Thursday 11th June 1998 - Day Six, Newquay - Plymouth - Exeter - (Home) Prev

I woke up at 05:50 and after much soul searching on the importance of getting up and going because I needed a good start to find out about trains and busses etc. I got up at 06:15. Breakfast and packing the tent always seems to take too long and I finally got walking at 07:40. The path was not easy to pick up and I had to walk back before I found it, but I eventually walked across the beach and up the path around a hill. It was very windy with sand whipped up into my face so that I had to put my sunglasses on just to protect my eyes. A little further was a map showing how the coastal path went through Newquay. This was extremely useful and I jotted down the details ready for next time, it took about ten minutes.

I came to an open grassy area overlooking the bay at Newquay where there was nothing to stop the wind. It was so strong I had trouble standing upright some of the time. It caught the rucksack and tried to spin me round several times. When one of the gusts caught me I had to jump with it and spread my legs wide to keep balance, it must have looked odd to anyone watching. In the town the path follows the main roads and went in front of the railway station which was a single rusty track.There was no sign of life and it looked run down and deserted. The tickets could be bought from an agent at the end of the platform but the agents office was shut. So much for taking the train. I continued to the coach station.

It was a hive of activity at the coach station. A coach for Plymouth which then changed for Exeter left in twenty minutes. I booked a ticket and had a quick scout around for presents. I bought a stick of rock. It was the least I could do at the seaside. The coach was a posh one and the highlight of the journey to Plymouth was crossing the Tamar bridge from which you could see the Isambard Kingdom Brunel's bridge next to it. Unfortunately I couldn't get my camera in time for here was a piece of history that I had seen in countless books. The change at Plymouth was smooth and uneventful with not enough time to do any exploring. At Exeter I had about two hours before the train, enough time to have some lunch and do a bit of shopping.

I ate a pasty I bought in Newquay in front of the cathedral and wrote a bit more of my log. There were students everywhere. Back at the station was the university book shop. I could see an interesting book on walking the coastal path which could be useful reference. There was also a notice in the window which said back at 15:00. Seeing as my train left at 14:11 this wasn't much good. Still I saved £4-99 I suppose.

Previous page, Day Five, 10th June 98, Harlyn Bay to Newquay.

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