#14 TWO LONG BRIDGES

Hello to LEJoG Day 14… Goodbye South West Coast Path Day 14 pre-amble Keeping it simple with the title. This walk started a few yards from the western end of Bideford Long Bridge and finished at the eastern end of Barnstaple Long Bridge. The latter, over the River Taw, takes the main image. The former, […]

#13 “BIG YELLOW TAXI” SYNDROME

Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone? Another musical welcome… to LEJoG Day 13 Day 13 pre-amble I think most people know this song, so I will assume a passing familiarity with the lyrics. If you do need a refresher, the link is there. No-one, to […]

#12 THE QUAY, THE SECRET (VIA THE POINT)

You are invited to LEJoG Day 12… bring the Europop Day 12 pre-amble You know, when I set out on this walk and later decided to blog about it, I never imagined that Urban Cookie Collective would play any role at all. Yet here I am casually invoking their enormous 1993 hit, which – being […]

#11 TOWERING IN KERNOW; WEARY SOLES IN DEVON

Shortly after you cross the border between Cornwall and Devon, there are – literally – some steps coming up from a bridge. More than three, as it happens. A stairway, in fact. The temptation to use the most obvious pun for the title of this blog is admittedly hard to resist. Indeed, Devon/heaven puns have proved […]

#10 ….. HEY BUDE (REFRAIN)

Don’t be afraid, it’s LEJoG Day 10 Day 10 pre-amble Four dots were originally placed at the end, to make the reader think of “don’t make it bad”. But then I moved them and added one, because “anytime you feel the pain” seemed more relevant. The climbs in the first half of this stage are […]

#9 RICHARD OF CORNWALL

Welcome to LEJoG Day 9 Day 9 pre-amble This is a shorter day dominated by two serious cliff ascents, being Beeny Cliff and High Cliff. The latter is Cornwall’s biggest (highest) cliff, and so I christened it Richard. Well, can you think of a bigger Cliff? Of course you can’t. In fact, I struggle to think of a Cliff […]

#8 APRES LE DELUGE, MOI… SUR MON CUL

Welcome to LEJoG Day 8 (and Year 2!) Day 8 pre-amble Some years ago I was best man at a wedding. The groom and I have a number of long-standing in-jokes. One of them relates to my superhuman ability to find a puddle and slip in it. I think it goes back to me falling […]

#7 MAKING LIKE SEABORNE FREIGHT

Welcome to LEJoG Day 7 Day 7 pre-amble As I write, it’s only three months since Seaborne Freight was all over the British news. But just in case anyone reads this years later, here’s a brief primer. Shortly after Christmas and New Year 2018/19, as the country dragged itself back to work, it was revealed […]

#6 MAKING LIKE HENRY VIII

Welcome to LEJoG Day 6 Day 6 pre-amble Making Like Henry VIII… Cutting off two heads – bloodlessly, in order to shorten the walk from Newquay to Padstow – that is. None of the marrying, divorcing, splitting from Rome, dissolution of monasteries, ruling the kingdom or indeed ordering the actual execution of two of your […]

#5 NOT EXACTLY A RUSH

Welcome to LEJoG Day 5 Day 5 pre-amble Newquay. Like Proust’s madeleine, the very word brings to mind a cascade of childhood memories: 1978 – a caravan holiday in St Columb Major. My grandad made a navigation error in Devon on the way there and we ended up crossing Dartmoor instead of using A roads. […]

#4 WALKING ON (IN) SUNSHINE

Welcome to LEJoG Day 4 Day 4 pre-amble Quick music test: did this title immediately bring to mind Katrina and the Waves? If so, how about trying this instead? A magnificent disco cover of an original by Eddy Grant. It’s better. It’s not a cliché. Your life will be better for knowing it. Well, perhaps […]

#3 THE SEA, THE SEA LIONS

First of all, another disclaimer for literary readers: I have invoked the title of Iris Murdoch’s Booker-winning 1978 novel purely because it’s quite catchy, the sea was a near-constant companion for 18 miles, and this stretch was also highlighted by the South West Coast Path guidebook as an ideal location for spotting sea lions. I really […]