Distance walked: 21km, Time taken: 6 hours (excluding lunch break)
Today the decision to walk clockwise to anticlockwise was easy to make. The clockwise book put the distance from C to D at 19km while the anticlockwise book claimed it was only 13km and recommended breaking the journey further along at D'. I decided to walk clockwise to D, and then with the help of my trusty GPS (with fresh batteries) choose to walk on to D' or stop once I got there.
I did end up going all the way to D' which was a 21km journey not the 24km the clockwise book claimed.
Lots of up and down today, with spectacular views of rugged bays, dramatic cliffs and the occasional pretty beach. A total of 1005m in ascents and 995m in descents (which are actually harder). A not a single km of dull slog along a beach.
A saw a lot of other hikers today as this part of the islands is justly famous for its hiking trails. Saw plenty completely inadequately dressed (in terms of sensible shoes) for the paths they were attempting. A couple were wearing those dreadful Crocs.
Besides lots of birds (and other hikers) I didn't see many animals today. I was quite disappointed. At one point on the path there was a sign saying they had introduced a special breed of multi-horned sheep (the Manx Loaghtan) into this area as it was the closest to an extinct breed of Jersey sheep that had been once common there. I saw lots of gorse, heather and bracken but not a single sheep, horned or otherwise.
There were also misleading signs promising killer chickens which failed to deliver. And I've yet to see a single cow.
I stopped at a country pub at a crossroads, Les Fontaines, for lunch which was more the type of lunch break I had been expecting. Unfortunately, it was part of a chain of very conventional pubs and only had big brand name beers on tap, including Fosters (gack!). I had to settle for a pint of Bass. You could drink it. On the plus side, they make a big fuss about being child friendly and having a play area. When I was there there were only big boys with big boys' toys - i.e. a meeting of a local historical car society so the view of the parking lot was superb.
The food options turned out to be much better than the beer. I had a steak and kidney pudding and it was a real pudding cooked in a pudding basin. It might even have been made with proper suet crust pastry. It was certainly short and crisp enough. Mind you it have safely been eaten by someone with an aversion to offal. Still it was tasty and I'm pleased to have eaten a real English pudding.
For dinner I went to a Thai place, Siam Garden, I had noticed on my search for a meal last night. It was in a small arcade so it was a little off the beaten track. They were thrilled to see me (there was only 1 other couple in the place when I arrived) and more than happy to serve a solo diner. I had tom yum soup followed by a laab salad and washed it all down with a bottle of Singha beer. Familiar, almost comfort, food and very tasty it was too. Freshly cooked and very spicy. I ordered it medium. I suspect if the hot version would have been suitable for Craig. Possibly a little far for him to travel, even for good Thai food.
Tempted to walk anti-clockwise tomorrow as the last piece into St Helier looks dull. Lots of road walking as it is quite built up (for Jersey) around here.
So disappointed you didn't see any multi-horned sheep. They look amazing! Almost as good as the killer chickens.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you'll see a cow tomorrow. (Or maybe there aren't any at all on Jersey - and it's all a conspiracy.)