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.