A Run at Cornborough Cliff and Abbotsham Devon

It was overcast this morning as I set off for a run from Westward Ho!

The path I followed was along Cornborough Cliff.Initially although I was running up hill the path was good as I was following an old railway line. The route was wide and initially tar maced before turning into a green lane pathway which was good to run on. This is part of the South West Coast Path and apart from the odd dog walker was all mine at 7am.The  South West Coast path is 630 miles long and described as one of the worlds greatest walks. Very hard to compare walks around the world and what makes a walk good for one person might be very different for another but there is some really good walking to enjoy here.

There was an initial climb of around 240 foot to get out of Westward Ho!  I was running along the cliff path and above me was a hill known as Kipling Tor.The name derives from Rudyard Kipling, who attended the United Services College in Westward Ho!

The island of Lundy which is normally visible was obscured by  cloud. Boat trips to see the bird life and seals on the island are promoted in the area but I am not good at boat journeys so unfortunately I miss out on these type of attractions.

Beyond Cornborough Cliff the path became a series of ups and downs. This was quite hard running as once you had descended to sea level you then had a few climbs where I had to walk as it was quicker than my running!

My run this morning was around 5 miles - 2.5 miles out and back along this cliff. I think I turned around at somewhere called Abbotsham Cliff the return journey having more down hill running was a little quicker.

I am trying on this holiday to keep up with my half marathon training schedule and to date have succeeded.

A run at Northam Burrows Country Park Devon

My second run during my holiday was a morning run from Westward Ho! along the coastline to Northam Burrows. The weather was good warm and dry but the run was hard over a large area of sand dunes.

I really had to watch my feet to avoid going into the many holes. This was a tough run much of it over soft sand up and down dunes never allowing you to get into any rhythm but nevertheless different from my normal runs so the difference was enjoyable.

Sunrise over Northam Burrows

Northam Burrows is dominated by a large golf course home to the Royal North Devon Golf Club. The oldest golf club in England and I had to always keep an eye out for any flying balls. However my run was early in the morning and there were very few golfers about.

Westward Ho! from Northam Burrows

There is said to be a rich variety of birds, insects and wild flowers in the grassland and salt marsh area . Northam Burrows is common land which means there is a right for locals to graze  Horses, cattle and sheep. The path I was following was often blocked by horses and unsure of how they might react I slowed down initially as I passed but they were clearly used to people and were not spooked in anyway by my presence.

A run at Westward Ho! Devon

I have returned from an enjoyable holiday in Devon and will update with a number of posts on where I ran and visited during our week away.

Travelling to Devon from Suffolk is about a 5 hour journey in the car and we choose to travel on the motorways for a quicker journey , following the A14 , M11, M25 , M4 and M5. The M25 in particularly can be very busy and with roadworks can slow you down considerably but we had a very easy journey. The weather was as predicted very wet with some torrential short sharp rain showers.

 We have many relatives in the Barnstaple and Bideford area of North Devon so our visit had a twofold purpose to have a holiday break and catch up with the relatives. We stayed at the Golden Bay Holiday Village at Westward Ho! This is a tiny seaside village which was named after the book of the same name written by Charles Kingsley in 1855.  Kingsley was the author of the Water Babies. There are very few places in the world with an exclamation mark in their name and I believe this to be the only place in Britain.

Our chalet apartment backed on the promenade with views out to the Bideford Bay. Surfing is very popular at Westward Ho! and there are also wide expanses of sand.

You can visit a surfers web cam of Westward Ho! here 

My first run after the long car journey was a gentle jog along the seafront just to get a feel for the place. Strong tides had some of the biggest waves splashing over the sea wall and you had to be mindful not to run too close or face an unexpected shower.