Out for a hike above Cheddar Gorge, England.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Keinton Mandeville, Somerset, England.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Not sure yet!

Thursday, August 3, 2023

A couple of drowned rats

The weather isn't cooperating, but it's only water and we have raincoats. 

We left Max in his spot up on the moors, and set off towards the South West Coastal Path, the longest marked trail in England.

The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for 630 miles (1,014 kms), running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset.

The scenery here is spectacular. Sure, it would be nicer for the photographs if the sun was shining, but the overcast skies offer their own interesting mood.

The color of Ruth's rain jacket sure stands out.

A huge mushroom.

A wet misty drizzle, interspersed with some fairly heavy rain at time.

The hiking boots that I bought in Turkiye almost a year and a half ago are holding up not bad, but they have totally lost whatever waterproof quality they may have once had. It didn't take long for my feet to be soaking wet.


We followed a trail that was marked by a signpost, but it obviously hadn't been used for a long time. It was supposed to take us down and connect with the main path, but it was hard to follow and we ended up in a ravine that had a lot of overgrowth.

A wet day hiking is better than a dry day in the office!

I bought that Columbia raincoat a couple of years ago. It's been okay as a windbreaker, and it's maybe "water resistant", but if you're out in heavy rain for a couple of hours it sucks! I sure wouldn't call it a rain coat, which is what it was advertised as. I'm actually done with Columbia gear. I think it used to be decent quality, but I'm not buying any more Columbia products.

Of course the problem with truly waterproof gear is that you tend to sweat in it, so you end up soaking wet anyhow.


We finally made it down this old sheep path to the main trail.

It's a beautiful trail, even when soaking wet!



Beautiful old home we walked by.

Back at Max, we got off all our wet clothes. We were both soaked down to our underwear!

Our wet clothes hanging to dry.

We decided we might as well sit in the same spot overnight again. Driving in the pouring rain doesn't make sense when we specifically came here to see the scenery.

Pork chop for dinner!

It was another quiet night. We've woken up to rain again this morning, but we are headed into the village of Lynton and if we have to put on our still damp clothes to go out exploring, then so be it!

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And in Canada...

4 comments:

  1. I enjoy all your travels so much. Very impressed with mouth watering meals Ruth produces

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    1. Thank you! We are glad that you are enjoying our adventures, I know we have a lot mor coming up this fall and winter just to keep things exciting.

      My mother was a great cook so I guess I just paid attention to what she was doing and learned from her. I also like to cook so that makes a difference too. :-)

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  2. I gave up 'rain coats' long ago cuz you're right they don't do well in heavy rain. Instead I buy rain slicker ponchos. They cover back pack and most of your body...only the lower legs get wet. Some rain slickers have pants to go with them. I also have rubber rain boots that you stretch over your regular shoes...the rubber boots are light weight and can fold to put in pocket. When I didn't have the rain pants, I cut a hole in trash bag to slide my legs into and used velco ties around ankle and upper leg...worked well.

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    Replies
    1. When you travel light like we do, carrying around rain slickers really isn't an option for us plus rain ponchos in heavy wind are a pain in the butt but I do like the fact that they cover the backpack. Luckily we really don't plan on doing a lot of hiking that would involve the need to purchase these items, although it might be an idea if we ever decide to do some long distance hikes.

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