#EastDevonWay a Three Tenners Walk with Storm Dennis

Fuelled by the success of our Devon Coast to Coast bike ride in November - the Three Tenners - my brothers Rob and Mike and myself were looking for the next challenge.

As brothers we live geographically a fair way apart and all have busy lives so finding a date that works for all of us is not straightforward and has to be planned a fair bit in advance. We have done quite a bit of hiking together. We are not necessarily fair weather walkers and we have some good gear. We agreed the East Devon Way trail in mid February. Obviously mid Feb carries some weather risks but we are always optimistic and what is the worst that can happen?

The East Devon Way trail walk is from Lyme Regis to Exmouth. It is 40 miles - not coastal - inland and rural - Devon's rolling hills!

The East Devon Way is a marked trail - the pink Foxglove and arrows. However signposting is minimal and you feel you are in open country - which you are. We had a GPS, the 2 OS Explorer Maps (115 & 116) which covered the whole route plus the written guide. All were useful at times.

As it turned out the weather forecast for the weekend was grim. Storm Ciara had previously come through and dumped a lot of rain. Ominously Storm Denis was due. It was bound to come but when it would hit was less certain in specifics. We might get away with it but it was unlikely. The worst of the storm seemed to be due to arrive on Saturday.

We set out from Lyme Regis at 8 am on February 14th. (thank you Kay (Rob's wife) for dropping us off on Valentines Day!) Our plan was to walk to The Red Lion at Sidbury which we had booked for the night. It was 21.5 miles away. The next day we would do the second leg to Exmouth - all being well.

The weather was great when we set out. We each had our thoughts of course. Mine was we were taking on a lot - but we were hardly in The Himalayas or for that matter on Dartmoor (where more caution would be appropriate). I have done the IOW Randonee many times. It is a 26 mile walk in May. It is of course doable but it is definitely tiring. Today's walk was shorter by about 5 miles - but the weather could be a factor and I expected hard going on the trail with the weather we had recently had. And then there was 18.5 miles the next day - the storm day - realistically a big ask. Mike is always dogged but thoughtful. Rob just wants to go for it regardless. We are a fine mix - ha!

I just have to mention the start - we were lost. Broad Street Lyme Regis has two carparks East and West. We were in the wrong one! When we worked that one out we found the trail and were on our way.

The morning part of the walk was really great. There was no one around. It became wonderfully rural. There was no road noise. It was special. The route quickly - follow the River Lim out of Lyme Regis to Upwey - on to Musbury and across the very wet and boggy River Axe valley to Colyton. The wet made it hard going at times - but it is a great area. After Colyton which was about 9 miles we pressed on to Northleigh, Farway and into the back of Sidbury by about 5.30 pm. The latter part was more on narrow lanes - the weather was gloomier so not quite as lovely as the morning. We were tired - stuck to it well considering we had no long breaks as we were conscious of time. The Red Lion was a very welcome sight.

We all felt pleased with ourselves. It was a very enjoyable stop over. A double room each. Hot bath - beer and the Valentines menu - lol! The locals could not quite make us out - but we had a good laugh especially as the pub really filled up. A very good place to be. My brothers had the good sense to go to bed at a reasonable time but alas I was still there to hear last orders.

Hanging over us was what to do next day. Some of the locals thought we would be mad to attempt the second leg because the forecast for Storm Denis was bad and was arriving. We were all up for it despite being tired - who likes to fail when you say you are going to do something? My thoughts were the cold and wet were not going to kill us - we were never going to be that far from civilisation - ha! Tiredness was just tiredness, However at the same time there was no sense in being irresponsible. My main concern was the wind forecast and resulting tree damage,

After discussion we agree to give it a go and keep under review. However we made the decision to use country lanes to in theory avoid the worst of the wet conditions which delayed us so much. We had a fantastic English breakfast and set out early on an inclement morning with the likelihood of it getting much worse.

We moved along Indian file each in our own thoughts. There was not much traffic but enough to be a concern. The lanes were full of surface water - with some huge puddles at times. It was raining so we had hoods up. It was windy making approaching vehicles hard to hear. To cut to the chase - it wasn't much fun. We were vulnerable on the road. The heavy rain would have made the full designated trail an unrealistic option I think. We considered getting on to the coastal footpath but Mike knew it well and felt if the wind came in as forecast it would not be sensible to try walking into it.

So in the end common sense prevailed. We walked about 6 miles and bused back from Sidmouth to Exmouth. We all agreed it was probably the right decision. It was definitely the sensible one. However you cannot get away from the fact that we did not finish it and I know my bothers well enough to know this bothered them. I feel irritated now even writing it - but the weather did deteriorate significantly. Anyway we live to fight another day - ha!

The three of us definitely feel as Devon lads that the East Devon Way is a hidden gem. We will do it again and finish it properly next time. It was great to be out with my bruvs - it is always special - and the great thing is we all three recognise it as such. Our families love to see us do things together and we are grateful for their support. Our mum and dad are very sadly no longer with us but it is undoubtedly a tribute to them that their three boys are out there together. Fantastic. xxx

Rob and Mike first morning

Rob and Mike. Lovely walking between Upwey and Musbury.

Hard to avoid wet feet.

Rob didn't - but slow going.

Afternoon 1st day

early 2nd morning after a full English - weather coming in.

#ChannelMigrants what is happening?

This was a headline posted 10 hrs ago :

Channel migrants: More than 100 intercepted over 10 hours

More than a hundred migrants have crossed the Channel in six boats, bringing the figure to a record high.

The Home Office confirmed the Border Force and partner agencies had dealt with six vessels carrying 102 people.

French authorities have also detained about 30 people, the Home Office added. In one incident off France, 11 were rescued from a boat taking on water.

Security minister Brandon Lewis said: "We are tackling illegal migrant crossings on all fronts."

Ninety migrants including children were rescued from the English Channel on Thursday, previously the highest figure for a single day.

The National Crime Agency has said migrants trying to reach the UK are using "surge tactics" to increase their chances of getting past patrols.

The Border Force intercepted the first boat carrying 26 men and six women at about 01:00 GMT.

A second boat carrying 12 men and a woman was intercepted at about 02:45 and a third boat carrying 14 men and a woman at about 03:55.

Kent Police detained eight men and a woman at Sandgate Beach at about 08:00.

It of course begs the question about what happens to them seeing they have entered the country illegally. If the are genuine asylum seekers they have circumvented the Dublin Convention to seek asylum in the nearest safe haven. Many people feel the majority are economic migrants jumping the queue. 

SO WHAT DOES HAPPEN TO THEM?

I have copied a report from the BBC posted on 20th January 2020 :

Are migrants who cross the Channel sent back?

Nearly 1,900 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats last year, prompting warnings from politicians that they would be sent back. But the figures suggest the reality is quite different.

On 22 August last year, 94 people - including at least 10 children and one baby - piled into eight small boats on a beach in northern France and set sail for England's south coast.

Thirty were rescued by the French after getting into difficulty in the middle of the world's busiest shipping lane. The remainder, like hundreds before them, slipped through the Strait of Dover and arrived in the UK.

The next day, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told anyone hoping to follow them: "We will send you back."

He added: "If you come illegally, you are an illegal migrant and, I'm afraid, the law will treat you as such."

But, while at least 1,890 foreigners reached British shores in small boats last year, the Home Office says only about 125 were returned to European countries during the same period.

In fact, experts say most of those crossing the Channel appear to have "strong" claims to asylum, with the majority hailing from Iran, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

"If an Iranian can reach the UK, then they have got a very good claim for asylum," said barrister Colin Yeo, who edits the immigration law website Free Movement.

"It's fairly obvious that Iran is a repressive regime, they actively persecute their citizens."

Solicitor Sheona York, an immigration and asylum specialist at the Kent Law Clinic, said adultery, homosexuality and failing to follow Islam, known as apostasy, could lead to "cruel punishments and maybe the death penalty" in Iran.

People involved in political opposition also faced "authoritarian punishments," she said.

In the year up to September 2019, 63% of Iranian nationals - equating to 2,406 people - were granted asylum on their first try, with more winning on appeal, Home Office figures show.

Studying asylum figures for Iranian nationals would "give you a pretty good idea" of what is happening to people who arrive in small boats, Mr Yeo said.

"The main problem with the harsh rhetoric you get from politicians about these people being bogus asylum seekers, and [saying] 'send them back', is that they are actually genuine refugees," he added.

Similarly, entering the country illegally is also not automatic grounds for an asylum claim to be rejected.

Mr Yeo said only a "very small number" of failed asylum seekers were forcibly removed from the country.

he majority hailing from Iran, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Hope do you feel about this?

This is an extract from a BBC report on 22nd January 2020.

Make your own mind up what you think!

#BBCbias & Polly Toynbee

A quick blog to get something off my chest. I would have preferred to have dealt with it quickly via Twitter but 140 characters were not quite enough - ha!

Like many people I am dismayed with the BBC. I feel they are failing in their role as a public service broadcaster because they have a bias that is undermining our society and running contrary to what the majority want and believe. I am 100% behind the Government in reviewing how the BBC is funded.

My view is the BBC are acting as a de facto political party with their own manifesto that they push and promulgate as a common theme in their news and programme output. As such they no longer deserve the privileged advantages they get through the licence fee. Why should I fund a political party whose views do not represent mine?

This week Polly Toynbee (the leftie champagne socialist) who writes for The Guardian and is often used by the BBC as social and political commentator tweeted the following :


Here today govt public consultation on BBC licence fee. All you wise people set aside carping and come to defence of this national treasure under attack by Boris. Gripes? Of course, but imagine UK without it. Fox news next... Write in NOW

I replied :


The BBC is acting like a political party. They have their own manifesto - left leaning liberal elite - pc - woke - anti Brexit - contemptuous of the government. As they no longer act as a public service broadcaster they forfeit their privileges in my view.

PT's response :


I do hope the left and the right  read each other’s anti-BBC tweets, both (wrongly) claiming extreme bias. Can’t both be right??

and mine :

Actually it is reconcilable. Socialism Momentum style - hard left just does not stand up to scrutiny. The BBC politics is soft left including anti Brexit. The BBC is also serving up a diet of political correctness and wokeness that most people find patronising and controlling.

To clarify the point I am making I acknowledge the BBC face claims of bias from both left and right. Toynbee is arguing they therefore cancel each other out - the BBC must sit in the middle - between the two factions.

In my view this is far too simplistic and is disingenuous.

Obviously the BBC attracts criticism from Labour's Momentum types. They are extremists - radical left wingers . They are a red herring.

As the general election showed the majority of the electorate in this country are soft right.

This places the majority of the country at odds with the BBC. The BBC is soft left - liberal elitist - London centric serving up a diet of woke political correctness at every opportunity. They definitely had a corporate anti Brexit bias in my view. There editorial norm runs parallel with that of The Guardian. They have no right as a public service broadcaster to do that. They are misusing their privileged position. It is annoying. It is irksome and it is potentially dangerous.

The BBC needs to look hard at itself. The quiet majority are sick of their invidious bias and the normally silent majority are reacting. I am no longer a friend of the BBC. They are making a rotten (corrupt) mess of their remit.

Polly Toynbee - a classic champagne socialist - Guardian writer and BBC favourite.