Day 16: Stoke Rivers to Simonsbath

I made it onto Exmoor today, which felt like a very different environment to what I’ve been used to the last two weeks. It’s open and exposed, and barely anyone is around. 

• Date: 5 April 2024
• Start: Stoke Rivers
• End: Simonsbath
• Miles: 14.4
• Total miles: 201.4
• Accommodation: The Exmoor Forest Inn

I had the best breakfast this morning that I’d had the whole walk so far, which is the benefit of being in a bed and breakfast. I said goodbye to the guys who were cycling to John O’Groats and was off, but then bumped into them again an hour later, as there is a lot of route sharing at the moment. 

The paths were relatively good as I approached Exmoor, with not a lot of mud around at all. 

I eventually reached Exmoor, with nothing to be seen for miles. Exmoor is normally pretty boggy, and today was no exception. I thought I’d lost my boots at some points given how deep my feet went down into the bogs. 

Today has been a good day for meeting people. This morning, while walking through a village, a man stopped me to ask where I was going and we spoke for a while. Then, on top of Exmoor, a couple stopped me to ask the same question and we chatted about my adventure. Finally, I walked into the pub where I am camping in the garden, and two guys quizzed me on how what I was doing.

We chatted for over two hours over some beers (which they kindly paid for) about the walk, and I also learnt a lot of about hunting, which was why they were in the area. 

Finally I got round to setting up the tent, had dinner and then retreated to the pub for some warmth.