Blog 40 ; Exmouth to Sidmouth. Jelly-fish, Pebbles, Rain.

Hello all

"What a difference a week makes,
One Hundred and Sixty-Eight little hours.
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain."

I've taken a few liberties with the Dinah Washington song and as a result it reflects how I feel now compared with my mood of a week ago.  The thing is, in the back of my mind I had a fear that I wasn't going to enjoy getting back on the path following my recent miserable experience. But, I needn't have worried. I have really enjoyed myself today, despite being drenched twice and not having had much of a conversation along the way.

What a relief.

I'm now sitting in my friend Caroline's flat looking out of the window  at the sea off Seaton and the evening sun is shining. The big puddles of rain from today's downpours are drying up and people are wandering the streets.  I've just had a very pleasant Waitrose meal for one, a couple of lagers, two individual strawberry cheesecakes and I'm listening to a bit of Schubert as I type this blog.  Oh yes, all is well with my world.

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My daughter Lucy collected me from a car-park in Sidmouth and drove me to Exmouth so that I could start the walk. She chatted away for the whole of the journey. She always does. It's great.

As I walked along the prom at Exmouth I noticed that there were hundreds of jelly-fish washed up on the beach. I joined some other people who were taking photos of them. 

This one was about 12 -14 inches across.

I borrowed this photo from DevonLive as it
shows the size of the creature better than mine does.

I've looked it up on the internet, since I got to Seaton, and Exmouth has made it into the news because of this unusual event. I'm just glad that I was there to witness it for myself.

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There is something about Budleigh Salterton that I really like. It is hard for me to put my finger on it. I think that it may be that it doesn't try to be anything different from what it naturally is. It is said to cater for older people and this is probably true. I've visited Budleigh a few times over the years and, to me, it doesn't appear to have changed.  I'm going to have a day in Budleigh when I've finished doing this walk and really enjoy the simple things that the town and beach have to offer.

And I love a pebble beach.

I'm not sure who created these pebble pictures, but I think that they are great -

And just two more photos of Budleigh which are my favourites of the day.

I sat here on the wall and ate an early lunch and watched the rain clouds gathering overhead.
I knew what was to come.

And, did it rain!

I was glad that I had my blue jacket with me, but my heavy-duty green jacket would have been better. I was pretty damp inside within a few minutes and this rain went on for about thirty minutes. But, it couldn't dampen my spirits and I walked on through it. 

Soon after crossing the River Otter the rain stopped and the warm sun came out and I was able to dry out a bit and take some photos of the marvelous farm land on the hills between the river and Ladram Bay.

And then the rain came for a second time. This time it was worse than the first time. This time the sun didn't come out. I arrived back at my van in Sidmouth feeling very wet and chilly. 

But, I didn't care......................much!

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Tomorrow's walk between Sidmouth and Seaton will be a challenge. The route through Branscombe and Beer has more than it's fair share of ups and downs. But the weather looks good and I feel good. 

So I think I will get a good night's sleep and I'll be ready to go. 

I'm going to have one more lager then I shall settle down with my Guardian Crossword until I fall asleep. (I have just realised that I haven't talked about crosswords in any of my blogs so far. So, you have got that pleasure to come)

Take it easy.

Rob.

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