Hartland; July 2020
Gallery
Free Entry for Bikes at Hartland Quay but not at Hartland Point
With my self-imposed restriction of staying within the South West of England while the dreaded virus is about I thought about where to go next? A place I'm very fond of is Hartland in North Devon so that was the plan. A round trip ride of a little over 300 miles for the Tracer. After my last trip where I ended meandering around the minor roads of Dorset and Devon I decided to let the satnav guide me to Honiton. After Honiton, I planned to take minor roads to Hartland via Chumleigh and Great Torrington. This worked out quite well as the roads were much quieter and nicer to ride.
I had left home at 9 pm and I arrived at Hartland Point around 12:30. I had forgotten that the farmer charged for entry to Hartland Point. There was a little old lady sitting outside a hut wearing a plastic face shield asking for £1. Unfortunately as I hadn't intended to pay for anything with cash all I had with me was a £20 note. Unmoved, she offered me £19 change in a old ice cream tub. I told her to remain where she was while I put on a rubber glove to gather my change. At this point she asked me if I had the virus. I replied no and I would like it to stay that way. Maybe she thought I was Dominic Cummings? Strange times we live in!
It was worth the £1 to get in. The views from Hartland Point are stunning especially on a nice sunny clear day. It was easy to make out Lundy Island. Up on the hill there's the air traffic control radar looking like a giant golf ball on a tee. It wasn't possible to walk down to the lighthouse but you could approach the coastguard station.
After Hartland Point I skipped over to Hartland Quay where a young man with a mask outside a hut told me entrance was free for bikes and waved me through. Speke's Mill Mouth Waterfall is a short walk along the South West Coastal Path from there but it was a hot day and the thought of trudging there and back in my motorcycle gear stopped me. Shame, as it's quite a sight I'm told. I didn't stop long at Hartland Quay as it was bit too busy for me. People seemed to be very blasé about social distancing which didn't sit well with cautious old me.
I had planned to dip into Cornwall on the way back so I rode down the coast to Duckpool bay taking the Tracer though a small ford and passing by GCHQ Bude on the way. Again, it was busy there so I didn't stop and kept going towards Bude where I picked up the A3072. I like the A3072 and made good progress on it. I picked up the A30 at Okehampton, set my cruise control to 70 mph and stayed on it to Exeter. (Love the cruise control.) I still don't think that the Tracer's screen is as bad as some people would have you believe?
There were so many tractors on the road to Lyme Regis. People were going home after work and at Newton Poppleford I got stuck in an enormous queue behind a tractor. Now considerate drivers of slow vehicles pull over now and again to let people by. (I think it's part of the highway code to do so.) Not this guy. Some of my overtaking moves were nasty but I managed to get by him just before Sidford. I had intended to stay on the A35 to Dorchester but by Bridport I had had enough and took the longer but much more pleasant route via Beaminster. The ride was 318 miles in total and I was tiring by the end. I don't think that was the Tracer's fault. Just my old bones I think. The Tracer has now clocked 1800+ miles.