Day 7

I slept quite well in my wild camp spot, even if I did get woken up by rain showers a few times. 

I got up at 7:30 and fed myself with a dehydrated meal, because I knew I had a long day ahead. 

I set off to sunshine, but in no time had my first soaking of the day.  I had diverted off the path to a service area on the A361 that had a cafe, but just my luck it was all shut up on a Sunday. I sat in the entrance to some locked toilets, dodging some really heavy rain. 

I really did begin to question my sanity and my choices ( I nearly chose to go to the South of France instead of this walk)!

After that drenching, I walked to the village of Knowstone, which had a pub ( that was also shut on a Sunday). Are they all Methodists around here? 

As I was walking through the village, I got propositioned by a man dressed in Lycra, who asked me if I wanted to join him in a spin class. I declined his offer and walked quickly out of the village. 

That’s right, I left Knowstone Unturned😜

Ok, it’s a crap joke, but when you’re walking in the rain, you need silly things like this, to amuse you whilst you think them up! 

Not long after I left the village, I got my second soaking of the day. I hadn’t seen a soul and was on a very remote path. I started effin and jeffin at the rain, just as a lone female jogger ran around a corner on the path. To be honest, I think I scared the sh*t out of her, but she maintained her composure and ran away as fast as she could! 

As soon as the rain stopped, the sun came out and I was rewarded with views like this! 

I stopped in the hamlet of Yeo Mill, where I sat on a bench and ate the manky sandwich that I had bought the night before in Witheridge. 

A steep climb over the next hill brought me to the quaint hamlet of West Anstey. 

There was a nice steep climb out of there, which brought me out into Exmoor. 

After climbing up to the summit of Anstey Money Common, I had a steep descent and climb to Hawkridge, where I had my third soaking of the day! 

By that stage, I was getting tired and miserable, so I stopped at another bench and made myself a hot coffee, to cheer me up. It did the trick, for a bit, until I got my fourth soaking. 

As I began the descent towards Tarr Steps, where the path goes along the river valley, there was a notice explaining that there was a diversion on the path, adding an extra mile to the route. 

I suspected it would be muddy down there and was already knackered, so I made the decision to head to Withypool ( my destination) via the Exe Valley Way path instead. 

I was still absolutely done in, when I reached Withypool. 

I walked to the Royal Oak, where I had made a reservation via Booking.com. There was a full on shin-dig  going on, with a live band and dozens of drunk farmers having a whale of a time. I struggled to find a member of staff and when I finally did, they weren’t expecting me! It turned out that their internet had been knocked out by an electrical storm on Friday and they hadn’t received any e-mails etc! 

Luckily, they had a room available and I was able to have a long hot soak in the bath. 

The pub is heaving and still doing food, so I’ve filled my belly! 

Due to all the soakings I had, my phone has been playing up and not recorded my route. However, from my map plotting, I reckon I walked just under 16 miles. 

The good news is I have only another 16 to go. The bad news, is it’s going to be another wet day tomorrow. I’m therefore staying put tomorrow, because I’d like to finish this walk on a high and not just endure it!