Woolacombe
What another brilliant weekend. This one is definitely in the top 5 of my weekends away, maybe even in my top 3…
I was in two minds about where to go this weekend, part of me really wanted to take it easy and to have a weekend doing my washing and catching up on chores around the house, and having a lye in on Saturday morning in my own bed!… but then part of me could not get the idea of packing my tent up and going to Woolacombe out of my head… and so on Friday evening after work, I booked my bike onto the Saturday morning train so that I was committed… to a train, at least.
I left London at 9am, with my bike and my rucksack on the train to Exeter, where I spent a few hours here faffing about really – I needed some new brake pads on my bike, which ended up being a bigger job than I had bargained for, so while my bike was being sorted out, I walked out of town a bit to Uprising Bakehouse for my lunch. Years and years ago, I visited Lyme Regis with my mum and we went to Town Mill Bakery. After a bit of research, it turns out that Uprising Bakehouse is owned by the same people and so I thought it would be a nice spot to stop at! They had freshly baked bread in the window, and I enjoyed a really tasty sandwich which kept me going for the rest of the day.
I picked up my bike and caught the train to Barnstaple, before cycling along the Tarka Trail and out to Woolacombe. The roads were so easy and so quiet to cycle along, very hilly, but the view along the lanes at the top of the hill were just amazing, I had to stop a few times to soak it all up – the views over the hedges, across the fields, down to beaches and out to sea, just bliss.
The campsite that I was staying at was just out the other side of Woolacombe in a little village called Mortehoe and the campsite, I thought, was brilliant – I would really recommend. I pitched my tent overlooking the sea, tucked in by the hedge and there was so much space that there wasn’t anyone near me!
I dumped my ridiculously heavy bag, before cycling back into Woolacombe to get a cider (or two), and went to Barricane Beach – the real reason I wanted to come back to this part of the country – for their famous Sri Lankan curry. Quite a few years ago now, my mum and I came to this area for a holiday, and we stumbled across the Barricane Beach Cafe’s curry and it was AMAZING, and so I this was, if I’m honest, the real motivation for me to come this way to this particular town! From what I can remember – and don’t quote me on this – but the owner of the beach cafe goes to Sri Lanka for a few months every year, and they bring back with them a load of spices to make curry with. Then they serve curry for as long as their stocks last, and when they run out of spice, they shut up shop and wait to go back.
The beach was a bit busier than it had been all those years ago, but I placed my order, found my spot on the beach and waited patiently until my number was called out. Then, I sat watching the sun slowly falling in the sky, but all the while shining on my face.
Once the sun had set (about 3.5 hours after I arrived at the beach!) I pedalled my way back up the hill (ok – walked my bike up some of the hill), before getting into my tent for the night.
Sunday morning, I had a bit of a slow get up, but when I did get moving, I packed my stuff up, went and bought an ice cream for my breakfast, before sitting on Woolacombe beach. It was a glorious day, it was so hot, and it felt so nice to spend such a sunny day on a beach, rather than being cooped up in London, crammed onto a park alongside the rest of the city’s population. I stayed out for a bit too long, getting a little bit burnt, before getting a portion of chips and cycling back the way I had come the day before to Barnstaple station, and then back to London.
This weekend was brilliant. I loved every moment. I guess it gave me the same feeling as I got after my weekend in St Ives – I was super apprehensive again about going and staying overnight somewhere on my own (don’t get me wrong, I may have been a few places on my own on this challenge, but I still get moments of doubt), but then the pleasure and the pride I felt in doing what I wanted was amazing. This kind of weekend trip is the kind of thing that I would think of doing, but that I would wait for another person to come with me. But what I keep learning is that if I have a weekend idea, somewhere I want to revisit, or a beach I want to camp near, then you just have to do it. Because doing it on your own is so much more empowering than waiting for someone to come with you. In fact its probably more empowering.
2 things to take away from this (if you’ve managed to stay with me this far)
- Sunsets will ground you and re-centre you
- Don’t wait for someone to do things with you – you can do it on your own and it will be great.
See you next weekend!
Every Weekend Away 