South Devon - Burgh Island
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There was something magical about an island—the mere word suggested fantasy. You lost touch with the world—an island was a world of its own. A world, perhaps, from which you might never return.
Burgh Island was a favourite spot for Agatha Christie. It was the inspiration for Soldier Island for her novel 'And then there were None' and the hotel that Hercule Poirot stayed at in 'Evil under the Sun'.
If this had been an old house, with creaking wood, and dark shadows, and heavily paneled walls, there might have been an eerie feeling. But this house was the essence of modernity. There were no dark corners—no possible sliding panels—it was flooded with electric light—everything was new and bright and shining. There was nothing hidden in this house, nothing concealed.
This walk starts on the mainland in nearby Ringmore before walking along the coast. The tide will be low over lunchtime, meaning that the crossing to the Island itself will be walkable so we'll have lunch on the Island, get to spend an hour or so exploring, before heading back to the mainland past Bigbury-on-Sea and following the coastal path up the rivermouth of the Avon before turning back towards Ringmore again across country.
The walk is around 8 miles, and will take about 4 or 5 hours depending on how long we spend on Burgh Island and the beaches.
Fancy staying for the weekend?
If you're coming from a bit further away and want to stay for the weekend in the area, there is an ODL camping weekend going on at Branscombe in East Devon hosted by Darren. It's around an hour and 15 min drive from the campsite to Burgh Island so on the Saturday you'll need to leave at around 9am to drive to the meeting point for this hike. The camping weekend will also have something else going on Sunday as well.
https://www.outdoorlads.com/events/summer-camping-and-beach-devon-180629
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What to bring
Please bring sun block and a sun hat.
We'll be walking on the beach, so you might want to bring a change of shoes (flip-flops, sandles) for those stretches. Walking boots are essential for the rest of the walk.
Depending on time and the weather, we may have time for a swim in the sea, so you might want to bring a towel and trunks etc.
Medicines: if you have hay fever, diabetes, minor ailments etc.
Rucksack: or any other bag
Footwear: hiking boots, sturdy trainers
Layered clothing: lets you quickly adapt to changes in the weather and body temperature. Go for a base layer (vest or t-shirt) and a mid layer (a micro fleece or shirt) and in cooler weather add an outer layer (a windproof jacket or thick fleece)
Trousers: ideally not jeans which become heavy and cold in the rain, breathable fabrics are more comfortable and dry and on warm days shorts are OK
Waterproof jacket: breathable fabrics are more comfortable and dry
Hat or cap: stay warm in winter and shaded in summer
Sunglasses: for any sunny day, even in winter
Sun cream: can be useful even on cloudy and winter days
Food & drink
Lunch: Please bring a packed lunch and plenty of water (at least a litre).
There will be plenty of the typical sea-side kiosks selling ice-creams and in the Hotel on the Island itself you can get a Cream Tea, although there is a dress code - which we'll probably not be dressed for so don't count of that!
Snacks: bring biscuits, energy bars, gels, bananas, chocolate or dried fruit for example and put them somewhere easy to get hold of