Pencarrow Head to Polruan

With the very wet winter and spring and subsequent landslips we have not ventured out onto the South West Coast Path very much at all this year so far.  But lately it has been dry and today was a lovely sunny day so we decided to walk the section of the coast from Pencarrow Head to Polruan.

We drove down to Looe a different way to usual as the normal road we use was still closed after the landslip.  From there we went on to Polperro and then followed the coast towards Polruan.  These were  very narrow lanes and not easy driving.  We parked at the National Trust car park at Pencarrow Head and walked across the field to the South West Coast Path.  We were following the walk in the NT website  Polruan coast and creek walk http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lantic-bay-and-lansallos/things-to-see-and-do/view-page/item933623/

When we reached the coast path there was a beautiful view of Lantic Bay and beach.

The walk along the coast path was steep up and down at times, but the views were worth the effort. There was gorse brightening the path and ocassional butterflies and birds flying around.  There were even a few bluebells.

View from top of Polruan towards Fowey

We walked down to Polruan and had our lunch sat on the quay, then started the Hall Walk up the Pont Creek.  This was a fairly flat section of the walk and took us through woodland with the creek always below us.  There were many bluebells in the woods and it will be a very pretty walk when these are fully out.

When we came to the end of the creek we had one more steep climb up the the church and then along the road back to the car.  A very pleasant walk!

Rather than return on the narrow lanes to Polperro we drove to Boddinick and caught the car ferry across to Fowey and drove home that way - a much better route than the one we took this morning

Falmouth

We caught the 9.20 train from Plymouth and after a change of trains at Truro we arrive in Falmouth Docks 2 hours later.  We started walking along the South West Coast Path around Pendennis Point. and then down to   the beaches in Falmouth.  It was a grey day so the views were not as good as they would be when the sun was shining.  The paths were good, and as we walked through woodland there were some daffodils which gave bridge yellow splashes.  It was a easy walk, with only gentle slopes.  We walked past Castle Beach, onto the Gyllygvase  Beach and then to Swanpool Beach.  There is one further beach in Falmouth, Maenporth Beach, but we decided to leave visiting that one until another day.

Gyllygvase Beach

At Swanpool we walked along one side of the lake watching the many different types of waterfowl there.  We also saw a water vole at the edge of the water.  We then walked into the centre of Falmouth.  On the way we stopped at the Falmouth Pavilion where we walked around the gardens.  There was a lovely display of daffodills but not many other flowers.

Morte Point to Bull Point

While on holiday at Twitchen House Caravan Site we took the opportunity to walk more of the SW Coast Path.   We started by walking from our caravan down to the village of Mortehoe.  From there we followed the signs to Morte Point.  This took us along a grassy path to the end of the Point where we tracked down to the South West Coast Path.  The views were spectacular!

The direction we were going to be walking 

Looking back to Woolacombe Beach

This part of the coastline is a known habitat for nuthatches.  As we walked along we saw one at the side of the path.  He was not moving so we don't know if he was injured or 'playing dead' as scared of us.

The path, as often the case with the South West Coast Path, went up and down, but the views were worth the effort. 

Bull Point with Rockham Beach in foreground

We walked as far as Bull Point with the lighthouse, then followed the access road back to Mortehoe.  This was a much easier walk, with gentle hills, but it was not so interesting with high hedges either side.  The road led back to the centre of Mortehoe.  Instead of walking back on the road to the caravan site we decided to walk back to the South West Coast Path and follow it to Woolacombe.  It was a steep path to get to the Coast Path but once on to it it was a pleasant walk into Woolacombe.

Beach at end of Woolacombe with Morte Point

Slapton to Blackpool Sands

After a very hot week the temperature had dropped today so we were keen to do another section of the South West Coast Path.

We drove the car to Brixton then caught the 93 bus to Kingsbridge.  Although we could have stayed on the same bus all the way to Slapton, we chose to spend an hour in Kingsbridge and catch the next bus to our destination.  It was lovely riding on the top of the double decker with great views over the Devon countryside.

We got off the bus at the memorial at Slapton Sands and started to walk in an eastward direction.  We tried walking on the beach but the Sands were shingle and it was hard work walking on it.  The coastal path started being on the nature reserve side of the road.  There were lots of wild flowers and butterflies, but no view.  We were therefore pleased when the path crossed the road and went along the edge of the beach where there were far reaching views of  Start Bay.  There were wildflowers on this path as well.

At Strete Gate we left the beach and the main A379 behind and climbed steadily up an old road.  Unfortunately before long we hit the main road again and had to walk along this until we reached Strete (not good).  The other side of the village we walked across fields and soon had wonderful views around Start Bay.

After walking on further we stopped for lunch with fantastic views along the coast to Blackpool Sands.

We then had to walk down and up the Landcombe valley.  Both sides of the valley were very steep and going down the hill was very precarious.  We then cross the main road again and had to head inland across fields  before coming down to Blackpool Sands.

We had read that they had a large screen at Blackpool Sands so planned to stop there for a while watching the Olympics while enjoying the beach and being by the sea.  However the screen was situated in the car park, near the toilets, and there were no seats, so we did not stay long watching it, but just stayed on the beach until the next bus came.

Torquay to Babbacombe

Summer finally arrived on Saturday 21 July!  After over 6 weeks of wet and showery weather we finally saw clear blue skies so we could plan to spend a whole day walking.

We took the train to Torquay   (very crowded with others heading to the beaches).  With our ticket we purchased bus plus tickets so once we had arrived in Torquay we could use all the buses.  We took the bus from the railway station to the centre and then another bus to St Marys Church.  We walked down to Babbacombe Model Village then turned right and started walking back towards Torquay.

To begin with we walked along the top of the cliffs at the side of gardens and we could see all along the coast beyond  Exmouth.

Oddicombe Beach.  Recent heavy rain has cause a landslide

 Soon we came to the South West Coast Path and as usual there were plenty of ups and downs, but it was not too strenuous.  We kept near to the sea at all times, although we could not always see it because of the trees.  However, there were many good viewpoints to see the islands just off shore and rock formations.

We gradually worked our way down to see level at Meadford Beach and rewarded ourselves with a delicious icecream at the cafe there before we tackled the last hill up to Daddyhole Plain.  This is where we had got to last time we walked along the coast path from Torquay last year.  We knew it was only a short walk down to the town by road.  After stopping for a cup of tea in Debenhams looking out over the harbour we took the bus back to the train station.  It had been a lovely day and a lovely walk.

East Soar to Overbecks

Today was a Bank Holiday and an ideal day for walking - cloudy, warm, and not windy.  We drove to the National Trust car park just past East Soar village and walked down to the coastal path.  To begin with we started to walk towards Soar Mill Cove as this was as far as we walked when we were parked at Bolberry Down.  It was further than we thought and when the path started to go downhill we turned around.

Looking towards Soar Mill Cove

We then started to do the walk along the SW Coastal Path we intended that we had downloaded from http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/servlet/pdf/1/478925/Trail/Walking/Bolt_Head_walk.pdf.

To begin with the path was quite flat although there was a steep path up and down at Starehole Cove.   The walk was made even prettier by the foxgloves along the way.

 There were lots of paths around the area.  We kept to the SouthWest Coast Path although did not go right out to the end of Bolt Head. At this point we may have missed the path we were meant to be walking along, but we continued in the right direction, but maybe a little inland.

As we got nearer the end of the walk we had lovely views up the River to Salcombe

Before long we reached the National Trust property, Overbecks.  We should have walked past the outside of it and had to walk back to the entrance on the other side, but we came down the path by the side of the entrance, so we must have gone wrong somewhere!  The gardens were looking lovely with lots of unusual plants.

On the walk back to the car we had to walk through Tor Woods.  Leaving Overbecks we saw a signpost for this so we followed this path.  But in fact it did not lead us through the woods but at the side.  This meant we cut out a portion of the walk so we will have to redo this another time.  But it made the walk back to the car even quicker and it was a good flat path all the way from the edge of the woods.

Stoke Beach to Keaton Cove

A couple of weeks ago we walked from Mothercombe to Keaton Cove.  This meant we just had to walk from Stoke Beach to Keaton Cove to completely walk along the South West Coast Path from Plymouth to Soar Mill Cove.  So this is what we decided to do last Thursday (31May) .

The coast was looking lovely and there were occasional foxgloves out brightening the edges of the path.

To begin with the path was fairly flat and wide and good, but then there was a very steep drop down.  We decided instead of tackling this part of the path we went inland and walked along a path beside the road and then the road before coming back to the path after avoiding the up and down of the path.  This made the walk much easier.

Before long we reached the stile where we had stopped last time, so after having a snack we turned round and headed back.