Looe to Polperro

It was a beautiful sunny summers day.  It felt like it might be too hot to walk, but we decided that if we walked along the coast we would feel the sea breeze and so keep cool.

We drove to Hannafore and parked just before the road ran out.  The first part of the walk was a gentle uphill slope, but then we noticed a steep flight of steps.  As we went up we counted them 76 in total!  But the views over the sea to St Georges Island with all the little boats to and fro-ing from Looe made the climb worth it. Initially you could only see down the coast to Rame Head, but then the visibility improved and we could see a headland even further away.

St Goeges Island

Looking back to Hannafore

Before long we were heading downwards towards Talland Bay.  We stopped at the beach there to eat our lunch as we watched children playing in the sea and rock pooling.

From Talland Bay to Polperro it is only 1.5 miles but the hill out of Talland Bay was very steep.  Once we were over the top of that it seemed a short stroll into the busy village of Polperro.  There are sewerage works being done there that spoilt the seascape, but the village was as quaint as ever.  We walked through the village to the bus stop at the top and then caught the bus back to Hannafore.  As we came through Looe we noticed how crowded it was, particularly the beach.

Looe Beach

Before heading home we stopped for tea and cake at the Island View Cafe.  There was a wonderful view of all the boats going to the island and taking tourists  out for boat rides from Looe.

Salcombe to Snape Point

We arrived in Salcombe before 10 o'clock in the morning, so although the holiday season had started we were able to park in the road above North Sands.  We drank our coffee while watching children and dogs running in and out of the sea and when the sun came out the sea was clear and sparkling.

We walked to the centre of Salcombe, admiring the views all the way along.

Looking across to South Sands

Although it was quite early there was plenty of activity on the water, with small yachts skooting along in the wind and larger boats steaming out into the sea.

Across the estuary to East Portlemouth

We walked through Salcombe, past the shops and children crabbing, through the boat parks to Batson.  This is as far as we have gone in the past, but today we walked up the no through road and along the other side of the creek.  We followed the footpath towards Snapes Point. The path undulated up and down, but it was a good path to walk along and the views when there were gaps in the hedges were magnificent.

Looking up the creek to Batson

It was lovely to see Salcombe from a different perspective.

Salcombe from a different perspective

At Snapes Point we climbed up to the top where there were beautiful views in all directions - up the creek to Batson and up the river towards Kingsbridge as well as out to sea beyond Salcombe  As it was high tide we were able to see large yachts were sailing too and fro and the river looked at its best. It was a wonderful place to sit and eat our lunch.

Sailing up the river

Looking up the river to Kingsbridge

We walked a little further up the river and then turned inland to return to Batson and then Salcombe.  As we walked back to our car there were even more people in the town and on the water.  East Portlemouth was even busier.

East Portlemouth

Torquay to Brixham

We caught the train to Torquay and it was just a stone's throw from the station to Torquay beach.  This is where we stopped walking earlier in the year when we walked from Torquay to Meadfoot Beach. We followed the road  towards Paignton and for a short while had to walk on the pavement by the main road. Although it is not pleasant to have cars rushing past you, before long we had views over the sea, and this made up for it.  Soon able to turn off to go through a park at Hollicombe, and from then on we were off-road the whole of the way.

We did not see the sign for the SW coast path and continued walking down to Hollicombe beach.  It was low tide and we saw that other people were walking across the rocks to the beach beyond, so we decided to follow them.  To begin with it was easy as the rocks were flat and encrusted with barnicles so there was plenty of grip.  However, near Preston Sands there was no alternative but to walk across seaweed covered rocks and through shallow pools, but we made it to the other side.   With the tide out we were then able to walk all the way to the end of Paignton Sands without having to go up to the road.

We walked around the harbour and then through the park down to Goodrington.  The views on this walk were spectacular with long views around the bay and beautiful beaches and covers.  Photos cannot capture this.

Goodrington

Up to this point the walk had been easy but from now on there were many ups and downs, with rough steps, but the views were worth it.  Broad Sands was a lovely beach that I had never been to before.  After Elberry Cove we walked through woodland that was pleasantly cool, although the path had roots and stones sticking out of it which meant you had to watch your feet.  We could see the blue of the sea through the trees but there was no view of the bay with all the leaves on the trees.

As we walked down to Churston Cove we were struck by how lovely it looked with all the boats and Brixham in the distance, although the beach itself was not very attractive as stony.

After climbing up from this cove it was just a short walk on to Brixham.  We could look back and see Torquay with its balloon and realise how far we had walked (about 6 1/2 miles).  We were glad that there was a frequent bus service from Brixham to Torquay so we did not have to walk back!

Castle Drogo and the River Teign

Our friends Gillian and Michael were travelling from Tiverton to Boscastle on holiday and we suggested we met up at Castle Drogo.  We spent a pleasant morning looking around the gardens and then exploring the Castle.  The gardens were as attractive as last time (May 2011) and I particularly liked Bunty's house with its front garden full of summer flowers and vegetables.

After Gillian and Michael went on their way we decided to drive down to Fingles Bridge and walk along the river.  We walked for abut 45 minutes but did not reach the next bridge down.  It was a very pleasant walk along a good path and lovely to hear the water rushing down the river all the way.

Having got back to Fingles Bridge we could not resist stopping at the pub for a cream tea which we ate by the side of the river!