Day: 114 28/5/94 Knighton to Stoke

Weather: Fine     Distance:  21 km (13 miles)     Total Distance: 1427 miles

This was to be the first part of my coastal path walk that I was backpacking.  It just seemed to make sense; hitching was becoming more difficult and I was having to walk long distances at the end of the day sometimes.  There was little public transport on this section and I was not keen on the bike and car option.

I had very much enjoyed planning this holiday; the accommodation and the travelling by train.  I had bought my train tickets from Coventry to Plymouth, Plymouth to Ireland via Holyhead and back to Coventry for £102 (a strange route you may think but I was combining this walk with a holiday to Ireland).

 

The first part of the days walk was a very early start to walk to Coventry station.  My son was not awake when I left the house before 7 o'clock.  In Birmingham it soon became evident why I had had to reserve a seat.  The train was absolutely full.  I sat next to an elderly couple from Derby.  He was a retired steam train driver with some interesting tales.  We passed over the M5 at times where the traffic was stationary on this busy bank holiday weekend.  I had to laugh when at the end of a very smooth journey and arriving in Plymouth 8 minutes early, and having to wait outside the station for a couple of minutes, someone started complaining that BR run the trains with plenty of slack in the timetable in on purpose so they have less chance of having to pay out compensation.

In Plymouth I took a shuttle bus into the centre and then managed to catch an earlier bus than I had planned to Knighton, even though I forgot the name of the place I wanted to go and the bus drivers looked at me very strange when I got my map out!

 

The first part of the walk was on the road, but it was not long before I was stopping to change from my daps into my walking boots to take to country paths.  This part of my planing worked well - changing into daps to do the road parts saved my feet getting sore.  I say daps but they were in fact Nike -Air Cushion; my first proper pair of trainers for many years; expensive but very comfortable.  I had spent a small fortune a couple of weeks previously on a visit to Olympus sports shop on the outskirts of Leicester to get a good anorak and over-trousers, daps and a rucksack.

The path dropped down through some woods, and then across farmland.  I got a little lost coming into Combe and had to backtrack a bit, mainly because I has misread the map - not a good start.  I passed some picturesque parts, past a guide camp but was then thwarted going down a path towards the river; I made it a couple of hundred yards but then the path disappeared.  Back up into Coombe, I bought a pasty for lunch but it was not very nice; and neither was the next section along the main road.  That is the disadvantage with backpacking, it is much harder to jump into the hedgerows. Once off the main road, the remainder of the walk to Newton Ferrers was along minor roads, of minimal interest. It was a shame that there was no path along the estuary to have saved me this road section.

Coming into Newton Ferrers I stopped to buy a drink and food and the owner helped me find my way through the village.  The walk through the top of the village was again not all the impressive but I soon dropped down to the river through a little wood to return eastwards along the road.  Part of the path itself by the estuary was closed because of a collapse so that is why the walking I was along the road.  I passed the International Paint testing station; one of the smaller parts of the Courtaulds empire.  I thought it was ironic that the paint on the sign was all faded.

The tide was out so I was able to walk over the stepping stones to Noss Mayo. It was a larger place than I had imagined, so I stopped at the post office to ask the way to my B&B, but they were new arrivals and did not know. I walked up the river and asked again. By this time I was only a short distance away.  My B&BB was a modern type house perched high above Noss Mayo.  The owners were working in the garden enjoying the sun. I put my stuff in my room and then went down to have a cup of tea.  I did not see much of the owners all my time there, they kept themselves hidden away.

It was still fairly early, so I decided I would walk around the headland, taking advantage of not having to carry my backpack.  After walking back into the village, a walk through a nice wooded area than bought me out onto the headland. There were good views across the different rivers and then over towards the far side of the river at Plymouth, towards Kingsand.  The grass on the headland was very lush. It was like walking through a meadow rather than on a coastal path.

I kept wondering whether to cut back to Noss Mayo shortening the walk, but in the end walked all the way around to Stoke and back on the minor roads.  I had a shower and then went down to the pub for dinner.  It was heavily populated by the Birmingham Navy (as Princess Ann calls them) - those people who jam the M5 on a Friday night towing their boats.  The Good Pub Food Guide had recommended it, but it was very ordinary as far as I could see.  I did not stay too long and went back for a another cup of coffee which the landlady offered me and early an night - it had been a very long day.

Day: 113 2/5/94 Plymouth to Knighton

Weather: Fine    Distance:  20 km (12.4 miles)    Total Distance: 1414 miles

I packed up the tent and left the camp site before most people had even popped their heads out of their tent to see what the weather was doing. I drove the car to Plymouth and parked in the Do-it-All car park; a police car drove in as I was putting on my boots. I was a little unsure if the car would have a ticket on it or been broken into by the time I returned! 

 

The first part of the day's walk was pretty dismal, but at least it was early in the morning and quiet on the industrial estate.  The area was a strange mix of houses and light industry. I guess it was a little like Coventry and bombed heavily leaving an odd mix of old and new. This odd mix continued on the other side of the bridge over the river Plym, which had a disused railway bridge running next to it.

Once off the main road I was into a housing estate, and again getting some strange looks.  I was thankful I had bought the street map of Plymouth because it was again a lot of help.  I stopped at a little shop to buy a drink and other provisions.  The first part of path was closed so I had to backtrack up a road.  The path led into a park and over a causeway and back down the other side by some boats.  I was unnerved by some men acting very suspiciously but could not make out what they were up to.  The path then went around a new sewage works.  I made use of the public toilets near Hoe and then headed towards Turnchaple. I was almost halted because the road around the coast stopped at a navy dock but I managed to find a tiny path and hole in a wall to save me backtracking.

 

Turnchaple was another compact sailing village with very steep roads leading out of it.  I stopped for a break on the dock and drank a canned drink.  There was then a steep climb out of the village southwards and a turn to west.  The road went past a daunting large grey building, Fort Stamford, which appeared to have been converted into a country club, but it was still unattractive in my mind.  Down to the coast again and it opened onto a park type area, Jennycliff, with lots of people walking dogs etc. The next part of the path was along the road the first part of which was an uphill climb.  

It was not too long before the path went away from the road again and along the first nice part of coastal path for a long time.  There were good views across the Sound to Mount Edgcumbe Park.  At Stadden Point I could look down into Bovisand Harbour, which was very actively being used by up to ten inflatables with trainee divers on board.  Bovisand Bay was busy with holiday makers and on the other side  of the bay there was a  caravan and chalet village full of those people who did not want to walk very far!

On the far side of Haybrook Bay, is the start of HMS Camebridge.  The guns were not firing but the path goes very close to those pointing out to sea.  The rest of the walk to Wembury was along low cliffs with the playing fields and rifle ranges of HMS Camebridge on the inside.  At Wembury I had a decision to make; whether to stop there and wait an hour for a bus or to go down to Warren Point and save myself the walk next time.  I decided on the later and pressed on at a fast pace, climbing out of the picturesque village of Wembury and missing out on a cup of tea at the cafe there.

The path was high on the cliffs but it is good walking until the headland at Warren Point.  I take the lower path that cuts down to the River Yealm.  A notice notified walkers that the ferry service had stopped because of a dispute over how much the operators had had to pay for a licence.  Although this did not effect me it must have been devastating for some walkers who were relying on it operating.  The path was now in a very nice wooded area but it was not very clear where it cut back up onto the cliff tops almost doubling back on itself.  I almost ended up in someone's back garden at one stage. Eventually I climbed up onto the cliff top and was very out of breath because I realised I had to make good time in order not to miss my bus.  I met a couple out for a walk and chatted to them for a couple of minutes before making my excuses and carrying on. 

 

Once I had regained the height I had lost, my route cut inland up a farm track, and then along a minor road.  I did not know  where the bus went from but made a decision which way to go on the map and was fortunate enough to come out on the main road right by a bus stop.  The decision of which way to go was made slightly easier by the fact that this was still part of my coastal route.  The last couple of miles was a rush, but in the end I had a fair time to wait for the bus.  The bus stop was on a hill above Knighton, so I watched the bus go down into Wembury and than back again.  The bus bought me all the way back into Plymouth and then I had to walk the short distance out again to the car.  The car park was now much fuller but at least the car was in one piece.

It had been a very enjoyable three days, full of warm and sunny weather. I had enjoyed the camping in particular.  The walking was not the most scenic but at least I had a good stretch ahead of me now and I had the main part of the Plymouth estuary behind me.