Brixham to London

This was just a transition day to get us from South Devon to London.

It was a pity but we didn’t have time to explore Brixham. Just a quick look at a 1963 full size replica of the Golden Hind, Sir Francis Drake’s Tudor Galleon which he sailed around the world from 1577 to 1580. This is one of the iconic ships of the age of exploration. This particular replica was made for a television series.

From Brixham we got a Stagecoach Southwest No.12 bus to Torquay Railway Station, about a forty minute trip with about forty stops, for £4.50 each. Once again it would have been nice to explore Torquay but the trains weren’t going to wait for us. I stayed in Torquay in 1989 for four days when the Wellington City Council sent me to a zoo designers’ conference based at Paignton Zoo. I also visited zoos in San Diego, Los Angeles, Bristol, Chester, London and Singapore.

But there was a train to catch. A branch line trip to Abbott Newton where we transferred to “The Cornishman” which had originated in Penzance or Plymouth or somewhere. When we boarded the train was already quite full and there were only three more stops between Torquay and Paddington, a journey of three hours. We had prepaid tickets and once again the machine recognised my credit card (you have to present the same credit card you used online to purchase the tickets) and spat us out our cardboard ticket. You can’t get a ticket from a human in the ticket office as they can only print paper tickets and a cardboard one is required to go through the automatic turnstiles. The combined train fare was £37.50 each.

We used the time on the train to write the blog post “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics”. As well as sleeping and eating our pre-purchased lunch.

We are back at the Shakespeare Hotel, for the fourth time in two years, and planning what to do for the next few days. We have three full days in London, Fri, Sat and Sun before flying out to Perth on Monday.

Number of walking days: 13
Number of rest days: 1 – Dartmouth
Number of kilometres walked: over 300 (not including rest days)
Number of steps taken: 500,000+
Number of SWCP signs we saw: 1236
Number of SWCP signs we missed: unknown but far too many
Number of bridges crossed: 151
Number of ferries: 5
Number of gates opened and closed: 187
Number of stiles climbed: 27
Number of steps climbed: 2,600
Number of swims: 0
Number of metres climbed: 7,990 (nearly Mt Everest from sea level)
Highest cliff climbed: Great Hangman 318m
Most metres climbed in a day: 1,518m
Least metres climbed in a day: 17m
Number of times chased by cows: 0 (they are better behaved in Devon)
Cutest animals we saw: grey squirrels
Best breakfast: Sea Breeze Plymouth, thank you Anne
Best dinner: Wheelhouse Restaurant, Minehead, Pork and apple pie
Smallest breakfast: Salcombe
Number of poached eggs eaten: 24 each
Most expensive packed lunch: Noss Mayo, £6.50
Prettiest town: Porlock
Ugliest town: Paignton
Longest day: 27 km Woolacombe to Braunton
Shortest day: Minehead to Lynmouth14 km
Place I’d like most to go back to: Brixham
Place I will never go back to: Paignton
Number of beds slept in: 16
Narrowest bed slept in: Salcombe
Most comfortable bed: the one at the end of a tiring day
Least comfortable bed: the ones on rest days
Number of times we really got lost: 1
Number of times we couldn’t find our B & B: 8 (tired brain fade at the end of the day)
Number of times our bags left before us: 2
Number of places with no wi-fi: 0
Number of days until we got sick of Full English Breakfast: 3
Number of Cornish Pasties eaten: 0, went off them last year, too salty for us
Number of Cream Teas: 2, complementary at B & B when we arrived
Number of glasses of wine/beer/cider: 4 each (a very dry walk!)
Number of desserts eaten: 0 (gained too much weight last year)
Number of times a dog wanted our lunch: 4
Number of things we lost: sun glasses, sun screen
Number of things we left behind in hotel rooms: 0 – not bad for us
The most luxurious accom: Instow Barton B & B and Dartmouth Boutique B & B
The squeakiest floors: Worswell Barton Farmhouse Noss Mayo
Number of kisses Paul got at a kissing gate: 0 (cows, sheep and dogs don’t count)
Number of kisses Barbara got at a kissing gate: lost count
Number of boat harbours we passed through:
Number of nettle stings: only 1, we learnt from last year
Number of Iron Age Hill Forts we crossed: 1
Number of Iron Age Hill Forts we actually recognised: 0
Number of photographs taken by Paul: 2054
Number of photographs taken by Barbara: 54
Articles of clothing not worn: 40%
Number of rivers waded through: 1 – The Erme
Number of times we got absolutely saturated: 1 – Torcross to Dartmouth
Best new technology: South West Coast Path phone app (saved us dozens of times)
Most obsolete must have: paper maps (didn’t look at ours once)
Most favourite drink during the day: fruit smoothie (Pau)
Most favourite drink during the day: Kleen Kanteen coffee (Barbara)
Number of times we ran out of water: 1

Dartmouth to Brixham, 20kms, 912m ascending, 3762 ascending accumulative

The Dartmouth Boutique B & B was the first accommodation not to offer a cooked breakfast. Instead they had a very good continental breakfast; a wide choice of juices, muesli, yoghurt and fresh fruit. A great selection of ham, salami, cheeses, boiled egg, toast and jam, tea and coffee. If you were still hungry – croissants and muffins. This was a refreshing change from the usual English cooked breakfast.

We tried a different route from the B & B high up on the hill down to Dartmouth, winding our way down narrow streets. Managed not to get lost. Then we had a quick ferry ride over the Dart to Kingswear to continue the Coast Path. Pleasant woodland walking with some very playful grey squirrels, views across to Dartmouth Castle and then a small climb to Inner Froward Point where there was a Coastguard Lookout and visitor centre. Also at the point were the remains of an extensive WWII defence position, Brownstone Battery.

Then some tacking along the hillside mainly through gorse and open pasture but some patches of woodland and apple trees. The middle of the day had two big descents and climbs the first at  Scabbacombe Sands to Crabrock Point and the second at Man Sands up to Southdown Cliff. We take these in our stride now. We are like two old farm tractors, not fast or flashy, but put us in low gear and we will chug up the climbs without missing a beat. Some easier walking then to our last Headland for this year – Berry Head. Here there are two Napoleonic-era forts, visitor centre, café and lighthouse. The lighthouse located at 58 metres above sea level is at the highest altitude of any British lighthouse. Probably as a result of its lofty location, it is also the smallest lighthouse in Britain, at just 5 metres high.

Some further gentle climbs and descents to water level, past the salt water swimming lido, a huge marina, the commercial fishing port, and into Brixham. For once our accommodation is right on the Coast Path overlooking the old inner harbour and has a pub with food just downstairs. It is a hotel that was formerly six fishermen’s cottages dating back to the 18^th century and has a unique character and ‘old world charm’ which makes it very cosy.

So we are finished the walking for this adventure and as usual are feeling a bit flat tonight. With the 500km of the Coast Path we did last year and about 300km this year we have now done 800km of the total length of 1000km. It is tempting to think about coming back and doing the final 200km but we are not sure that will ever happen. Too many other things to do!

Tomorrow it is bus/train/train and back to London. Not sure we are looking forward to London after the remote peace and tranquillity of South Devon.

Dartmouth → Totnes → Paignton → Kingswear → Dartmouth

We were woken during the night with flashes of lightning, claps of thunder and pouring rain. At breakfast it was just a bit misty and by the time we were ready to go out it was clearing nicely. The forecast was for a pretty good day and so it turned out.

Before we left home we had booked a ‘Round Robin Circular Tour’ with the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company. This was an excursion that for us started in Dartmouth with a one and a half hour boat trip up the Dart River on a vintage paddle steamer to Totnes, a thirty minute bus trip across land to Paignton, a thirty minute steam train ride first along the coast and then along the Dart River to Kingswear, a five minute ferry crossing of the river back to Dartmouth. Depending on where you are staying you can start at Dartmouth, Totnes, Paignton or Kingswear and do it in either direction.

Unfortunately for us we were emailed two days ago to advise that due to predicted high winds the paddle steamer would be replaced by a regular (boring!!) boat. They offered us a full refund if we wanted to cancel. Apparently in strong winds they have trouble turning the paddle steamer at Totnes. We decided to do the trip anyway.

A few times a year they use vintage buses for the section from Totnes to Paignton but for us today it was just the regular Stagecoach Southwest Route 100 double decker bus. So today we walked a total of about 5 kilometres and spent the rest of the day sitting on our butts.

The cruise up the river was interesting as there was a commentary by the ‘captain’ that filled us in on all the considerable history of the river and its ‘personalities’ – everyone from Sir Walter Raleigh to Agatha Christie. At Totnes there was plenty of time to eat and stroll around a historic village even older than Dartmouth. The bus ride to Paignton was pretty mundane except that we were in the front seat upstairs and couldn’t believe how this huge bus got through tiny narrow streets and squeezed its way around roundabouts choked with traffic.

Paignton was sort of interesting in that it is everything you expect the worst seaside tourist town to be. Just absolutely crass and a total contrast to charming towns like Dartmouth and Totnes. We were not in a group as such and the only fixed times were leaving Dartmouth on the boat at 11.45am and being on the 4.15 train at Paignton. You could spend as much or as little time as you liked at Totnes and Paignton.

The steam train was probably the best part using a British Railways standard class 4-6-0 locomotive, built at Swindon in 1951, called Braveheart. This class was designed for mixed traffic duties on secondary routes and was withdrawn from service in 1966. It was glistening and gleaming in black and all hissing and snorting and tooting. Just fantastic.

To finish the day we went to a chip shop in Dartmouth and had a traditional meal of fish and chips but couldn’t stand the mushy peas so had a green salad instead.

The lovely people at the B & B when servicing our room had taken our saturated walking shoes from yesterday and put them in a drying room for the day, so they are all nice and dry for tomorrow – our last day of walking.

Torcross to Dartmouth, 17km, 455m ascending, 2,850m cumulative ascending

The walk into Dartmouth should have been relaxing and one of the prettiest of the whole Coast Path but it turned into a dour feat of endurance. When we awoke it was a fine morning and it was very pleasant looking out over the sea from the window seat in our room. Breakfast didn’t start until 9.00am which is later than we like. We were just getting our muesli when the bag transfer man turned up wanting our bags. There was a mad rush to get all our things together so we didn’t hold him up. Usually he emails or rings the B & B the night before to say when he will arrive and mostly it is long after we have departed.

By the time we left, a bit before 10, it was very grey and it wasn’t long before the raincoats were on, and today they stayed on. Light rain at first but as we neared the mouth of the Dart River it was heavy, steady rain and a strong wind. By the time we got to Dartmouth Castle we were two drowned rats so decided to stop at the tearoom and get something like hot soup to warm and cheer us up. Unfortunately there was only one young lady working today and she was only making drinks and serving cake so we had to make do with a hot drink and some flapjacks. What should have been a lovely walk along the wooded Dart Estuary into the picturesque town of Dartmouth became a grin trudge as we got colder and colder. After a quick stop at a grocery store we went straight to our B & B for a hot shower and some dry clothes.

The first section was dead flat out of Torcross along a low shingle ridge known locally as the Slapton Line which separates the freshwater nature reserve lake of Slapton Ley from the pebbly beach and the sea. This is the area the Americans used for their D-Day rehearsals. Halfway along the Line there is a large stone monument erected by the United States Government honouring the 3000 residents who were evacuated for twelve months from the surrounding villages. At the end of the Line the path climbed gently inland through a couple of small villages crossing paddocks and using very quiet country lanes.

From here there was some easy cliff walking around the headland and into the Dart Estuary along a mostly wooded path, past the castle and St Petrox Church, onto urban roads and into the lovely town of Dartmouth. As has become the norm on this holiday our accommodation is at the far end of town and 20 minutes up a steep hill. At the Dartmouth Boutique B & B however we were very warmly welcomed and our wet coats taken away to be dried and our saturated shoes delivered to our room in plastic bags. It is also very, very comfortable.

Dartmouth has a mediaeval feel to it with narrow streets and fine old buildings. Its prosperity is based on the deep-water harbour developed by the Normans nearly a thousand years ago. In 1147 it was the mustering point for 164 ships leaving for the Second Crusade – a role it repeated in 1190 during the Third Crusade under King John. It is home to the only naval college in Britain – Britannia Royal Naval College and is famous for its royal links. Kings George V and George VI, the current Prince of Wales and Duke of York all trained here, as did their father the Duke of Edinburgh.

The twin castles of Dartmouth and across the River Dart at Kingswear were built at the end of the fourteenth century to protect the harbour from attack. Dartmouth Castle is a bit unusual as besides the gun towers etc it has a church, St Petrox. The castle was in use until WWII. Outside the castle is Dartmouth Castle Tearooms, built with battlements like a castle and known as the Castle Light. Built in the nineteenth century it acted as a form of lighthouse, providing light to ships sailing up the Dart.

We have two nights here and tomorrow we are going on an excursion up the river. Let’s hope the weather improves.

Salcombe to Torcross, 20km, 686m ascending, 2,395 cumulative ascending

It rained during the night but the weather forecast looked okay, just a chance of some showers in the middle of the day. It was a bit dreary at first but brightened up and then we kept getting a few light showers for a couple of hours. It was one of those days when you put the rain coat on, then the sun came out and you were too hot, so you took the coat off. Then it rained a little so the coat went on, etc. About eight times before the showers disappeared.

We had a quick look around Salcombe this morning. Yesterday it had been busy and teeming with police as a royal was in the village to celebrate 150 years of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. It may have been Prince Michael of Kent, not sure. There is a regular seven day a week, all year round, every half hour, ferry service from Salcombe across to East Portlemouth and we were on the first ferry of the morning.

Today was a superb section of walking. Part of it on exposed cliff faces, the rugged cliffs contrasting with numerous tiny sandy coves below. After visiting the Coastguard Lookout and visitor’s centre at Prawle Point a long length was on an old ‘raised beach’, a low shelf a little above the sea giving an easy walk. The path climbed across the spine of Start Point behind the lighthouse before plunging down to the beach at Hallsands and more easy walking past Beesands to Torcross.

We came across the sites of two tragedies today, the first at Hallsand and the second at Torcross.

Hallsands was a small fishing village founded in the 18^th century separated from the tempestuous tides by a pebble beach. In the 1890s a large construction company was given the right to dredge for shingle between Hallsands and Beesands. The villagers were very unhappy with the granting of this licence, complaining that the dredging would cause damage to their cray pots, disturb the fish and might also cause damage to their houses. They were given some meagre compensation but it wasn’t until 1900 that it dawned on everybody the extent of damage caused by the dredging. The sea wall had washed away, the beach had fallen between 7 and twelve feet and was no longer a barrier against the tide and a report concluded that a heavy gale would flood several houses if not seriously damage them. In 1902 dredging stopped but by then six houses had been lost to the sea. Large storms in 1917 washed the village away leaving only one house standing. Miraculously no-one in the village was killed during theses storms though the village never recovered.

In 1943 the Slapton Sands at Torcross were chosen as a practice ground for 30,000 American troops prior to the D-Day landings in Normandie. It was called Operation Tiger. This beach was chosen as it was similar to Utah in Normandy, namely a gravel beach followed by a thin ribbon of sand and a lake. 3,000 residents of Slapton and Torcross were evacuated. The rehearsal was a tragedy on a huge scale. Despite protection from the Royal Navy, a convoy of eight ships heading to this rehearsal were attacked by German E-boats and 638 servicemen were lost. Worse was to follow: when the remaining boats reached land a further 308 personnel were killed – unbelievably – by friendly fire, following an order by Eisenhower to use live ammunition to harden the troops. The Normandy landings were almost cancelled due to the tragedy. Those who witnessed the tragic events of April 28^th 1943 were sworn to secrecy and the whole incident covered up until the 1970s when a local resident did extensive research into the incident and arranged for a Sherman DD tank to be located near the beach in Torcross to commemorate the 946 US servicemen who died that day.

Our B & B tonight is ideal in many ways. It is right on the Coast Path, is opposite the beach, we have a first floor window looking out over the sea and when we arrived we were greeted with a delicious cream tea from the café downstairs.

Bigbury-on-Sea to Salcombe, 22km, 448m ascending, 1709 cumulative ascending

When we arrived in Bigbury-on-Sea yesterday the close off shore Burgh Island was joined to the mainland with a sand spit. You could easily walk across. This morning near high tide the sand spit was covered by the sea and a tractor + trailer with very high seats was used to take people across. Dominating the island is the exclusive and extortionate Burgh Island Hotel, from £420 per night. It is a 1920s Art Deco hotel and inspired the setting for Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.

About 45 minutes out of Bigbury-on Sea we came to the first obstacle of the day – The River Avon. Not the River Avon of Stratford upon Avon etc. England has five River Avons, Scotland three and Wales one. They are all a tautology as Avon comes from the Celtic word for river, hence they are River River. This River Avon is 41km long and rises in Dartmoor National Park.

We knew there was a seasonal ferry operating that ran Mon to Sat from 10.00am to 11.00am and 3.00pm to 4.00pm. No service on Sundays. Our info was the season was from April 19 until September 30. We arrived just before ten and as instructed on the sign board attracted the ferryman, who is based on the other side, by shouting and waving. He came and picked us up and soon had us on the other side of the Avon at Bantham. He informed us that in fact today, September 21 was his last day, not the 30^th. If we had arranged our itinerary for one day later we would have had a taxi ride or a long walk around the estuary. We learnt later the timetable for the ferry runs very much on the whim of the ferryman.

Compared to yesterday this section of the coast is well used and we were never far from residential and holiday accommodation, cafes, car parks and thankfully toilets. After Burgh Island and the Avon Estuary the morning’s highlights were the distinctive holed Thurlestone Rock, the headland of Bolt Tail and the charming little settlement and picturesque harbour of Hope Cove, which is split into Outer Hope and Inner Hope.

From Hope Cove there were quite spectacular high cliffs, soaring above tiny, mostly inaccessible coves. The actually is called Soar and at each end are dramatic headlands, Bolt Tail in the west and Bolt Head in the east. Soar had many jagged rock formations both inland and on the coast terminating with a very narrow squeeze through a cleft in the rock at Sharp Tor. Turning this corner we were suddenly in the softer sandy bays of the estuary of Salcombe Harbour. This is where we stay tonight. Unfortunately The Waverley B & B is high above the water up a very steep and winding street. So we walked up to check and get showered, all the way down  to get a meal at the Ferry Inn and all the way up again to get to our bed.

Tomorrow first thing, we have our fourth ferry crossing. These are getting to be fun.

Noss Mayo to Bigbury-on-Sea, 19km, 430m ascending, 1261m cumulative ascending.

Today was a section of fine high-level coastal cliffs, cut midway by the substantial and extremely picturesque estuary of the River Erme. The first half to the river was particularly easy to walk as there is a wide former carriage route, now nicely grassed over, giving access to the superb coastline. The second half from the river to Bigbury-on-Sea was more demanding with a series of descents and ascents, some quite steep, making the walking strenuous but accentuating the dramatic cliffs.

There were two challenges today, The wind and the river. When we awoke this morning there was a steady breeze and it got stronger throughout the day. I would say 30km/hr and gusting 40+ on the exposed cliff tops. We walked into it all day and this evening are feeling a bit battered. The only time we got out of the wind was in woodland, deep in the Erme river valley and in the café. Fortunately it wasn’t a cold wind so we could still walk in just a lightweight merino top. We now know why our B & B tonight is called Summer Winds.

The other challenge was the River Erme. There is no ferry and we knew it had to be crossed. There were three options: arrange a taxi at £20 -30 to drive you round via an inland road, walk an extra 14kms up the river to the first vehicle bridge and back on roads with no shoulder, wade across the river from one hour each side of low tide. We wanted to do the latter but knew we may have had to chose one of the other two. We knew low tide was about 4.00pm but weren’t sure if this was Greenwich Mean Time or British Summer Time and if so, did we add or subtract an hour.

We arrived at the river at midday and determined low tide was 4.09 BST. The river was still very full so we went up the hill to the Schoolhouse Café for something to eat and to fill in time. About 2 o’clock we came back down to the river, and what a transformation, the river valley that had been all water was now largely a vast expanse of sand. We waited about on the riverbank for a while as we weren’t exactly sure where the safest recommended crossing point was. Shortly a guy crossed the river from the far side so we had a chat to him. He showed us where to cross, said the water was now only mid-calf deep and the river bed was sand and pebbles so just take your shoes off and go bare feet. This we did, it was all very easy and by 2.30 we were ready to head off on the far side. Still one and a half hours before low tide. There is a tidal range of about 6 metres so if your arrival time at the river is off there is no hope of wading across.

Today for the first time we saw the Devon County flag flying. It is quite new, created in 2003 and dedicated to St Petroc. The flag has a green background with a white cross edged in black. The green represents the rolling and lush Devon hills, the black represents the high and windswept moors (Dartmoor and Exmoor) and the white represents both the salt spray of Devon’s two coasts and the china clay industry (and mining in general).

Most of the walk today was very remote and quiet. All morning we saw only one runner and one dog walker, both near the start at Noss Mayo. The only food available until near the end at Bigbury-on-Sea, was the café we went to above the river. We crossed a few small beaches but they were deserted as there was no car access. This is when the Coast Path is at its best, just the magnificence of the cliffs and the panoramic views.

Plymouth to Noss Mayo, 19km, 831m climbing,

It was great to be back walking today. It is amazing how one day of rest on the trains does wonders for the body, especially the aching feet. The official route uses a ferry to cross the Cattewater where the Plym River flows into Plymouth Sound. There is an alternative land route that adds about 8km or two hours to the day, but it is a tedious walk through, docklands, industrial estates, fuel tank farms and housing estates, so everybody gets the ten minute ferry ride over to Mount Batten.

The walk from Mount Batten is along low cliffs, much of it overlooking Plymouth Sound. On a beautiful clear, still morning the Sound was looking so serene. Below the cliffs were areas of rock platform and turquoise water. The focal point offshore was Great Mew Stone, a rocky island about a mile out to sea. The island is now uninhabited but was once occupied by one Sam Wakeman, who was exiled there for seven years as punishment for some misdemeanour and paid his rent by supplying rabbits for the table of the local manor.

This section was a largely rustic gentle ramble interrupted only by a few caravan and chalet sites. Towards the end we came to the picturesque mouth of the River Yealm, forming a dramatic wooded gap in the cliffs, where there was another ferry crossing. The 12 km walk between the two ferries was perhaps the most consistently nice of all the walking so far.

There is a ferry service across the river that operates daily from April until the end of September 10am – 4pm but at times is restricted to 10am – noon and 3pm – 4pm. We arrived at about 12.30pm and were in luck. Just as we arrived at the stone steps the ferry turned up to take a party of four across, so we jumped on as well. This was an expensive ferry, £4 each for a five minute ride. The earlier ferry at Plymouth was £2 each for a ten minute ride. This ferry operates on the same system as some of the ones we used last year. At the ferry landing there is a large coloured disk which you uncover to attract the ferryman if he is on the other side.

Our accommodation tonight is in a farmhouse out in the countryside quite some distance from any facilities. Because of this we decided to walk from the ferry about a kilometre into the village of Noss Mayo and have our main meal at lunchtime. We knew there were two good pubs there and chose The Ship Inn. This must be about the fifteenth Ship Inn we have been to on our travels on the coast path. Almost every village seems to have one.

We retraced our steps after lunch and after about an hour and a half reached our farmhouse. It is part of a large working farm, some distance inland from the coast, and very comfortable. There are quite a few rules in this B & B. We were met at the door and had to remove our walking shoes (which we always do anyway) and were given slippers to wear in the house. We are not allowed to walk around in our socks as they might also be dirty.

Those of you who have been looking at the photos carefully will have noticed that from Minehead to Westward Ho! Barbara had always worn a green top. From Plymouth to Brixham she is always going to wear her red top. I have to say she was fastidious in washing the green top at the end of each day and letting it dry overnight. But now I have to reprogram my brain to always look out for the lady in red. Thanks to Chris De Burgh for that wonderful song – The Lady in Red.

Westward Ho! to Plymouth

Today was just a transition day. We moved almost directly south from the coast of North Devon on the Bristol channel to the coast of South Devon on the English Channel.

From Westward Ho! We caught a Stagecoach Southwest No 21 bus to Barnstaple Railway Station. The bus took about an hour, with dozens of stops, to do what it had taken us a day and a half to walk. It only cost £2.90 each which seemed very cheap.

Barnstaple Railway Station is the terminus of a branch line and has a large cycle hire business operating out of part of the station. From Barnstaple there is excellent cycling on the path we have been walking the last few days. Up one side of the river to Braunton or the other side to Westward Ho! No hills though, absolutely flat.

From Barnstaple the train took an hour to get to Exeter St Davids with about five ‘request’ stops. At Exeter ST D we had to change to a main line train to Plymouth. Only two stops, at Newton Abbott and Totnes, and it took an hour. In five days’ time we are having a ‘day off’ in Dartmouth and will return to Totnes on an excursion.

We were in Plymouth by 2.30 and check-in wasn’t until 4.00 so we spent a bit of time sussing the route out of Plymouth for tomorrow. We are staying at the same B & B as last year, Sea Breezes, and the hostess Anne remembered us from then. Since we last saw her she has been to Japan so we got a lengthy account on her impressions of Japan – all positive, especially the transport system. She has travelled a lot and knows NZ well.

This week is graduation week for the University of Plymouth and a huge marquee has been set up on The Hoe. There are three graduation ceremonies per day for five days. The town and its bars and cafes are packed with people all dressed up and looking their very best. I didn’t take many photos of Plymouth as there are enough in last year’s blog.

For dinner we went back to The Waterfront. The same place we celebrated completing 500km of the South West Coast Path last year. This time we toasted the start of our walk from Plymouth to Brixham.