Three weeks in south Devon. What is there to do? Well there are a few little towns and villages to visit and then there’s bigger places like Plymouth but mostly people come here for the walks and the coastal scenery.
My adventuring was curtailed in the first instance by Storm Noa which kept me indoors and in front of the fire for the first three days. When the winds die down and the rain abated, I ventured out to the local area. Apart from Salcombe which is far too expensive, I identified Torcross as a first location.
I was surprised when I got there that even though it was cold and I was wrapped up in a fleece and a down jacket, that other people were stripped down to swimming costumes and taking the plunge. Lots of dog walkers were out on the beach and the spit of land which runs along the beach. As most places in Devon, the car parking is the most expensive part of the trip. I thought about taking the risk that it was out of season and a bit cold, and so there were no parking attendants but in the end I gritted by teeth and paid the £3. Later, as I returning to the car, a man in a high-vis jacket was checking all cars so I’d made the right decision.
East Prawle was my next trip and I made the walk down a steep and narrow (they are all narrow here) down towards the coastal path. Rocky outcrops pushed their heads out of fields and heather and gorse coloured the fields. It was a bit cold and blustery so after returning to the village, I took shelter in the Pig’s Nose Inn. Here I bought the most expensive pint of shandy outside London – £6 for what was a very average beer. These country pubs really take the piss when it comes to prices.
Then I thought I’d risk Salcombe again but go to the west of the town where it might be easier to park. I found North Beach and again an expensive car parking experience. From there I took my homemade sandwich (cut down on expensive lunches) and walked up hill and down dale to South Beach and then past Overbeck Gardens where I rested and had an expensive coffee from a van!
A fantastically beautiful but very windy walk took me along the coast from Overbeck. From here you can see back into Salcombe and the sailing boats bobbing on the water. Few other people were out and about and I mostly had the path to myself. I would have walked further but the parking was only paid for three hours and beyond my furthest point, the coastal path disappeared across heathland around another headland.
With the sun still warming my back I decided to explore the area around my house and walked to South Pool. Footpaths around the village take the walker across fords, through fields and along ancient drovers’ roads affording panoramic views of the area and coast. The Milbrook Inn was not yet open and so I headed home and put the pub on my list of places to eat one evening.
Easily the best walk however, took me along Avon Valley in Loddiswell. Avon Mill is a popular place to visit, being a garden centre with shops and a cafe and many walking routes start here. I started in the village though and thankfully this time free parking. Walking along a busy narrow road was a terrible way to start the walk but I following a route I found on the internet. I took the first footpath I found that took me off the road even though it was not on the route. I was not prepared to put my life at risk for the sake of sticking to someone else’s route.
This path took me steeply downhill with banks of ancient twisted trees and spring flowers bursting through the undergrowth. Primroses, wild garlic, cowslips, buttercups and bluebells made for a fantastic spring scene. I arrived at the river and walked up and across and then back down along the old primrose line – surely the most beautiful disused railway line in Britain.
I risked the cafe at Avon Mill and had an excellent cauliflower soup and cheese scone I have ever had for £6.50. It gave me the strength to walk uphill back to the village. Now I can see why people start and finish their walk from the mill.
When the sun is out, Devon is the best place to be. It offers coastal paths, beaches, woodland walks and quaint villages. When the wind is blowing and the rain is lashing down, it’s a pretty wild place to be.