Barnstaple to Braunton – South West Coast Path walks
April 13, 2024
Starting from Barnstaple once again, but this time we’re heading West and North. And again we’re starting out walking along the River Taw toward the estuary. I’m not going to lie, this is about 7km of very flat pavement pounding along the combined SWCP and Tarka trail.
Granted, you’re walking along the river/estuary which is always pleasant, but it does get a bit monotonous. Especially when 2km of this path is going past army barracks….no view. When Velator Quay is reached, the scenery starts to change. Added bonus, the Quay cafe…time for a food break (and I can totally recommend the pulled pork quesadilla).
The South West Coast Path to Braunton
After Velator Quay (this is around the 7km mark), we walked along the River Caen for about another 3km before we saw our first sighting of sand. Yay, I mean this is supposed to be the South West COAST Path. As the tide was out the boats were sitting pretty on the sand banks. I always love seeing boats at low tide.
The sand banks at Horsey Ridge and Broad Sands are vast. As far as the eye can see there is sand…but still no sea. It’s absolutely lovely to walk along and definitely our favourite part of the coast path from Barnstaple to Braunton.
Did I mention that when we were at Velator Quay we were only 1km from Braunton? Alas, following along the SWCP it took us another 8km. The phrase “so near and yet so far” never seemed so relevant. Once again, taking our SWCP walk seriously, we did the 8km. However, the scenery definitely improved as we walked on extensive sand banks and through some sand dunes before our final turn inland and across fields to get to the town of Braunton. This was one of our longer walks at 21.3km. Beer needed (followed by the bus back to Barnstaple).
