Saunton to Instow: Walking the Tarka Trail of the South West Coast Path

South West Coast Path: Saunton (Braunton) to Instow (ish)

“It's tough, but you are tougher.” - Holly

We woke up early in the dunes and pitched down eating some cookies for breakfast! The walk took us along a ridge with the estuary on one side and the marshes on the other.

As the sun was warming up glittering off the high tide water, we heard the puttering of boats as we neared closer to Velator Quay. Popping into Tesco to get some breakfast (and mars bars!) we then continued onto the Tarka Trail out of Braunton.

A long flat (and to be honest, boring) stretch continued. The highlight was seeing some marines jump into the pool fully clothed, mid run, in the army camp.

The tarka trail is beautiful for a cycle ride, but endless when walking! We popped into a camping shop we knew was besides the trail (up a slight hill by the speed cameras), but be warned it's not aimed at lightweight backpackers. We came away with no sleeping bags to keep us warmer, or comfier beds to give us a better night's sleep (although we almost bought an inflatable sofa!), but we did come away with two packets of chicken tikka masala backpacker style which we have for tea!

We saw the two brothers walking the path and chatted to them whilst on a rest break. They are going the whole way and following Paddy's guide. Which I've heard of, but not read. In the book, The Salt Path, I remember reading how it was so unrealistic that I didn't bother picking it up! So today, if following his guide, they should be walking 25 miles! Which is mental considering how far we have already walked!

So it got me thinking, maybe I should do 'Holly’s Guide to the SWCP. A realistic guide for normal people hikers.' What do you think?

I found the going tough on my feet and with the hot day it was hard going on the tarmac path. This is classed easy by the SWCP, which is true for the incline, as it is flat, but I reckon it's a mentally challenging day with the long straights and feeling like your not getting very far.

My motto for today was 'It's tough, but you are tougher.' which I said to myself when every step was pain!

We said we'd get over the Barnstaple bridge and then stop for a mars bar. It was so strange walking besides traffic, it was so noisy and smelly and dirty compared to the beautiful places we have been walking by.

We found a shaded spot by a junction on the Tarka Trail and parked ourselves here and demolished said mars bar! Taking my shoes off and letting my feet breathe after the heat from the tarmac seems to have made them the sweatiest yet!

We carried on now retracing our steps, but on the other side of the estuary (did I say it was a mentally challenging day?!). On the plus side, it felt a lot more picturesque this side with some areas of dappled sunlight coming through the trees, providing welcome relief from the sweltering sun.

There was a caterpillar looking plant on trees which was shedding, making the effect that it was snowing on the path! With our walking poles in hands and a white floor covering and sprinkles in the air we almost felt like we were ski touring!

We planned to have lunch at fremington quay, but in reality this was so much further walking than we anticipated and was a lot closer to the end! So we were starving by the time we got there. The cakes looked amazing, but I had a chicken, bacon and cheese baguette and it was amazing!!! After only a pot noodle for tea and not much to eat that day, I was craving some substance. When I said this to Dan, he said... It's the cheese! We haven’t had cheese in a while and it is probably one of my favourite foods and makes nearly any dish (in my opinion) - extra mature cheddar is my flavour of choice. Dan had his first pasty of the walk & we bought a calippo to eat on the way.

It wasn't long until we neared the campsite as we had ticked off so many miles in the morning. Arriving at Tarka Trail Camping, we pitched up early and enjoyed the sunshine relaxing our feet and enjoying a shower! The perks of staying at a campsite is definitely the shower at the end of a sweaty walking day. Both of us felt horrible today after not having anyway to wash off the sweat (and sand) from the day before.

Would definitely recommend this campsite! We obviously have no idea how it is to get to from the road, but it would be a great base to get to Fremington in one direction and Instow in the other. With a beautiful sunset over the field, it topped off a brilliant afternoon!

We ate our chicken tikka for tea (lovely, but we could both eat the portion size again!) and chilled out hoping for a good night's sleep.

Oh also we heard the best idea from the brothers... Amazon drop boxes! We could order anything we needed from Amazon and then pick it up from a pick up point along the way!! So we did an Amazon order of a knee brace for Dan and some different insoles for me to help see if we can support both our pain points. Hopefully be able to pick them up tomorrow!

Today's painting was inspired by my favourite view which was at the start of the day, coming into Braunton. The high tide water made the Quay look stunning and it was so still and reflective.

The path ran alongside the river, with little boats floating calming on the surface.

Today's Miles: 11.93 miles

Steps: 29,725 (Holly), 28,333 (Dan)

Overview

Honestly, besides the start, walking from Saunton to Braunton (which was beautiful), it was an incredibly boring day. I would recommend cycling this stretch instead! We have cycled it before on a tandem and would highly recommend it.

Lunch at Fremington Quay is recommended and we enjoyed the campsite on the Tarka Trail.

Not much more to explore here to be honest as it's quite samey. You could cross into Barnstaple if you haven't been before and spend some time there. We already know it fairly well so didn't see the need.

An alternative would be to walk all the way into Instow if budget allows and spend the night there.