After Storm Noa had passed a glorious day ensued. We decided to get a good breakfast at the local coffee shop in Hartland (which does excellent breakfasts as well as lots of cakes)! It was time to do the walk to Hartland Point as we had fair weather. Another part of the South West Coastal Path ticked off for me. This one was a lot of hill climbing so the purchase of walking sticks for all the family for this one proved to be a good choice. This is a 6 mile walk but feels longer as due to the hills we have to climb, but starts out in Hartland Quay.
Hartland Point is the most westerly tip of the Bristol Channel, heading on West into the Atlantic Ocean. Walking along the coast to the tip you can see why the beaches were prone to shipwrecks due to the craggy rocs that peer out of the sea bed in all the coastal coves. And when you reach the tip itself you get to see the lighthouse, which is still in operation but is now automated.
Just a short way across to another clifftop you can see the Radar installed by the military to use for air traffic control, which is still used to this day for military and civilian aircraft. At this point the walk starts to circle back on itself through Devonshire farmland. This was delightful this time of year as we got to see so many new lambs.
The next day was our eldest's day out and we went to the Milky Way Adventure Park, which was chosen for its roller coaster rides predominantly. However there was plenty to do here, inside and outside and was a day totally dedicated to the children. After being thoroughly worn out by softplay - the Ninja Stars is next level softplay with a points tagging system - Rollercoasters, epic slides, dough-nutting, bumper cars and viewing the Star Wars exhibition; we had worked up quite an apetite.
That evening was my husbands treat (well and mine!). Following this year's Great Bristish Menu, I loved what Chef Andrew Tuck was doing and what he was about. When I found out his pub was not too far away I knew I had to book. I was excited as this was the steak I was waiting for, but I also wanted to try Andrew's infamous swede and other delights from the show. And I wasn't disappointed, a lot of it was on the menu.
We picked a couple of starters to share between us, the Smoked Brisket and Cheddar Croquettes with Bacon Mayonaisse (from the show) and the Smoked Loch Duart Salmon Pastrami, Sourdough and Cucumber Pickle. Both were off the chart delicious. For main it was a no brainer for me (from the show) the Tomahawk Steak, Beef Fat Onions, Chimchurri and 'The Swede'. We had two of these to share between the four of us. For pudding I wanted the malt ice cream with chocolate, and my eldest had Rasperry Sorbet with a sea herb ice-cream that was citrussy, making the whole thing taste like a Bassetts Fruit Salad sweet in a dessert. It was such a delicious meal and I longed to go to the bar afterwards but with two smalls in tow you need to know when to call it a night to allow adults to enjoy their evening. Next time...
On our last morning we decided to walk to Speke's Mill from Hartland Quay along the coast in the other direction to where we had gone previously. This stretch to me was more breathtaking. Not only are you walking along the coast but also in towards a valley. At Spekes Mill there is a 15ft waterfall that you can get close to with a bit of navigating some tricky paths. It was a nice last bit of adventure before packing up and heading home.
For more details about both of these walks I followed this OS Pathfinders guide
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