Morwenstow to Bude: South West Coast Path Day 11 Guide

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The joy of a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed was exceeded only by the joy of an excellent Full English downstairs in the pub the following morning. Say what you will about British food, but this country sure as hell knows how to put together a breakfast.

The bright sunshine from the day before had gone, replaced by heavy grey cloud, but the wind certainly hadn’t disappeared. If anything it had got stronger, as leaves whipped around our legs on the path back out of the village.

No complaints from either of us, though: after several days of hot weather, it was genuinely nice to have a cooler day for a change. We kept saying this all day, even as showers came and went and gusts pushed us around up on the cliffs.

With nothing to obstruct our views and little else to talk about, we discussed the weather for hours. Being able to watch a band of clouds slowly roll in over the ocean, deposit its contents on your head, and wander away inland as you dry off is something you just don’t get to do in normal life.

We were revelling in being out in nature all day, every day, even when the weather wasn’t perfect. The word exhilarating may have made an appearance, even if we needed to shout it to be heard over the wind.

Because we’d split this section in two, we had a much shorter day than usual. There were still several valley descents and climbs to tackle, of course, but with under eight miles to walk and all day to do it, plus those cooler temperatures, it felt easier than we’d expected.

We passed Hawker’s Hut soon after rejoining the main path, named after the eccentric vicar and poet who built it around 1844. Partially wedged into the side of the cliff, Robert Harker apparently used it as a space for writing and smoking opium. As you do.

The first valley arrived just after the hut, with a steep zig-zagging route down and somewhat less steep climb up the other side to Higher Sharpnose Point. The narrow ridgeline jutting out into the ocean made it obvious how it got its name: we briefly considered walking out to the end, but the strong winds soon convinced us not to. It’s a long way down.

It’s a pretty desolate stretch of coastline along here, especially on days like today with grey skies, crashing waves, and howling winds, but we were loving it. After an even steeper descent and climb at Stanbury Beach, we had a welcome longer stretch of clifftop walking towards a large collection of GCHQ radio dishes.

It all felt pretty dystopian as we approached the towers: under foreboding skies, surrounded by tall chain-link fences and with nobody else around, we were getting strong The Last of Us vibes.

Maybe it was all that watching for zombies that caused us to miss the turn-off back to the coast: you’re meant to turn hard right just before the metal gate, not go through it. Oops. The track we took past the radio equipment is still a public footpath, so there was no problem being there, but it’s not the Coast Path!

After a steep drop down to sea level in our third valley of the day at Duckpool Beach, we were greeted by the most welcome of sights: a coffee caravan setting up in the carpark. We were looking for an excuse to stop for a break, and this was very much it.

The lovely owner of Hedgerow Coffee and Cake was a godsend, telling us to sit down out of the wind while she finished getting ready, and then preparing probably the best coffee I’d had on the path so far. The homemade cake was, I’m reliably informed, also excellent.

Suitably fuelled by sugar and caffeine, we powered (well, trudged) up the other side of the valley and onto the clifftop, to be immediately greeted by…well, I probably don’t even need to tell you at this point. Yes, it was another valley, and another climb.

At that top of that hill, however, was a sight even more welcome than the coffee caravan we’d recently left. Bude looked pretty close from the top of the hill, and I guess it was, but of course there were still a couple more ups and downs to go before we got anywhere near the outskirts of town.

The first of those was the pretty beach at Sandymouth, and while there weren’t many people on the sand thanks to the blustery wind and spits of rain, the cafe there looked to be in severe danger of running out of cream teas.

Passing the lifeguard station and heading up out of the bay, the cliffs finally started to get a little lower and the hills a little rounder, making that last hour or so into town the easiest part of the day.

We passed the beach at Northcott Mouth (another cafe, another lifeguard station) and almost trotted down the gentle slope into Bude. Neither the beach nor the seawater swimming pool were seeing much action today, but I expect it would have been a very different story in yesterday’s sunshine.

Our hotel was only just off the coast path, so we stuck our heads in the door to ask if we might be able to check in early. Absolutely not, apparently, even if the room was ready. Cool, thanks for that.

Bude is a popular beach holiday spot, and even on this cloudy afternoon, there were plenty of people around. It was a bit jarring after several days of being in tiny villages and quiet campsites, but on the upside, it was nice to have the choice of more than one place to eat.

Making that choice didn’t take long: we opted for bagels at the House of Chaplain. Was it the best bagel I’ve had in my life? No, and in fact, it wasn’t even the best bagel I had on the South West Coast Path (that was in Sidmouth, if you’re wondering). It was, however, the best bagel I had that day, and I was grateful for it all the same.

Finally permitted to check in, at 3:00pm and not a minute earlier, we dumped our stuff on the floor and ourselves on the bed. I’m not usually one for a bath, but with time to kill and feet to soak, I seized the opportunity for a long, leisurely one. There wouldn’t be many more on this walk!

Dinner was pizza at Elements, which despite being attached to some fancy-looking accommodation, had more atmosphere and better food than any hotel restaurant has a right to. It also had the benefit of being just down the road, a fact we appreciated even more when the heavens opened ten seconds after we left our room.

My bruised and blistered toe wasn’t feeling any better than it had the last few days, but at least the shorter distance had meant a few less hours of walking on it. It had become obvious, though, that something had to be done about it if I was going to get to the end of this path.

I’d tried band-aids, toe foam, Compeed, and some kind of numbing spray, and while they’d helped dull the pain a bit, my toe wasn’t looking any less black when I took my shoes off that afternoon. With still another 40-odd days to go, no hard deadline for when we had to finish, and a bunch of admin stuff to do, it was an easy decision to make.

Tomorrow would be a rest day.

Rest Day in Bude

As befits the name, our day in Bude involved a lot of rest.

We got up late, put a load of washing on at one of the nearby laundromats, had an average breakfast at Buffy’s, retrieved our clothes from said laundromat, and then spent a good few hours watching them dry on the radiators in our room.

If that sounds very dull and like the kind of thing that would likely send you off to sleep, you’re 100% right on both counts. It was and it did.

Forcing myself awake mid-afternoon, I headed back out into the by-now persistent rain to get my head shaved (£9 felt like a bargain), wander very briefly around the outdoor stores (don’t bother, there’s nothing good in them), and have a surprisingly good steak and ale pie at the Cornish Pie Company for dinner.

One more soak in the bath (I mean, why not) and that was me done. I’d spent most of the day with my eyes closed and my feet not touching the floor, and could not have been more thrilled about it. After 11 gruelling days on the path, rest day was the best day.

Planning

Started at:  The Bush Inn (0.7 miles/1.1km off-trail)

Finished at: An Mor (0.1 miles/0.2km off-trail)

Affordable hotels had been in short supply in Bude when we decided to look for one the day before, which is hardly surprising in the middle of August. As a result I wasn’t shocked that our first impressions weren’t great, greeted as we were by a soulless reception area and a firm ‘no’ when we asked if there was any chance we could check in early.

The place had warmed on me somewhat by the time we checked out, however, and I’d be happy enough to stay there again. The room itself was nicer than expected, or at least bright, clean, and repainted sometime this century, with coffee and tea-making facilities and a beanbag that left me in no doubt about which country I was in.

I was grateful for the bath and made good use of it, and although the noise from the nearby Adventureland was quite loud when we had the window open (there’s no A/C), it stopped by the time night fell. That said, noise insulation between rooms wasn’t great, so hope for quiet neighbours!

Other than that adventure park, I have zero complaints about the location either. It’s close to two or three good restaurants, only a couple of minutes off the path, and not much further to the beach if you have sunnier weather than we did.

Transport and Parking

The 217 bus runs from Bude to Morwenstow and back three times a day, once in the morning, early afternoon, and late afternoon.

There’s not much in the way of free on-street parking in Bude, so if you’re planning to leave a car there, chances are it’ll be in one of the paid carparks. There are several, but the path literally runs through the largest one, Summerleaze, so I’d suggest starting your search there. Competition for parking is fierce in summer months, so get there early.

Morwenstow is small and its lanes are too narrow to park on, but there is a gravelled area near the tearooms where you can leave your vehicle for free.

Because this section is relatively short, chances are you’ll be walking the whole distance. If not, though, you can get off the trail at a few different spots along the way: there are National Trust carparks at Duckpool Beach, Sandymouth Bay, and Northcott Mouth. All are free for members, paid otherwise.

Waymarking and Navigation

Navigation was generally straightforward on this section, at least when we were right beside the coast: there was generally either only one path to follow, or when there wasn’t, they all ended up in the same place.

There are several public footpaths heading from Morwenstow down to the coast path: I made a point of leaving on the same one we’d come in on, but if you’re doing a day walk, take whichever one you like!

As I mentioned, though, we did manage to miss a turn back towards the coast as we approached the GCHQ radio telescopes. I realised after checking my phone a few minutes later: fortunately the path we were on soon joined back up with the main trail. Even more fortunately, there was a stile at the end to let us do so without needing to vault the fence.

I used AllTrails as my main navigation app for the entire South West Coast Path, and it worked well throughout. It clearly showed the right path branching off from where we took our wrong turn: if only I’d bothered to look at it a little earlier!

You can find the Hartland Quay to Bude route here: it’s free to use, although I pay a couple of pounds a month for a subscription so I can download maps to my phone in advance.

Phone Service

We had service with O2 in Morwenstow, and fairly often while up on the cliffs, especially as we got closer to Bude. As usual, signal generally got much worse or disappeared entirely in the valleys.

As a backup, I’d also paid a few pounds for a data eSIM from Instabridge that let me swap between all three UK networks, EE, O2, and Vodafone/Three.

It worked really well as a fallback option throughout my time on the Coast Path: whenever I needed data service but couldn’t get it on my usual SIM, I’d switch to the eSIM and choose a different network. If there was any signal to be had in the area at all, I’d pick it up.

Facilities

We had an excellent breakfast at the Bush Inn, which was included in the room rate. You can also pre-order lunch the night before: we didn’t bother, since we had a shorter day and knew there were places to get food along the way.

Breakfast is only available to those staying in the hotel, though, and the only other food place in Morwenstow (the tea rooms) doesn’t open until 11 a.m.

Failing that, you’ll need to grab something from one of the caravans and cafes along the way. Duckpool Beach was the first place we came across for this, but they came thick and fast after that: Sandymouth Bay, Northcott Mouth, and of course several on the way into Bude.

Bude itself had many options, from a very popular fish and chip shop (and a couple of less-popular ones) to pubs and restaurants, including some pretty upmarket ones.

Accommodation

This is a section of two halves when it comes to accommodation. Between Morwenstow and Dunsmouth there’s nothing within a useful distance of the trail, but there are plenty of options from there to Bude.

There’s a basic campsite with a toilet and a cold-water tap just off the path in a paddock at Dunsmouth Farm, and a more fully-featured site with showers at Wildly Camping in Maer, about half a mile off-trail. There are also campsites just on the other side of Bude at Efford Downs and Upper Lynstone.

There are a couple of holiday parks, in Sandymouth Bay and Maer, but your chances of getting a one-night stay in a caravan at either of them during peak season is slim to none. You’ll be better off continuing into Bude, where there are many hotels and apartments to choose from.

We stayed at An Mor based mainly on price when booking last minute. While I’d stay there again, I’d be checking out a few alternatives first: The Beach, Sunrise Guesthouse, and Tommy Jacks Beach Apartments all look nicer.