Start Point

It was high tide as we drove through Kingsbridge, which made this part of the journey very pretty.  But once we turned off the A379 the road was very narrow and windy which was not good for driving.  The last part to the Start Point lighthouse was particularly narrow with vegetation brushing the car as we drove past.  For such a remote car park we were surprised that we had to pay £3.50, but the views around Start Bay were spectacular and made it worthwhile.

To begin with we walked out to the Lighthouse, which was a concreted path.  We then retraced our steps to the South West coast path and followed this around the Point.  To begin with this was a rocky path and we had to be careful how we walked, but the views were superb.

As we walked we were amazed at the number of butterflies we saw.  Many of them were landing on the path in front in front of us.

This moth was dead on the path

As we approached Great Mattiscombe Sands the path improved and the walk from there to Lannicombe beach was relatively easy and fairly flat with only gradual short climbs.  The beach at Great Mattiscombe looked lovely with fine sand.  Lannicombe was more stoney, though we could see that as the tide went out there was sand.  There were only a few parking spaces at Lannicombe at the end of a track so I am glad that we did not drive there.  We had planned to turn around at Lannicombe, which was fortunate as there has been a landslide just past there and the footpath has a long diversion.

Initially we planned to walk across the fields from Lannicombe to Hallsands, but the coastal path was so scenic and such a good path we decided just to retrace our steps to Great Mattiscombe Sands.  We then took the direct path back to the car park, which was uphill, but a good path.

After a rest we then walked from the car park down to Hallsands. Again we had fantastic views around Start Bay all the way and loads of white butterflies fluttering around the fern on the bank at the side of the path. It was very interesting to see the information of the lost village of Hallsands on the viewing platform overlooking the village.

As we walked back we had the view of the Lighthouse.  Unfortunately it was quite a climb back to the car park, not particularly steep but a long climb that was not good at the end of a day's walk.  It would have been better if we had parked at Hallsands, which was free, and walked from there, and then the last part of the walk would have been downhill.

Wembury, bluebells and coast

As the bluebells were finally in flower we thought we would re-do a walk we found last year to see the bluebells in the National Trust's Wembury Woods.  This walk is described at http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356405894339/

We parked at the car park by Wembury village recreational ground and followed the marker posts along the edges of fields until we reached Wembury Woods.  We immediately saw a wonderful display of bluebells.

We continued to walk through the woods, but chose not to go down to the viewpoint by the River Yealm as the path was muddy in parts and we knew it was a steep path down to the viewpoint.  We thought the bluebells were at their peak, but when we reached the bridge over the brook there were some still not out.  This was a pity as I am sure when the bluebells behind the bridge are fully out it will make a lovely photo.

For a while there were not any bluebells in the wood, but we were walking parallel to the River Yealm so this made interesting viewing.  But as we started to climb away from the river the bluebells started again and they were very plentiful in Traine Wood.

It was a fairly steep climb up through the woods up to Hollacombe village, but once we had crossed over the road and started to walk down Traine Road it was downhill back to Wembury village.  As we passed farm gates we had views out to the sea.

This was a lovely walk, especially at this time of the year when the bluebells are in flower.

© Crown copyright and database rights 2012 Ordnance Survey 100023974

Once back to our car we drove to the National Trust car park at Wembury Beach. The sea was looking  lovely and there were several paddle boarders trying to catch the occasional wave.

After eating our lunch we walked along the coast in the direction of Heybrook Bay.  It was interesting to see where there had been landslips earlier in the year, which meant the path had to be brought away from the edge.

We continued to walk until we reached the finger post telling us we had walked a mile and it was a mile to Heybrook Bay.  As we had walked this morning we did not want to have a long walk this afternoon so we turned back.  On the return journey we saw two butterflies.

Wembury to Heybrook Bay

Occasional showers were threatened so we thought we would do a short walk not too far from Plymouth.

Before starting we sat in the car at the Wembury Beach car park drinnking coffee and watching surfers, paddleboarders and canoeists riding small waves.

The first part of the walk along the S W Coast Path was flat and it was only near Heybrook Bay that we had a couple of hills to climb and then they were fairly gentle.  As we walked along we came to a field that had been planted with bright yellow daisies.  Other walkers told us it had been specially planted to encourage wild life.

When we got to Heybrook Bay instead of turning around and taking the same path back we went up the hill to the new NT Wembury Point Car Park.   It was a steep climb up from Heybrook Bay but then there was an old road to walk along to the car park which made for easy walking.  It was a pity about all the horse dung on the path!  The car park was small and already full at midday, so I don't think we will use it.

Along the walk we had noticed many butterflies fluttering by.  I don't usually bother to try to photograph them as they are never still long enough.  However, on the path back to the SW Coast Path we spotted a red admiral that was sunning itself in the hedge and I was able to capture it.