Day 95 - Friday 19 September 2003 - Salcombe to Bantham

 13.5 miles walked today

1005 miles walked in total (10.578 average)

I was ready to walk at Salcombe at 8.30 am and was pleased that it was cloudy again - much more comfortable to walk in.

The worst bit of the whole day was the uphill road walking at the start to South Sands, although the beaches themselves were lovely.  I was glad to get onto a proper path though and get out to Bolt Head.  As yesterday, the path was rocky and passed very close to the cliff edge, but I was reassured by the steel railings along the most precipitous bits - it was very blustery today and I would have felt a bit vulnerable without this fencing.

From Bolt Head, the path levelled out along the Warren and provided some fantastic clifftop scenery.  Not only that, but the springy turf was really good to walk on.  I had quite a downhill to Soar Mill Cove with the corresponding "up" the other side and was perturbed to be overtaken by grannies in sensible shoes and with walking sticks!

I got quite excited at seeing a tea room at the top, but decided to push on to Hope Cove as the sign said that it was only a mile and a half away.  Inner Hope and Outer Hope were beautiful and I was just blown away as I walked down the hill to reach them.  I did stop for an hour to have lunch overlooking the sea and could quite cheerfully have sat in the hotel lounge all afternoon.

However, I got going again and had some amazing scenery to look at all afternoon round to Warren Point and could see the Thurlestone Rock as I walked around.

Thurlestone golf course was very popular and, as the path goes through the fairways, there were signs up requesting that walkers let the golfers play their shots before continuing.  One group waved me through and I waited for the next group who were all terribly polite and thanked me for waiting.

It wasn't long after this that I started my final descent to Bantham where the pub was just shutting, the ferry stopped two weeks ago and one of the villagers told me the 'phone box was no longer working.  Aaarrrggghhh!   I took a chance at the 'phone box and found out my informant was a bit of a joker - git!   So I waited for my taxi back to Salcombe and it wasn't long before I was back at my car.

I've had a fantastic day and completed my first thousand miles.  Which I intend to celebrate at Burgh Island Hotel tomorrow with a pot of tea, which is probably all I'll be able to afford there!

Day 94 - Thursday 18 September 2003 - Stoke Fleming to Salcombe

 13 miles walked today

991.5 miles walked in total (10.547 average)

Today I've decided to put all thought of my missed six miles out of my head and just carry on with what I can do.

I was walking at Torcross at 8.15 am - my guide book said today would be strenuous so I wanted an early start.  This and the cooler, cloudier weather has helped enormously today, although the views have suffered a bit for the lack of sunshine.

I had a mini uphill past the hotel and up to fields before coming down into Beesands, a working fishing village with lobster pots piled up all along the front and a van proclaiming "Britannia wet fish sales".

From here, I had another mini uphill to North Hallsands.  The old village of Hallsands can be seen from a viewing platform at the foot of the hotel, where they didn't start serving tea until eleven o'clock.  Bugger!

At the end of the 19th century, 650,000 tonnes of shingle was excavated from the beach to make concrete for the Devonport docks, thereby removing Hallsands' natural sea defences.   On 26 January 1917, an abnormally high tide coincided with an easterly gale and twenty-nine cottages were destroyed, leaving one untouched.  Two of the survivors, the Trout sisters, were awarded a sum of money from the family of a German seaman they'd rescued and they used this money to build the house which became the hotel on the cliff.  Most of the villagers were evacuated to this dwelling while further accommodation was made available.   It was a very moving display and it certainly made me think that we mustn't underestimate the power of the sea.

From Hallsands, I had a couple of miles round to the lighthouse at Start Point.  The signs today have been excellent and have included mileage as well as direction.  However, one sign really made me laugh - 168 miles to Poole one way and 462 miles to Minehead in the other!   

The path was superb - very close to the cliff edge and involved a lot of scrambling over rocks which I love.  I'm not sure how the grading is worked out as I didn't think it was very strenuous at all - it was tricky but not hard up and downs.

The scenery was amazing - lots of rocks and sheer cliff faces - I could see why you'd need a lighthouse here.  As I got round to Prawle Point, I climbed up to the coastguard lookout and had a look at the visitors' centre which is in a shed!  In 1994 when two Cornish fishermen died below the recently closed Bass Point coastguard lookout, a group of local people set up an organisation to restore visual watch along the UK coast.  Thereby, the National Coastwatch Institution was created and the first station opened at Bass Point.  There are now twenty-three stations open and each one is responsible for its own funding, equipment and building maintenance.  Apparently these volunteers don't just watch out to sea, but coast walkers are kept an eye on too, which was very reassuring.

There followed more up and down from here to Gara Rock Hotel which I'd been relying on to get lunch and I wasn't disappointed.  It was full of walkers!  There were signs up everywhere requesting us all to remove our boots before entering.  

From here, it was downhill all the way through woods down to East Portlesham where the ferry runs over to Salcombe.  I was still having 'phone problems, so asked the chap who ran the cafe at the ferry point whether I could give him some money to ring me a cab.  He told me that if I got back to the cafe at five o'clock I could have a lift as he had to go through Torcross to get home.  Fantastic!

So I went over to Salcombe and mooched around for a couple of hours, buying postcards, shopping, having a beer, etc, and just people watching.

I've really enjoyed today and I reckon I could even do that walk again.  But not today!

Day 93 - Wednesday 17 September 2003 - Dartmouth to Stoke Fleming

 4.5 miles walked today

978.5 miles walked in total (10.521 average)

Today was either a disaster, or a blessing, whichever way you look at it.

I got into Dartmouth at 8.30 am, after saying farewell to Shiriin - we got up at seven so that she had enough time to pack up all the spare cheese for her picnic lunch!  I'd run out of credit on my mobile 'phone, but couldn't manage to put any more money on as the whole Vodafone system had gone down according to the lady in the 'phone shop.

So that meant I couldn't walk to where I needed to get to as there was no way I'd be able to summon a taxi back to the car.  I waited until the Tourist Information Office opened at 9.30 am and discussed with the manager where I could get to that had a 'phone box and she also gave me some taxi numbers.

I finally started walking at about ten o'clock in thick mist so didn't get any of the views back to Kingswear.  However, the sun soon burnt the mist away and then it started to burn me!  My first down was to Compass Cove and I sat for a while and listened to the sea gurgling around in the caves - it sounded like water going down a plughole.  From here, I had an up then towards Little Dartmouth but I found a bench at the top.  I was trying to develop my new strategy of sitting only when I needed to and not just when I wanted to.

I checked out my guide book during this break and it told me that the coastal path is all on main roads as the local landowners don't much like walkers on their land.  After a while I set off and got chatting to a local who told me to get the bus as the road to Torcross was horrible.  Basically, he reiterated what the guide book said.

I was having a mini break during another climb when I got talking to a couple who were walking Minehead to Poole - they take a week out every year and this is their fifth stage.  They reckon they'll have it finished next year.  They had also got the bus as the road was very dangerous.  I didn't totally dismiss the idea of walking, but all these signs were going some way to convince me otherwise.

And, as I got into Stoke Fleming finally - lots of uphill and it was scorching - there'd been a bus/ lorry collision which decided me not to walk on the main A379 road.  The bus back to Dartmouth wasn't due for ninety minutes, so I stopped for a drink and a sandwich at the Stoke Lodge Hotel.  I was asked whether I'd like to sit in the garden, but I'd had more than enough heat and elected to sit inside in the cool lounge.

The bus signs were the wrong way round at Stoke Fleming so, as soon as I got back to Dartmouth, I went and reported it at the Tourist Information Office so they could contact the bus company.

I'd dropped some camera films off in Dartmouth yesterday that wouldn't be ready until four, so I mooched around for an hour, did some window shopping and got caught up in the crowds who were watching the filming going on in the harbour.  The BBC were in town with some of the actors from "Down to Earth", a Sunday night drama series about yuppies moving to the country.  The girl in the camera shop was very excited as some of the actors had been in to the shop - bless her!

So, effectively, I've had a half day off.  I'm going to drive a bit further round the coast to start tomorrow and have an earlier start to avoid some of the heat.  I'm going to give the bit to Torcross a miss which I know I'm going to stress about, but that road really is a nightmare.

It's just something I'll have to live with.

Day 92 - Tuesday 16 September 2003 - Sharkham Point to Dartmouth

 8 miles walked today

974 miles walked in total (10.586 average)

Shiriin and I were walking at nine o'clock this morning and were aware today was "strenuous".  And boy, it certainly was.  It's been very hot all day and we've had hill after hill to contend with.

We had a major hike dowhill to begin with to Man Sands and Shiriin told me she was glad she didn't have to walk up that one!  We had a mini sit down on the beach at Man Sands - the first sit down of many today, as there were many strategically placed benches all day.   We then had hikes up and down past Long Sands, Scabbacombe Sands and Scabbacombe Head.

Most of the land we walked on today was owned by the National Trust and there were signs of new bracken growth and estate management everywhere.  A sign warned of Shetland ponies and I thought this a bit odd, as surely Dartmoor ponies were the nearest native ponies to here?  The presence of these animals at least explained the enormous amount of poo on the paths!  One of the ponies ran at me which was a bit of a shock - it could probably smell all the food in my rucksack!

We carried on around Ivy Cove to Pudcombe Cove and, as we shut the gate which kept the ponies in, a black snake tried to slither across the path behind us, but Shiriin thought he might have just eaten so was feeling a bit heavy and couldn't get across.  We spent some time watching him and speculating whether we could see a mouse shaped bulge in his belly!

There then followed a walk through woods and we decided it would be a good idea to have lunch in this shaded area, so sat down on steps and tucked into sausage pasta bake - last night's leftovers - and bread and various cheeses.   How very civilised!  We sat and looked at the sea and the rocks through the Scots pines and Shiriin noticed that we'd seen no wildlife - no birds and no squirrels - in the woods.  The only sound we could hear were leaves falling and the distant chug chug of boat engines.

After lunch, we walked a tiny bit further round and saw the entrance to Coleton Fishacre gardens, but they were closed today.  Some of the gardens had spilled out onto the path so we walked past a few hydrangea bushes and fuchsias too.

We had even more hills after lunch, but pushed on nevertheless to Battery Point and had a mini detour off the path to look at the gun emplacements and railway where the cannon balls used to be rolled down to the weaponry.

We walked through Warren Woods to head into Kingswear.  These woods were on the estate owned by the late Lt Col Jones, the Falkland Islands VC, and the path has been dedicated to his memory.

We had some fantastic views of the River Dart and the two castles - Kingswear and Dartmouth - as we came down the hill, but we still weren't there.  We had a knee crunching road descent before finding steps that led down to the ferry.   Shiriin took these at a cracking pace and informed me it was a "falling" technique she had perfected.  However, I've already fallen over this week (plus a quite major stumble again today) so I decided to take it more slowly.

We finally got into Kingswear at three ish and immediately got the ferry over to Dartmouth, got ice cream, postcards and cream tea sorted within ten minutes!  The ice cream shop sold scones, clotted cream and pots of jam so we had an al fresco cream tea on the harbour wall - well placed to be in all the tourists' holiday photos!

We had quite a productive time in Dartmouth - I dropped off a couple of films to collect tomorrow, Shiriin found the shampoo she'd been searching for to take back to Lesotho, and I found plasters and stamps.  And we still had time for the ferry and a pint before getting our taxi back to the car.

And the best bit of all is that, after today's trek, Shiriin's still speaking to me!

I've really enjoyed spending time with Shiriin - it's great that we're both comfortable in each other's company and don't feel the need to natter on incessantly.  Which is just as well because, every time we went up hill, she was about half a mile in front of me!