UPDATED (more/better photos, but not to correct my verypoor prediction – the traitors must be crazy!!)

I spent the night pondering whether the Traitors can survive for much longer. One thing for sure, they must murder Faraaz. I woke to a WhatsApp message from the “in-laws” telling me there was a yellow weather warning. I had been encouraging them to walk one of these legs, but adverse forecasts proved to be a barrier. A detailed check said 4mm of rain was to be expected, which is barely enough to fill the “depression storage” on the ground (I am a drainage Engineer!).

Breakfast was in the slightly grander restaurant (I ate in the bar last night) with a nice view over the countryside towards the sea. It wasn’t raining, and the breakfast was pretty good – so I was well set up for the day.

I have two equipment recommendations, or notes really – to justify a this post being tagged as “Equipment”. Firstly, bringing a folded up bag to hold my boots and all my muddy clothes has been a godsend. It just saves so much trouble getting in and out of nice hotels, with white carpets! Also, I previously mentioned my new over trousers and these are a game changer. They are comfortable to walk all day in and keep your trousers clean. Today, I got a bit hot on some climbs but overall I really don’t know how I’ve managed before. I got some relatively cheap Decathlon ones (MH500 about £35), that fit really well and have a massive leg zip so getting them on with your boots is easy. My one complaint is a pocket, or a slit through to your trouser pockets, would have been useful. I had an embarrassing moment in a cafe yesterday when I tried to liberate some pound coins from my trouser pockets by discretely putting my hand down my overtrousers – completely impossible to look normal while sitting down!

I got away by 9 and headed back down to the sea. It was a very misty morning, but the sea was much calmer than yesterday. I knew today was going to have much more climbing than yesterday.  It started straight away with a stiff climb up to Thornbury Beacon at 132 metres above sea level.

The views were spectacular, or rather the views through the ever changing mist were spectacular. I don’t think there were any flat bits today. The path plunged back down to sea level at Seaton and kicked back up to Gold Cap on the other side.

The path I’d chosen didn’t go over the top of Gold Cap, which at 191 metres is the highest point on the southern part of the Southwest Coast Path. If I could have seen the top, I may have made a diversion to head up there. But as it was completely shrouded in mist, there seemed little point.

From the high point, the route looked to be at a much lower elevation, and relatively flat. I was pretty sure the “flat” bit would not turn our to be true (it wasn’t!). The path continously rolled down to streams, and then climbed back up to a cliff level, time after time. At one point the path climbed up into mist again. I was right on a cliff edge, but knew I was inland and not next to the sea. Peering over the edge it was difficult to comprehend what was seeing, with trees shrouded in mist, and no clear difference between the land and sea. Jurassic Park came to mind, but that might just have been all the branding of “The Jurassic Coast” sticking in my mind.

When planning the route, I thought I would need to head inland and take a road into Charmouth. I presumed this was due to landslides, as on the OS map, the path just peters out. In fact, the path is well marked on the ground and hugs the coast all the way to Charmouth.

I had managed to stay on my feet all day, until the descent into Charmouth. I think the signs of civilisation and other walkers took my mind off the treacherously slippery grass paths. It was a slow motion slip which I nearly held, until I remembered I’m going skiing next week and didn’t want to risk twisting a knee. So I just let myself go, slithering down, spinning onto all fours and clambering up. It was like being a kid again, it’s only mud my, and my new overtrousers can be washed!

A slight drizzle started just as a crossed the bridge and walked towards the harbour. The path I’d followed into Charmouth was much better than expected and had brought me right to the harbour rather than through the houses. The same applied on the way out of town. On the map, it looked like I needed to walk up to a main road to get to the marked path. I decided to follow the finger-posts through town. I reached a bus shelter and considered the rest of the walk. The rain was a bit heavier (still not bad), and the bus from here would be the same one I’d need to catch from Lyme Regis.

I decided to keep walking. It was a good decision as the signed path was far better than that shown on the map. On a tiny road out of town, it climbed and climbed, turning into a track, then a path. Not a busy road to be seen. It followed some sort of ridge, with trees plunging down into the mist, and the sounds of a busy road below.

The final section was across a golf course, where the standard of play was atrocious. I waited for one group of golfers to clear the path, it took one guy two shots to get from 10 metres on one side of the path to 10 metres on the other. It was very misty, so it may have been safety play to avoid losing balls.

Lyme Regis is a lovely little town with old cottages along a small street leading down to the harbour, and a rapid stream pouring out to sea under a really old bridge.

I located the bus stop and had about 50 minutes to wait. I took off all my muddy clothes and headed into the nearest pub. I was given a loyalty card, and while I felt it was a tall order, did my best to get a free pint.

The bus took me to Axminster Station where I caught a direct London train. I had considered messing around with trains through Southampton, but it would have been three or more changes and only save me £10. However, as I write this, he trains are all messed up around Croydon, so it may have been quicker the other way, but there is always Delay Repay to take the edge off it.

I’m now racing to finish this blog, before my opening prediction about the Traitors becomes news! [OK I know I was wrong, but I’ll leave it for prosperity]