Thursday 11 June 2026

Day 46 of walking
Sidmouth to Beer
Distance: 15.46km
Total distance: 903.48km
Climbing: 659m
Total climbing: 29,935m

Today was described as a Section of lofty cliffs cut by deep and narrow valleys, making for a magnificent coastal landscape but a testing one to walk, ie tough but rewarding. It wasn’t a long day but we knew there were four high cliffs to get over and we wondered how our weary bodies would manage. As it turned out we breezed over the climbs and arrived in Beer feeling fit and strong.

We awoke to rain this morning and a forecast for it to continue until late morning. As it was a relatively short day we did everything slowly this morning, hoping the rain might pass on. After we had called into the Tesco Express for some supplies we didn’t leave Sidmouth until just before 10am, and it was still raining. We walked out of Sidmouth along the elegant promenade, not looking so elegant in the morning rain, crossed over the footbridge where the River Sid meets the sea and straight into the steep ascent of Salcombe Hill Cliff. The path used to go up the cliff edge but after some major landslides it now goes inland through some suburban streets before emerging onto grass fields and then into woodland. With every climb there is a descent and it was a steep one down to Salcombe Mouth.

One hill done and straight into the next one, again across fields and into woodland. This one had two peaks, Higher Dunscombe and Lower Dunscombe separated by a shallow valley of woodland. The steep descent was to Weston Mouth Beach which was a shingle beach with a few wooden huts. We had to walk a little way on the beach. Second hill done and onto Weston Cliff. This was another steep climb but at the top a long stretch of flat walking across fields with crops. The grass was often long and when it has been raining this is a sure-fire way to get saturated trousers, shoes and socks. The path went inland through woodland and along a long farm road before descending to Branscombe Mouth. The village of Branscombe is slightly inland and the Mouth has a lovely thatched roof café, toilets, car park and a handful of timber chalets. Third hill done.

The last was a climb to Beer Head. When we did this 3 years ago the path went by the chalets and then along an undercliff between massive cliffs on your left and some pinnacles and the sea on your right before climbing to Beer Head. That path is now closed and we walked straight up a field to Beer Head looking down on the pinnacles and the cliffs. All the hills done, and a gentle down hill walk across fields into the picturesque fishing village of Beer. The name Beer does not come from the drink but from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘Bearu’ meaning Grove, referring to the woodland that covered the area.

The most dramatic change of the day was the red Sandstone cliffs changing to white chalk cliffs. The red and dirty oranges of the Triassic era having been entirely eroded away. The chalk cliffs and pinnacles at Beer Head are the most westerly chalk cliffs in England.

We are at the Durham House Hotel for three nights. Tomorrow is our last rest day and the next morning we walk to Lyme Regis, get a taxi transfer back to Beer for the night, the following morning a transfer from Beer forward to Lyme Regis and we walk on to Bridport. This will be the last of our transfers.

Our evening meal last night was excellent but cost us £59.90, about NZ$146. This blew the budget so tonight we are eating cheaply with some quiche, scotch egg, mandarins  and cherry Bakewell tarts purchased at the local Woozie’s Deli. There are a couple of good looking pubs in Beer so tomorrow we can go and check one out.

The rain hung around most of the morning but it eventually cleared and although it was misty at times we had some good views up and down the coast. It was very windy at Beer Head and our clothes were blow dried, but our shoes and socks were still saturated as we squelched into Beer. The hair dryer in the hotel room is working overtime.

Wednesday 10 June 2026

Day 45 of walking
Exmouth to Sidmouth
Distance: 22.98km
Total distance: 888.02km
Climbing: 536m
Total climb: 29,276m

Another excellent day of walking. More climbing than yesterday but nothing too strenuous and the path was smooth and dry all day. The walk out of Exmouth is on a promenade that is said to be the longest sea front in Devon. Inevitably at the end of the promenade the path zig zagged steeply up to the High Land of Orcombe. Here there was a monument called the Geoneedle which marked the beginning of the Jurassic Coast.

The UNESCO Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site stretches 155 kilometres from Orcombe Point outside Exmouth, East Devon to Old Harry Rocks in Studland Bay, Dorset and we will walk the entire length. As we walk from east to west the rocks are getting ever younger as we go on. The red rocks of today are from 250 million years ago (Triassic Period), from Lyme Regis the rocks are from 200 million years ago (Jurassic Period) and after White Nothe from 145 to 60 million years old (Cretaceous Period). It is due to this incredible and – unusually – very visible geology that the coastline was designated England’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was easy walking on low cliffs hugging the coastline. Then you hit the truly enormous Devon Cliffs Holiday Park. There are probably thousands of near identical chalets all in regimental rows spaced equally apart. This is a city in itself with a café, bar, recreation centre etc. This and an equally large holiday park at Ladram Bay each have their own little beach with red sandstone sea stacks. It took an age to walk around the edge of the park and past the Straight Point Rifle Range.

Budleigh Salterton was a charming and genteel small town with a pebbly beach. The oval shaped and extremely hard (quartzite) four hundred million year old pebbles have been spilling out of the cliffs for thousands of years under the action of sea and time. Budleigh Salterton is located at the mouth of the River Otter which has a large nature reserve estuary. There is no bridge over the small river at the beach so the path goes inland about a kilometre to cross at the first road bridge. It is a very nice flat walk along the side of the river and back. The River Otter is famous for hosting England’s first wild beaver re-introduction. Beavers were an extinct native animal in England but a population of unknown origin was found in the river in 2008. In 2014 it was initially planned to remove the beavers but after consultation with local land owners and farmers a 5 year trial was introduced to monitor the effects of beavers on the environment. The beavers turned out to be keystone ecosystem engineers. Their dam building, tree felling and digging create thriving, complex wetlands. These habitats boost biodiversity, filter agricultural pollutants, and mitigate both droughts and downstream flooding by regulating water flow. And yes, there are native wild Eurasian otters living in the River Otter (hence its name). They are quite rare, elusive and shy, so are hard to find. On the other hand there are tours to go out at night at the right time of the year to see beavers.There was a lot of climbing at the end of the day after Budleigh Salterton: Danger Point, Black Head, Brandy Head, High Peak, Peak Hill. All quite comfortable, the highest, High Peak, was only 157m. At Brandy Head we stopped for lunch at an observation hut used by the RAF during WW2 to test weapons and gun sights. From Peak Hill it is all downhill to our destination Sidmouth, nestled in the valley of the River Sid. This is a genteel, old fashioned sort of town, its hay day being in the Georgian and Regency eras (1714-1837) and a lot of its architecture is from that time.

We are staying at the Hunters Moon Hotel. This is a fine Georgian House built in the late 1700s and became a hotel in 1957. It is named Hunters Moon after the country house in Ivor Novello’s musical Perchance to Dream, which I am totally unfamiliar with. The hotel is surrounded by two acres of magnificent gardens, wooded lawns and mature trees. In the dining room tonight we would have been the youngest couple. All the others could well have been born in the Regency era. There was a fine collection of walking frames and sticks. The dinner was quite formal with the waiters all dressed in black. There was the option of a three course meal (£35) or two course meal (£29.95). We chose a two course meal of main and dessert. For the record, here we go: Barbara, turkey roulade, stuffed with sage and onion served on crushed herb potatoes, Me, locally sourced venison casserole with juniper berries and wholegrain mustard mash. These came with vegetables of carrots, courgettes, red cabbage, boiled potatoes and potato mash rosettes. For dessert: Barbara, sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and a drizzle of cream, Me, baked peaches in a maple and orange syrup served with meringue and clotted cream. Coffee, chocolates and biscuits were served in the lounge after retiring from the dining room. Please note this is the first time we have had dessert on this trip.

Tuesday 9 June 2026

Day 44 of walking
Shaldon to Exmouth
Distance: 15.01km
Total distance: 865.04km
Climbing: 149m
Total climb: 28,740m

Today was probably the easiest day of walking we have done so far. A short day, a flat day, only 10% of the climbing we did yesterday, an interesting day and 99% of the time an ideal temperature for walking. We did have one short shower of rain late morning. A fairly large seaside town at each end and an urban busy section of the coast. From the Potters Mooring Hotel it was just a short walk to the river. The first ferry was 10am, from the far side, so we had a bit of waiting around to do. This is a small, seasonal, cash only ferry which takes about 5 minutes to cross the Teign River. We didn’t go into Teignmouth as the Coast Path started at the ferry and followed the coast. Teignmouth has a small pier which seems to have collapsed into the sea at the far end.

From Teignmouth to Dawlish Warren, for about 10 kilometres, the path is beside the Penzance to London railway line. This is the most scenic part of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Great Western Railway first built in the 1840s. The walk is dead flat on a hard surface sea wall that separates the railway from the ocean. It is a very busy line carrying local and long distance trains and every few minutes a train seems to whoosh past. On the far side of the railway are high red cliffs with many areas where there have been large landslides. This is a high maintenance section of railway with crumbling cliffs on one side and wild storms from the ocean on the other.

About 3 kilometres out of Teignmouth the path goes under the railway at Smugglers’ Lane. This cannot be used 1 hour either side of high tide as the path is underwater. You have to be mindful of this and there is an alternative “high tide” inland route starting way back in Teignmouth. Smugglers’ Lane is the start of a couple of climbs over the only headland of the day to Dawlish. The trains go through two tunnels. The only other climbing all day is on the railway over bridges of which there are about 5. Dawlish is a small Victorian seaside town and the railway and path on the sea wall continue until you reach the River Exe. The railway and path then turn inland and run alongside the river. The railway goes to Exeter and beyond, and we walked as far as Starcross where the Starcross to Exmouth Ferry operates from. This is another cash only, seasonal ferry that only sails every hour. We had a 40 minute wait so it was a good place to have our lunch. £6 each but the ferry takes 20 minutes for the crossing. The estuary of the Exe is vey shallow with large sand bars and the ferry takes a very circuitous and meandering route through the deeper channels.

From the ferry, with some help from the locals, we made our way into the centre of Exmouth to get some supplies for lunches for the next few days. We were also killing time as our Macs notes said our hotel check-in wasn’t until 3.30pm. As it turned out when we did get to the hotel, check-in was from 2.00pm.

We wanted a rest from going to a pub for a meal. They can be quite slow as I guess they want people to keep drinking. We found a Tesco Express hoping to find a buddha bowl but they didn’t have any. Instead we found some grain bowls. Barbara had: Fajita Chicken Grain Bowl with sweet potato, charred corn, pickled onions and an avocado and jalapeno dressing. I would have had the same but there was only one left so I had to settle for: Hot Smoked Salmon Grain Bowl with edamame beans, pink pickled slaw and a coconut and lime dressing. These taste quite nice but it is a bit scary when you look at the long list of ingredients on the back of the packet. For dessert we had a Belgian Bun each. The ingredient list for these was just as worrying.

The Dolphin Hotel is only 100 metres from the centre of town, and oh joy, we are just off the foyer on the ground floor. It is very comfortable but unfortunately breakfast doesn’t start until 8.30am. We have a longer day tomorrow but no early start for us.

Monday 8 June 2026

Day 43 of walking
Torquay to Shaldon
Distance: 20.67km
Total distance: 850.03km
Climbing: 1028m
Total climb: 28,591m

The first mission of the day was to get through and out of Torquay. It was early morning and the town was empty, just the rubbish trucks and the men water blasting clean the pavements. Torquay gets incredibly busy but we were way ahead of the crowds. You can’t be in Torquay without being aware of the legacy of its most famous daughter. Torquay does its best to capitalise on the world-wide fame of Agatha Christie. She was born here, honey-mooned here, worked as a nurse in WWI here and bought a holiday home nearby on the River Dart. There is an annual Agatha Christie Festival, the Agatha Christie Literary Trail which links 20 of her novels with local locations that have influenced or inspired them, The Agatha Christie Mile which starts at The Grand Hotel where she honey-mooned and continues along the sea front to The Imperial Hotel which features in a number of her novels. And of course there is a life size statue in the middle of town.

Leaving Torquay took a little concentration, walking through town, around hotels, through car parks and lanes threading their way through suburbia. Finally you get away from humanity through a stone archway at the Torbay National Coastwatch Visitor Centre. For almost the entire rest of the day the path was through wonderful woodland. After passing Meadfoot Beach and rounding Thatcher Point and Hope’s Nose we came down to the coast at the lovely twin beaches of Babbacombe and Oddicombe. We stopped and had our coffee at Babbacombe watching divers and snorkelers in the water. Separating the two beaches is the 100 year old Babbacombe Cliff Railway, a cable car that runs from the beach up to the town of St Mary Church above the cliff. At the far end of Oddicombe Beach is a 5,000 ton landslide that wiped out a section of the Coast Path in 2010. There is a diversion under the railway and up into the town, through a couple of streets and down again further up the coast.

After a lot of rain during the night it was a bright sunny, windless day. The dirt path was a bit sticky after the rain but generally easy to walk on. For 10 kilometres we walked in woodland, climbing up and down low headlands. Being in the woodland we rarely saw the coast even though it was close next to us. The last 5 kilometres were where the hard work really began. Four lung bursting, calf popping climbs and dips along the edge of fields. Each longer and steeper than the one before. At last when you think you can take no more you crest a hill and suddenly the town of Teignmouth is right in front of you. Further up the coast you can see Exmouth, our destination tomorrow.

A gentle walk down to sea level through more woodland brings you not to Teignmouth (pronounced ‘tinmouth’) but to the quiet Victorian village of Shaldon. Teignmouth is on the far side of the River Teign and we will get a little ferry over there in the morning. Tonight we are staying in The Potters Mooring, facing onto a picturesque village green. On this warm sunny evening there was a large turnout of the Shaldon Bowling Club rolling down a few ends.

The Potters Mooring only serves breakfast but right next door is The London Inn which serves meals 12.00 – 2.30 and 5.30 – 8.00. So next door we went. Barbara had Five bean and vegetable chilli with Mexican red rice and garlic flat bread. I had pan fried John Dory fillets with new potatoes, a mixture of green vegetables (broccoli, peas, courgettes), and a garlic and white wine sauce. Interestingly there was a large sign saying “Please pay in cash when you can. As a small business we are charged for every card transaction. The equivalent of one staff member’s wages a week goes on card charges. Thank you”. We paid in cash. Only the second time in about 8 weeks we have used cash.

Overall a very good day. Grey at first but soon warm and sunny but not hot. Leaving Agatha Christie and a large town, walking in wonderful woodland, two nice beaches, a cliff railway and finishing in a Victorian village watching lawn bowls. Maybe a bit too much climbing – over 1000m today.

Sunday 7 June 2026

Day 42 of walking
Brixham to Torquay
Distance: 15.06km
Total distance: 829.36km
Climbing: 210m
Total climb: 27,563m

Today we hit the “English Riviera”. This is a Victorian nickname given to the Torbay area of South Devon stretching from Brixham to Torquay. The title comes from the area’s plentiful beaches, palm trees, mild climate and historical comparisons to the Mediterranean Coast of France.

The breakfast window was 8.30am until 9.15am so it was not possible to get an early start today. It didn’t really matter as it was a relatively short day. It is Sunday so the buses are only every twenty minutes from Torquay to Brixham. After a 30 minute bus trip and some shopping for lunch at Tesco Express, it was 10.15am before we started walking. Leaving Brixham through the commercial part of the port and a large car park we were soon into the best walking of the day for 3 kilometres in the woods, alongside a golf course we could hear but not see through the trees. We passed the Brixham Military Museum which had some military vehicles and guns and museum staff dressed up in various British and American army and navy uniforms. Two small beaches at Churston Cove and Elberry Cove, both pebbly so not great for swimming. They were very quiet just a couple of families and some dogs exercising their owners. We sat on the pebbles at Elberry for our coffee.

Around the next point everything changed. Broadsands is a long sandy beach with a very long row of beach huts. The beach huts are generally white with brightly coloured doors and roof fascias. They can be hired for the day or a week. The beaches from here become more and more commercialised with cafes, deck chair and umbrella hire, bars, car parks and shops selling buckets and spades, balls, etc. At the Broadsands public toilets, for the first time, we used our debit card to ‘pay wave’ into, and make use of, the conveniences. After going over a little headland and passing under a huge viaduct that carries the Dartmouth Heritage Steam Railway we came to Goodrington Sands, a bigger version of Broadsands. Goodrington has hundreds more beach huts, cafes, bars etc and the UK’s biggest outdoor waterpark, Splashdown Quaywest. It was busy and I have never heard so much screaming and squealing from kids having a whole lot of fun. The Dartmouth Heritage Steam Railway runs on an embankment directly behind the beach huts and if you stand on the beach it looks as if the train is running across the hut roofs. We have now been here twice and miss-timed the train by about two minutes each time. The photo of the train in this post is only mine in the sense that I took a photo of a poster at the railway station. Behind the beach is a park with a ‘Circus’ bouncy castle and some large swans if you want a sedate paddle on a pond. We sat on the edge of the promenade at Goodrington and ate our lunch.

Next is Paignton, a bigger version of Goodrington. Paignton is a large town, a bit run down looking, and is the terminus of the Dartmouth Heritage Steam Railway. It has a nice boat harbour and a large pier. The pier was built in 1879 and was popular with holidaying Victorians until it was nearly destroyed by fire in 1919. It was brought back to life in the 1980s and now has the usual collection of arcade games, children’s fairground rides, ice cream parlours and cafés.

After Paignton and the small Preston Sands comes the largest of the Riviera towns, Torquay. We haven’t seen Torquay this trip yet as our B & B is on the western entrance to the town. We will walk through Torquay tomorrow.

Except for the first 3 kilometres almost all of the walking today was on hard surfaces: concrete promenades, paved paths, sealed foot paths alongside busy roads. While the walking is faster it is noticeably more tiring on the legs and feet than dirt or grass paths. The only worse surfaces to walk on are sand and pebble beaches. This was a relatively easy day with no serious climbing, only about 200 metres total for the day. The serious business of going to the seaside in England was on full display but we prefer the wild remote cliffs and the secluded little coves and beaches.

I know I have used this song in posts in previous years, and I know it is winter back home, and I can’t get it out of my head, so you can all join in and sing:

Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside!
I do like to be beside the sea!
Oh I do like stroll along the Prom, Prom, Prom!
Where the brass bands play, “Tiddely-om-pom-pom!”

So just let me be beside the seaside!
I’ll be beside myself with glee
And there’s lots of girls beside,
Beside the seaside, beside the sea!

Saturday 6 June 2026

Day 41 of walking
Dartmouth to Brixham
Distance: 17.83km
Total distance: 814.30km
Climbing: 921m
Total climb: 27.353m

Wet, windy, wild and wonderful. Maybe less of the ‘wonderful’ and more of the ‘wonder why we are doing this’? The forecast was for rain in the morning and high winds. Sure enough we could hear the rain on the rooflights in the night and in the morning it looked bleak with steady rain and a wind coming in off the sea. It was not cold though with a low of 12° and high of 15°. There is not a lot of motivation to get moving on a day like this but we know the sooner you start the sooner you finish.

The passenger ferry from Dartmouth over the River Dart to Kingswear is only about a 3 minute walk from the hotel and when we arrived there was a ferry at the pier and we were waved on. The ferry immediately took off and we were the only passengers. £2.50 each for a 5 minute crossing. Alongside the passenger ferry is a car ferry, known as the ‘Lower Ferry’ as there is another car ferry further up the river known as the ‘Upper Ferry’. The lower ferry is an unpowered pontoon carrying up to 8 cars that is pushed, pulled and steered by little tug boats.

We set off climbing out of Kingswear and there is 3 kilometres of walking in woodland. On a sunny day this would be a beautiful walk up the side of the River Dart with views down to little coves and of St Petrox Church and the Dartmouth and Kingswear Castles. Today we saw virtually nothing in the rain, and the strong wind gusting over 50km/hr was making an incredible sound in the trees. The path was a bit muddy, with puddles from the overnight rain and lots of twigs and leaves coming down off the trees but otherwise okay. We had in the back of our minds that if the wind got any stronger out of the woodland and on the exposed cliffs we may have to turn back. The wind was funnelling down the river between the headlands so we pressed on to the first of them, Forward Point, to see what it was like there.

Forward Point itself was extremely windy but once round the corner the path was sheltered and the much weaker wind was at our back. The next 10 kilometres would have been superb cliff scenery but the rain blotted most of it out and we had to just concentrate on the path. As the cliffs became higher and more open there was a lot of climbing, over 900 metres in total and I’m guessing it was a dramatic, steeply undulating landscape ending at the sea in steep cliff faces. Despite having a major town at each end, it was also a remote and lonely section. We saw only one person coming toward us and one going in our direction, and only one isolated house at a beach. There was also one lonely surfer at a beach. There are no villages, cafes or toilets on this section.

As you near Berry Head, only 2 kilometres from Brixham, suddenly there are two huge holiday camps and you are into suburbia. Berry Head was the last headland of the day and has a squat lighthouse, a Napoleonic fortified area, toilets, visitor centre, café and large car park. We spent some time there in 2019 so just stuck to the path as it passed the fortifications and didn’t walk out to the lighthouse on the point. At 58 metres above sea level it is located at the highest altitude of any British lighthouse, but being just 5 metres tall it is also the smallest lighthouse in Britain.

It was an easy short walk into Brixham. We have stayed here twice before and really like it as a long established Devon fishing area. Today it is still a major fishing port bringing in over 25 million pounds worth of fish each year. We didn’t stop long today as we were wet through and starting to get cold.

Even though our walk today ended in Brixham our accommodation was a further 15 kilometres on at Torquay. Tomorrow we walk from Brixham to Torquay. This means we have to transfer from Brixham to Torquay today and back again to Brixham in the morning. We think this is because it is difficult to get a one night booking on weekends. They could not get one night in Brixham followed by one night in Torquay, instead we have two nights in Torquay with transfers. As an additional extra Macs said they could arrange the two transfers with a taxi company for NZ$200. We baulked at this and as we have used public transport here before decided to arrange our own transfers by bus. The Stagecoach Route 12 bus from Brixham to Torquay runs every 10 minutes and takes about 35 minutes. It costs £3 each for each journey, so instead of paying NZ$200 we paid about NZ$30 (£12). Obviously not as convenient as a ‘to the door’ taxi, but good enough for us.

For two nights we are at the Devon Court Luxury B & B. It is a bit luxurious, we have a lounge as well as a bedroom and there is a swimming pool heated to 27°. We haven’t swum today but will definitely try it out tomorrow. It is a little out of the way for getting an evening meal so they offer a range of snacks up until 5.30pm. We each had a club sandwich of chicken, ham, tomato and salad that also came with corn chips and coleslaw. More than enough for us until breakfast.

Today was a milestone day in that we have now walked over 800 kilometres. It should have been a great day starting with the Dart River, some beautiful woodland, a few strenuous climbs and descents, two remote beaches, some gentle walking toward Berry Head, another fort and lighthouse  and finishing in one of our favourite Devon towns, Brixham. The weather put a dampener on it but we still felt proud of ourselves for plugging on and mostly enjoying the walk despite the wind and rain.

Friday 4 June 2026

Day 40 of walking
Torcross to Dartmouth
Distance: 17.13 km
Total distance: 796.47 km
Climbing: 455 m
Total climb: 26,441 m

The Thirty Nine Sixty Two Steps

A very interesting day. A memorial to a tragedy, a nature reserve, two small villages, a sandy beach, two churches, a castle, a river estuary, gentle flat walking, meadow walking, a harbour town, an old hotel with 62 steps, an attic bedroom, a nice meal.

Our taxi transfer was ready at 8.45am and we were at Torcross ready to walk at 8.58am. We were dropped off back at The Start Bay Inn and immediately came to a Sherman DD tank from WWII. This is a memorial to 946 American servicemen killed on the nearby Slapton Sands and in the sea off shore. In April 1944 the Sands were used as a practice ground for the proposed D Day landings in Normandy. 30,000 troops were involved in the exercise. On the way to the exercise, 8 landing craft were attacked by German E boats and 638 servicemen in three boats lost their lives. Worse was to follow when the remaining boats landed and a further 308 men lost their lives by “friendly fire”. General Dwight Eisenhower had ordered live ammunition to be used to “harden up the troops”. The incident was kept secret until the 1970s. The Sherman tank was fished from the sea in 1984 and kept as a memorial.

Slapton Sands is a 3 kilometre long beach with a narrow shingle bank separating the sea from a fresh water lake, the largest in the south west, called Slapton Ley. This is a large and important National Nature Reserve. There is a road on top of the shingle bank but it is now closed as it has been washed away at the Torcross end. It makes for easy walking on a trafficless stretch of tarmac instead of on the beach or a dirt path through the reserve. Half way along is a tall concrete monument erected by the Americans to thank the 3,000 villagers who had to move out when the American GIs moved in.

From the beach there was a steepish climb to the village of Srete, some walking over fields past the church of St Peter and a descent to the lovely beach of Blackpool Sands. We had our Kleen Kanteen coffee here although there was a nice café and shop at the beach. We then stopped at a bus shelter we used in 2019. From the end of Slapton Sands we had walked in pouring rain and the bus stop was the only place we could find out of the rain. Two wet, cold, drowned rats had their coffee in the concrete bus shelter. Not today though. A climb up to the second village of Stoke Fleming, a long spell on a narrow road, some more field crossing, a rougher path in woodland around Compass Cove and Blackstone Point and we arrived at Dartmouth Castle at the entrance to Dartmouth Harbour. Here we had our lunch.

Dartmouth Castle, and the Kingswear Castle on the other side of the harbour entrance, were built in 1388 to protect Dartmouth from attack from the sea. You can pay to visit the castle and adjacent are the Dartmouth Castle Tearooms and St Petrox Church. Last time two miserable souls drank hot chocolate in the tea rooms while the rain persisted down outside. It is a short walk into Dartmouth, a town with some lovely medieval streets and a rich history based on its deep water harbour. It was developed by the Normans over 1,000 years ago and in 1147 was the muster point for 164 ships going to the 2^nd Crusade. It repeated this role in 1190 for the 3^rd Crusade under King John.

In 2019 we had an extra day in Dartmouth and did a “Round Robin Tour”. A boat ride up the Dart River to Totnes, a bus ride across to the coast at Paignton, a heritage steam train to Kingswear and a ferry ride back to Dartmouth. A great day out. No time for that this trip. Tomorrow we get the ferry from Dartmouth across to Kingswear and continue walking.

Tonight we are in the Royal Castle Hotel, a 17^th century hotel, right in the heart of Dartmouth adjacent to the boat harbour. It has a ton of historical charm and cosy décor. We are however up on the fourth floor in an attic room. 62 steps up from the street. We love attic rooms but this may be a bit too much. The room has two rooflights with a view of chimney pots and the tower of St Saviours Church and its clock tower. The bells in the tower ring on the hour.

The hotel has bars at ground floor and a restaurant and bar on the first floor. We ate in the latter bar and for all of you dying to know, Barbara had Madras Style Curry: Pan seared chicken breast, aromatic curry sauce, tomatoes, braised saffron basmati & wild rice, warm naan and minted coconut yoghurt. I had chicken, ham hock and Proper Job IPA (beer) pie with gratin potato, peas, beans and red wine gravy. I am not a big fan of peas and think I have had my full ration of peas for about a year.

It was a very good day today, sunny, about 15°, a nice temperature for walking, lots of interest, an easy path and we were fresh and invigorated after our lazy day yesterday in Chillington.

The Thirty Nine Steps is a novel written by John Buchan first published in 1915, and is one of the first examples of the “man-on-the-run” thriller. It has been made into several films, tv series, and a play. The best film is Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 black and white adaptation.

Thursday 4 June 2026

Rest day number 6 Chillington

Chillington House has 9 rooms and there were 11 people at breakfast this morning. The breakfast was excellent. A great selection of fresh fruit: kiwis, plums, blue berries, white and pink grapefruit, melon, pineapple, apple, mixed berries, to go with a choice of muesli and plain Greek yoghurt. They had 2 or 3 egg omelettes on the menu so as a change from poached eggs Barbara had a ham and cheese omelette and I had a ham and tomato one. They have freshly baked bread and home-made jams and compote. I just about finished the whole jar of plum, rhubarb and ginger jam myself. Chillington House dates back to 1723 and was one of the main Georgian Farm Houses in the village. However it has had so many additions, alterations and refurbishments over three centuries you would not recognise it as being that old.

Chillington is what I imagine is the quintessential quiet little Devon country village. A population of about 1,000, it has a relaxed rustic charm and seems to have a strong community spirit with market days, fairs, fetes and festivals all advertised. There is an amazingly well stocked little village shop which also houses a real, live Post Office. You don’t see many of those these days. It is not a tourist destination in itself but is close to the coast at Torcross and bigger attractions at Salcombe, Dartmouth, Dartmoor and Kingsbridge. It is a ‘ribbon’ developed village along a narrow but busy road which is also a bus route. It is about a 300 metre walk from one end of the village to the other.After breakfast we did walk from one end of the village to the other and bought some supplies for the next two days from the village shop.

At lunch time we walked to the village pub, The Bear and Blacksmith. It was raining, windy and cold when we arrived so it was lovely to walk into a warm, cosy world away from the elements. This is a little pub with a limited menu but serving food all day from 12 midday until 10pm. For the record Barbara had Slow Roasted Pork Belly with smoked mash, mixed greens and jus. I had The Chillington Burger, beef, bacon, jam, smoked Applewood cheese, seeded brioche bun, gherkin, burger sauce and fries. While it is not bad etiquette to order food in a pub without buying a drink, it does seem a bit awkward sometimes when asked “Can I get you a drink?” to say “No thank you, can I just have some water with my meal”. We have only had alcohol once on this walking trip so far (and then because it was complementary with the room) and feel so much better for it.

Chillington was the ideal sort of place for us to have a rest day. After cleaning shoes, a little washing and mending, there is not a lot to do. Just relax and recharge for the next seven days of walking to Beer, our next rest day.

Progress Report No. 3

We have now reached Torcross in South Devon and have walked 779 kilometres and climbed 25, 986 metres. The is the equivalent of walking from our apartment in Wellington to just short of Whangarei in Northland and climbing Mt Everest not quite 3 times. From now on the South West Coast Path goes through much more urbanised towns/cities like Dartmouth, Brixham, Paington, Torquay, Exmouth, Weymouth, etc. We will not have many areas where you can walk for hors and not see a sole, or their dog.

Wednesday 3 June 2026

Day 39 of walking
Salcombe to Torcross
Distance: 21.84km
Total distance: 779.34km
Climbing: 686m
Total climb: 25,986m

Awoke this morning to light rain and strong winds. By the time breakfast was done and our bags packed we were in a bit of a hurry to get down to the 9 o’clock ferry that would take us across the Kingsbridge Estuary to East Portlemouth. We arrived at the quay at 9.02 and the ferry had just left and was about 30 metres off shore. The ferryman saw us and came back in to pick us up. Very considerate. Already on board were a man with his dog and two walkers we have talked with over the last few days. The £3 crossing was only 200 metres but the strong winds made for a choppy ride with waves slopping over the boat and wet butts. It was only when we had landed at East Portlemouth that we thought hang on a minute, we were supposed to go to a bakery first to pick up something for lunch. We were so distracted by ferry timings and whether it would operate in the rough conditions that we had forgotten about food. So lean pickings for lunch, some Ryvita biscuits, a couple of mandarins, one a bit mangy, nuts dates and raisins, one emergency One Square Meal bar from home, a canteen of coffee. We knew there was nowhere to buy food along the way until The Cricket Inn at Beesands about 2 km from the end of the day.

The walk out of the Kingsbridge Estuary while in the rain, was in woodland and sheltered from the wind. But once out of its shelter we were exposed to the full brunt of the wind. It was slow walking on exposed cliff faces in the rain. The roaring of the wind and the pounding of the waves on the rocks meant we had to shout to each other to sometimes be heard. It was quite a challenge but I enjoyed it, the worse it got the more I thought yeah we can do this. Prawle Point was the first of two major headlands. The last 100 metres to the Coast Watch Station were the strongest winds we have experienced so far. There was a cove far below and a steep narrow valley and the wind funnelling and accelerating up knocked us over as we tried to cross over the top.

Prawle Point also had a little Visitors’ Centre building and we took shelter in there. Already inside were a couple walking in the opposite direction to us. We watched as they poured boiling water into their pot noodles while we shared half an emergency One Square Meal. They were walking most of the Coast Path but in a complicated way. They had a campervan and a small car and there was elaborate planning as to where they could park a vehicle, drive the other vehicle somewhere. and walk back using the camper as their accommodation. This sounds okay but often the roads are nowhere near the coast or have long diversions to get around rivers and estuaries. They would like to park their little car and leave it overnight while they stay 20kms away in the van, but most of the car parks are for paid day use only and parking a car in them overnight is forbidden and risks fines or impounding.

When we emerged from the Visitors’ Centre the rain had stopped, the sun came out, and turning the corner of the headland we were sheltered from the wind. We then had 5 kilometres of easy walking on a grass ‘raised beach’ shelf just above the waves. This took us to the second headland, Start Point. The path here was quite dramatic going along and up a rocky ridge in the wind again before joining a road which serviced the Start Point Lighthouse. There is a sign on the road indicating you have walked 462 miles from Minehead and have 168 miles to Poole. There was an easy descent to the beach settlements of Hallsands and Beesands. These are typical Devon settlements, 50 houses, 100 people, a church, a pub and a small seasonal café.

A last hill to get over and we reached our destination, Torcross. In 2019 we stayed in the attic room of a thatched roof café right on the beach and had hoped to spend two nights there this time. It wasn’t to be and we soon saw why. All the buildings are in a row along the beach front and almost every one had boarded up windows or was covered in scaffold. The entire village looked deserted. There had been a series of wild winter storms in January and almost every building had been seriously damaged by wind and waves. The road beyond the village was closed and a massive concrete sea wall was going to have to be rebuilt.

We arrived in Torcross about 3.30pm and had a taxi pick up booked for 5pm to take us inland to the Chillington House B & B. With some difficulty Barbara rang the taxi company to see if we could get an early pick up. It was the usual dial 1 if you are a new customer, dial 2 for booking a taxi in advance, dial 3 for weddings, dial 4 etc. Their voice mail was full and the only one of the options that worked was dial 3 for weddings. Eventually a human being answered and the best they could do was to pick us up at 4.30. This was okay as we were a bit hungry and retired to The Start Bay Inn for an early dinner. The inn is very old, of stone and thatched roof, and as someone said it is so old it was built properly to withstand storms.

For the record Barbara had carrot and fennel soup with a chunk of farm bread. I had a vegetable Thai red curry with rice and salad garnish.

We are in Chillington for two nights. Tomorrow is a rest day. It is a small village with a pub, post office/general store, a hairdresser, a charity shop with a defibrillator, a health centre and Divine Spinal Flow & Massage Therapies. I think it will be a quiet day.