Day: 118 17/7/94 Kingsbridge to East Portlemouth

Weather: Fine and sunny     Distance: 17km (10.6 miles)    Total Distance: 1470 miles

Time for another family holiday near the coast.  We travelled down to Kingsbridge on the Saturday.  It was a good journey considering it was a summer Saturday.  We stopped at Exeter to eat our packed lunch in the sun and then drove the final hour or so arriving at High House Farm not long after three o'clock.  We liked the look of our cottage, one of a series of converted farm buildings. It had a large kitchen/dining room/lounge with two double bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.  The other people gradually began to arrive including a couple from Warrington staying next door. He was a chatty individual who told me he thought he had the worlds largest collection of hammers, over two thousand!  And I thought I was odd. 

I went for a walk into Kingsbridge over the fields and then down through a housing estate. I went to the Tourist Information Office and bought a bus timetable and then up to the supermarket for fresh milk. I also bought a raffle ticket - from which I heard in November that I won a prize. I was so shocked when they phoned to tel me I had won I forgot to ask what it was.  I was expecting a new car to turn but instead a pyrex dish did - a major disappointment.  On the way back I walked along the main road instead of taking the short cut up through the fields.  Although this was a more unpleasant walk back to the cottage, it was actually part of my coastal walk, being the closest right of way to the coast, and meant that I did not have to walk that 2km the following day.

On the Sunday, I got up early and after breakfast started the weeks walking in earnest.  A walk down to the river and over the bridge bought me to the village of West Charlton. It was not long before I cut off the main road and down through fields down towards the estuary.  A a kind man stopped in a car and offered me a lift. I politly declined after expalining what I was doing. I reckon he must have lived in the isolated house on the banks of the estuary with his wife who I saw later in the coppice, walking her dog.  Once out of the wood, the path initially led along the river bank but soon cut up into the fields.  I got a little lost coming into Frogmore and came upon the main road a little early - I reckon a footpath may have been blocked off.

Once off the main road, most of the rest of the day's walking was on quiet roads, pleasant enough except towards the end where the roads got a little busy and narrow with cars going to the beaches.  The roads around Coombe were very quiet. At South Pool I walked over the stepping stones.  The section after that was hilly and dangerous since the roads were so narrow and busy with cars.  The dip down to the estuary at Goodshelter and then up again was very steep indeed, though we had been warned of that by a friend of ours. 

I caught the ferry back to Salcombe and set about finding the Tourist Information Office where I had planned to meet my wife and son.  As I was passing a tea shop however I heard her call out so went in and joined them for a pancake.  My wife was not overly impressed with the town of Salcombe; a little too twee for her liking, and said we had made the right choice in staying in Kingsbridge, a little more of a normal town.

In the afternoon, we drove down to South Sands along the narrow steep lanes of Salcombe, though I had to sample the local ice cream first from the dairy which was next to the car park at the top of the town where the car was parked.  We stayed at South Sands only for about 30 minutes, since it was so windy making the sand blow in our eyes.  This was enough time for my son to have a play in the sands and throw stones into the sea. 

We drove back through the back roads up to Malborough before returning to Kingsbridge.  

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Day: 117 31/5/94 Salcombe to Kingsbridge

Weather: Fine      Distance: 12km (7.5 miles)      Total Distance: 1460 miles

I woke up early at the Youth Hostel with sun pouring in through the tall windows and a good view across the estuary. The Canadian lad was also up early and packing to leave.  I washed and packed quickly and did not stay for any breakfast - mainly because I did not have anything!  The days of having to do a job in the mornings at Youth Hostels has now gone so I could leave with a clear conscience. 

The day began with going back down the very steep hill again and into South Sands.  The road then swept into Salcombe took another few ups and downs.  The road was in fact marked as being closed for cars and it soon became apparent why, because a bridge has collapsed.  A temporary footbridge had been erected fortunately, otherwise it would have meant a steep detour.

The narrow streets of Salcombe were peaceful except for a couple of newsagents open and a collection of delivery vans and street cleaners.  I tried to imagine how in another two hours the scene would be very different.  The north end of Salcombe changed from a twee tourist town to a working boat community, though much of it based on the pleasure boat industry.  Once out of the town I stopped to eat my breakfast - a can of pop and a couple of biscuits.  Walking up the estuary to Batson I was unsure if I could walk down the other side.  I saw someone in a porch putting on their walking boots so asked them. It turned out that I could walk all the way down to the headland past Sharps Manor along good footpaths, but when I turned northwards again my way was blocked to Lincombe because the path was closed to protect breeding birds. I feel much less aggrieved about closed footpaths if it is for a good reason and that reason is explained.

Quite a lot of the remainder of the walk was on minor roads except for a couple of footpaths that cut off corners.  One such path led around the back of Ilton Castle Farm, not  terribly well marked and I walked through the camp site annoying the camper's dogs.

Most cars had been very good at slowing down when they saw me, but one lady coming down the hill north of Blanksmill Farm, appeared determined not to loose speed for her ascent up the other side and sped past me cowering in the hedge.

The road into Kingsbridge was not all that picturesque, and the only highlight was a kestrel flying around the telegraph poles.  I walked into Kingsbridge which was a bit of a shock having been out in the countryside for four days.  The town was bustling. The car park along the river bank was full, this had been transformed into a fair ground next time we came down as a family.  In fact next time I returned, the whole town looked quieter but I am convinced this was only in my imagination.

I was some three hours early to catch the bus to Plymouth, but there happened to be one about to go.  I thought about spending time in the town and looking for the pace we had booked for our summer holidays, but instead decided that I did not like the crowds and caught he early bus into Plymouth.  The ride was bumpy.  The bus called into the Shire Horse Centre and through a couple of the villages I had already walked through.

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