Well, it is sort of understandable. We woke up to driving drizzle (is that possible?) -- standing outside was like flying through a cloud, only without the comforting embrace of an aeroplane. The weather forecast said it might clear up later, but no-one was inclined to put too much faith in that. And the hike was a pretty flat 28+km... through a couple of small towns (Woolacombe and Croyde Bay) and with a long trudge through dunes to finish off. Not that inspiring given the weather.
So we all piled into a taxi and 20 minutes later we were in the George Hotel in Braunton, sipping scrumpy (cider) or Guinness, checking email, playing games, while outside the weather slowly improved. Come mid-afternoon the sun did indeed show its face, so Christine went off for a walk to the dunes, Franz & Ingrid & Lidia walked around town, and I did email. In the evening we passed up award winning fish & chips in favor of the superb Thai food served in our hotel. Perhaps the best I've ever had... which is saying something, since I've had some great Thai food before.
Perhaps not the best way to spend a hiking day, but not the worst either. I still need fresh hikers though :-).
