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.