Yelden to Melchbourne

Yelden to Melchbourne

Distance - 11.12km
Time Taken - 2hrs 25mins
Assent - 83m

The excuses for not walking could last no longer (I was recovering from the SWCP...honest) and with another stunning day forecast I thought I should get back out there.  I remembered to use some sunblock this time but could of done with a hat!  Today's walk was into the unknown of North Bedfordshire.  I just never got round to coming up here, there isn't much in the way of anything to drag me up here. 

The small villages are nice and quiet and in many ways represent traditional rural England, bit old, bit new, bit thatched.  Yelden (Also spent Yeilden and Yeldon depending on which road sign you see, no really it has no official spelling...add a bit eccentric to the list!) is a quiet village with just 1 pub and the remains of a Motte and Baillie castle.  See only in England could the remains of a castle be so nondescript!

The Motte, ramparts and moat.

The path is well signposted and easy to follow.  For the most part the route was across general farmland and was a pleasant gentle walk.  A few hills and a bit of woodland to make things interesting.  And it was the woods where the things got interesting later.

Newquay to Perranporth

Newquay to Perranporth

Distance - 20.2Km
Time Taken - 5hrs ish
Assent - 360m ish

Day 3 and a very early start to the day.  The bridge at Penpol to cross the tidal Gannel can only be used 3-4 hours after (or before) low tide.  The low tide for this morning was just before 4am so we wanted to get to the bridge between 7 and 8am.  A guesstimate of the distances put the bridge at approx. 3 miles into the day, so we set off just after 6am (6.20 give or take).  The night before we had a early night in preparation....OK we went to the pub and watched England lose against Holland at football.

The Penpol crossing

The early start meant the streets through Newquay were pretty deserted, with only ourselves and a street cleaner daring to venture out.  Things were a little misty this morning and for the first time this trip I needed to wear a fleece.  The first mile is through the town centre, before a section along the sea front around to the Headland Hotel and Fistral beach.  A few hardy souls were in the waves, I can't imagine how cold it must be!