George's World Tour South of Stoke - Day 11
You'll be relieved to hear that I woke up feeling much better today, with no headache and no back ache, and that I anticipate today's blog being much more upbeat than yesterday's. We had no problems at all with our overnight spot, and actually stayed there until about 12 noon chilling out and reading (or in Claire's case working herself up into a frenzy about the afternoon's sea kayaking).
We arrived at our meeting point, the Dingy Park in Dartmouth at 1.30pm for our afternoon trip. Our guide, Ben, was there already and was busy unloading kayaks and kit from a trailer. As it is not quite the busy season, there was no one else on our trip today, which we had hoped might be the case. The kayaks were proper sea kayaks (not sit on top boats) and we were loaned buoyancy aids, spray decks, waterproof jackets, and sunglasses retainer cords before setting out on the water. Ben was quite relaxed about things, whilst managing to discreetly find out by chatting about various boat and mountain adventures, that we have some paddling experience but still needed keeping an eye on.
Our start point was in Dartmouth by the Higher Ferry point and after a few "we haven't been in a kayak for a while" wobbles, we were off towards the river mouth and the sea. It was then that I remembered a secret that I have kept from Claire for some time - I like kayaking better than canoeing.
We were paddling against the wind and the tide but it still wasn't too difficult. We made our way to the sea and turned right along the coast, up to about the point where we'd spent the night in George. We were surprised to be able to paddle quite close to the shore, between rocks and cliffs, without being in any danger of being shipwrecked. Ben told us that there was a slight offshore wind which is ideal for sea kayaking as it means you're sheltered by the cliffs.
We stopped for a leg stretch on a little beach only accessible by sea. Claire and I took the opportunity to have a cheese sandwich and an orange club, whilst Ben stripped off to his shorts and went for a swim before having an apple. This of course was wasted on us, but I'm sure that for many this would be one of the highlights of the trip.
After that we headed back with the wind behind us and the tide helping us along. Ben asked us if we'd like to go in a sea cave on the way, to which of course the answer was a resounding yes. So we paddled across the river mouth to a cave which was hidden until we were practically there. I managed to paddle inside with only a couple of collisions with the side, and we were able to paddle right through a narrow channel and out a different way! Claire was so overcome with excitement that I was worried she was going to keep going round the cave loop all evening, but we managed to head back to Dartmouth eventually.
On the last bit of our journey a little plan started to formulate in my mind. We were supposed to be heading over towards Dartmoor this evening to spend the last few days of our holiday there. But we'd noticed earlier that not only is there an free overnight campervan stopover spot in Dartmouth marked on my downloaded Tom Tom list, but that there are also free public toilets and showers opposite! This seemed like an example of English campervan hospitality that is all too rare, and I thought it almost rude to let its pass by. I thought that maybe we could spend a few hours on the beach in the morning before heading off.
Ben asked us as we were nearing the end of our trip where we were heading. Claire quickly replied that we were heading inland towards Dartmoor, and I thought that was probably the time to put my cards on the table and say that actually, I've got another idea. Claire responded with "if it involves the sea or the beach then I'm all for it" so that was that.
We parked George up at the side of the road near where we'd put the kayaks in, made use of the free showers, and then headed into town for a beer in the sun.
During the beer(s) we checked the weather forecast, found that 2 days of sunshine are forecast, and emailed Ben and asked if he'd hire us two sea kayaks for the day tomorrow. He was more than happy to, so we have now changed our plans and decided to leave Dartmoor for another time.
So tomorrow we'll be waking up alongside the boat moorings in Dartmouth, and then spending the day exploring the coast on our own, sunbathing on our own private beach, and practicing some kayaking skills.
We've just had an Italian meal for dinner. For once, I don't feel too full because I had a fancy truffle and vanilla oil pasta parcel thing which was much less stodgy than your regular Italian. Claire had a meat feast calzone and is now slumped in George nursing her food baby.
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