and by now it was school closing time, so very busy. We had a welcome cup of tea outside Seagate Hotel at Appledore.

 

We used the tracks across Northern Burrows and crossed a golf course with sheep and horses roaming wild, then along a rough track, basically a linear car park into Westward Ho! It was a steep climb out to Buckleigh, interesting that you could hear the surf further up, but we didn’t notice it nearer the beach. It was through the lanes to Abbotsham, and we crossed the main road at the roundabout in case it was busy but that wasn’t necessary. We went through Ford and Fairy Cross to arrive at Horns Cross via the lanes. Nice B&B, dinner at the Coach and Horses, good basic pub grub, nothing fancy, just standard things well done.