Monday, August 13, 2012

Baggy Point in Summer

 If walks along the edge of cliffs are your thing then you really must try the walk from Croyde to Baggy Point, its stunning. I walked the dog there yesterday late afternoon with daughters no.2 and 3, although 3 moaned a lot about not wanting to go for a walk. Aside from that it was glorious. There was cloud in Barnstaple, but it was boiling in Croyde and it wasn't long before we were all wishing we hadn't worn jeans.

At the far end of Croyde, nearest to Baggy Point, is a National Trust car park. The sign on entry read 'Parking £5' (although it is free to NT card holders). I arrived at 4.45 and wasn't at all happy about the price given that were only going to walk the dog to Baggy Point and back again. The guy said at this time of day we only had to pay £2, they just didn't bother to adjust the sign. Thank goodness for that.

The walk is 3/4 of a mile from the car park. I have blogged about it before, but the last time we came out was the dead of winter. It's very different in summer. We met lots of other dog walkers, saw sea gulls and comorants on the rocks and black sheep grazing at the top of the point. There were even climbers still on the rocks, if you look closely you can see them in the photo.
Several times the dog gave me kittens when she went too close to the edge but we walked on the higher path on the way back and that made me less nervous. The coast path goes all the way round to Woolacombe but that signpost said 4 miles, it was getting late and daughter no.3 would have had a fit if we'd decided to go on. We opted for an ice cream in Croyde instead.

When we got back to the car park the kiosk was all closed up, even though the sign said parking until 9 o'clock. I suspect if I'd've arrived after 5 o'clock I might have got away with not paying altogether. I'll have to test that theory next time.