Babbacombe When I was in Brixham I went to the local cobbler to see if they could repair the waist strap on my backpack. Unfortunately they couldn’t do it until the next day but they told me there was another cobbler by the bus station in Paignton. When I started this morning I caught the bus to Paignton Station and walked a short way to the cobbler and asked if he could repair the strap. It turned out that the person who did the sewing was out of the shop and would not be back until 1:00pm. So I left the backpack in the shop and went off to visit some of my old haunts in Paignton. I went to the harbour to see what had happened to the restaurant where I had worked when I was 17. It was still there but greatly changed. Next I walked along the seafront at Paignton Sands and visited Paignton Pier. The pier was where my grandfather used to take my brother and me when we were small. The pier attractions had changed from when I remember and now it is mostly a big amusement arcade and multiple games of chance. From the pier I continued along the seafront to Preston Sands to look for the Tembani Hotel which is where my wife, Jenny, stayed for some family holidays when she was a child. The hotel has gone and it has been replaced by holiday apartments. The beach huts were still there and some of them had people using them and enjoying the sunny day. Then on to Victoria Park to eat my Tesco lunch on a park bench in the shade. It was really hot in the sun. After lunch I walked back to collect my repaired backpack and then I caught the bus to Babbacombe. I walked along Babbacombe Downs to look at the cliff railway that I used to visit as a treat when I was visiting our family in Paignton. Babbacombe cliff railway Using the bus to travel from Brixham to Babbacombe was legitimate because I had walked most of the coast path along that portion during my many childhood visits to Paignton. Plus using the bus enabled me to get my backpack repaired.
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Brixham After deciding to cut what I was carrying to minimum including my bivvy sack I was prepared for the possibility of no available B&B. Mind you, that meant no mattress and no sleeping bag. Very basic. Martin drove me back to Kingswear across the River Dart estuary from Dartmouth and I started walking. Once again it was a glorious morning. I hadn't gone far along the climb out of Kingswear when a couple with a spaniel caught up to me and we stopped and chatted. It turned out that David and Angie Walsh and Fudge, the dog, were also walking the whole length of the South West Coast Path in support of Spaniel Aid UK. The forested path just outside of Kingswear As we continued on our way they quickly left me behind and then disaster struck. I was tightening up the waist strap on my backpack when it broke. That meant I had to walk for the rest of the day with my pack supported by just my shoulders, not a very enjoyable experience. I had to walk what turned out to be a strenuous section in very hot sunshine with a limited amount of water and my backpack hanging on my shoulders. Needless to say as I got more and more hot and tired I started looking for easier routes to take. I tried two and they were both shorter but not without problems. The first ended up in the corner of a field with a barbed wire fence and no gate. The second route seemed to take me over the highest land around Brixham. But I made it just as my water ran out and I found a B&B easily with help from the Information Centre in a shop by the harbour. A pint of beer and a pint of shandy quickly provided much needed fluids and a fast recovery. Brixham Harbour in the evening
Chagford As I began my hike from Hope Cove to Salcombe and as I was tackling the climb up to the top of Bolt Tail I met a group if students who were doing an extended hike/camp for their Duke of Edinburgh Award program. They asked about Hazel and I chatted with them and told them what I was doing and why. Then they went off ahead of me but they stopped and waited for me to catch up. They wanted to take a picture of me because part of the challenge along the way was to find something positive that they had discovered along the way and they decided meeting me and hearing about Hazel was going to be their positive experience. As this was another of the positive experiences for me on my walk, I took a picture of the group for my blog. Duke of Edinburgh Award This stretch of coast is a rugged shoreline that has had 40 shipwrecks since 1700, all marked on a map where I stayed in Hope Cove. I made good time to Salcombe even though it was hot and some of the climbs quite steep. As I had not been able to find any accommodation along this stretch of the coast I had arranged for Martin to take me back to Chagford so that I could reorganise my equipment and start carrying my bivvy sack again in case of more accommodation crises Salcombe Harbour Salcombe is a very popular area for the sailing community and for families that want a holiday in South Devon. North Beach, Salcombe I walked through the town and up the hill to the Park & Ride where I met with Martin and he drove me back to Chagford. Looking down Market Street from Holy Trinity Church
Hope Cove The ferry and ferryman on the River Avon The walk from Bigbury On Sea to Hope Cove started with a short walk to the ferry that crosses the River Avon. The ferry only operates from 10:00am to 11:00am and then from 3:00pm to 4:00pm. It crosses from Bantham to the Bigbury side and back. To get service you have to get the ferryman's attention by shouting and waving and when he notices you he comes across to pick you up. The ferry is a row boat with a very small outboard engine. The walk from Bantham was reasonable with some tough climbs at the end. The weather was good with a clear, blue sky, high temperature and an appreciated sea breeze. Walking past Thurlestone Golf Course was interesting . It seemed to cover a lot of land and part of it appeared to be a links course. Thurlestone Sand This part of the South Devon coast is a very popular destination for holidaymakers because of its warm climate and sandy beaches. Hope Cove beach and The Cottage Hotel When I arrived at Hope Cove I stayed at The Cottage Hotel which wasn't a cottage but it did provide a good all inclusive B&B rate with dinner, bed and breakfast all included.
Bigbury on Sea I walked from Wembury to Bigbury on Sea, 21km, my longest completed day without help I think. All of the days are beginning to blur into one at this point. I have a big problem with finding accommodation now that I am in South Devon. Most places are booked especially on the weekends. Anyway back to the walk. The weather was good all day - hot and sunny with a nice sea breeze. After a short walk at the start I got the ferry across the River Yealm to Noss Mayo. To get the ferry you have to signal to the ferryman on the other side by flipping a signal board from a half circle to a full circle, then he comes across to get you. From the ferry it was easy walking until the gently undulating path changed to some steeper ups and downs. When I reached the River Erme at Mothecombe I had to wade across. You have to time your crossing to a period between one hour on either side of low tide and then wade across in calf deep water. Lots of fun. The ferry crossing point on the River Yealm. Once across the River Erme the path became more difficult with several headlands to struggle over. It was all worthwhile because of the views of the many small rocky coves I saw as I walked past. I arrived at Bigbury on Sea at around 7:00pm and was helped by the lady of the house to find a place to stay the next night. Her husband drove me to holiday park at Challaborough so I could get supper, but I had to walk back. The site of the river crossing on the River Erne One of the coves
Wembury Looking back to Plymouth across Jennycliff Bay The day started with a ferry ride across Cattewater to Mount Batten. Shortly after I started to walk along the path I went by Jennycliff Bay which prompted the need to take a picture so that I could show it to Jenny, my wife. The resulting picture also gave a nice view across the bay back to my last glimpses of Plymouth before I rounded Staddon Point. A little further along I stopped for a break just past Holiday Centre at Andurn's Brake. While I was relaxing and eating a quick snack a mother, daughter and grandchild came along and, having seen the poster on my backpack, asked about Hazel's Heroes. We chatted for a long time and I found out that I was sitting on the memorial bench for the mother's husband. She was pleased to see it being used. Renney Rocks near Heybrook Bay I stopped for lunch at Wembury Point before continuing on to Wembury arriving at my B&B in the mid-afternoon. When I arrived at Wembury I started looking on the internet for my accommodation for June 17 to June 19 at Salcombe, Torcross and Dartmouth but with no success. With my search efforts I managed to use up all of my mobile (cell) phone minutes from the phone calls I had been making. Finding accommodation is increasingly becoming a problem. Making your reservations before you start the walk would seem to be a good precaution, but what happens when the unexpected happens and you don't make it to your destination?
Plymouth View across the fields to Plymouth Great weather. Lots of sunshine. A gentle, cooling breeze. The start of the walk was by the side of Whitsand Bay Golf Club and then to the military firing ranges surrounding Tregantle Fort. Fortunately there was no activity at the ranges and the red warning flag was not flying so I was able to walk along the permissive path without having to take the diversion along the B3247. As I approached Rame Head I began to see Plymouth across the farm fields. When I reached Cawsand I decided to take the ferry from there to The Barbican so that I could enjoy the views across Plymouth Sound to Plymouth. Once I had arrived in Plymouth and had settled in to my accommodation I walked to Plymouth Hoe where the naval memorial and the Drake monument are located. After the First World War, an appropriate way had to be found of commemorating those members of the Royal Navy who had no known grave, the majority of deaths having occurred at sea where no permanent memorial could be provided. An Admiralty committee recommended that the three manning ports in Great Britain - Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth - should each have an identical memorial of unmistakable naval form, an obelisk, which would serve as a leading mark for shipping. After the Second World War it was decided that the naval memorials should be extended to provide space for commemorating the naval dead without graves of that war, but since the three sites were dissimilar, a different architectural treatment was required for each. In addition to commemorating seamen of the Royal Navy who sailed from Plymouth, the First World War panels also bear the names of sailors from Australia and South Africa. The governments of the other Commonwealth nations chose to commemorate their dead elsewhere, for the most part on memorials in their home ports. After the Second World War, Canada and New Zealand again chose commemoration at home, but the memorial at Plymouth commemorates sailors from all other parts of the Commonwealth. Plymouth Naval Memorial commemorates more than 7,200 sailors of the First World War and nearly 16,000 of the Second World War. The statue of Sir Francis Drake The original statue is in Tavistock and was erected in 1883. The statue on the Hoe is a copy of the original and was erected in 1884.
There is a story that Drake was playing lawn bowls when he was informed about the Spanish fleet sailing up the English Channel. Drake calmly continued his game before taking action against the Spaniards. The story is supposed to show his calm confidence before the ensuing battle but some historians say that he knew the wind was unfavourable for the Spanish fleet and he had lots of time before he needed to take action. Portwrinkle Looking back to Looe from Seaton Today was a beautiful, sunny day so it was an enjoyable day and not too long. Near Eglarooze Cliff Whitsand Bay Hotel I stayed at the Whitsand Bay Hotel which has an interesting and unique history. A Moving History "Made of Cornish dressed limestone and displaying Gothis and Tudor influences, the Whitsand Bay Hotel was originally built in 1871 by the 3rd Baron Graves some 6 miles away at Thanckes Field, Torpoint. It replaced the Graves family mansion which dated back to the region of RichardIII and took over the name Thanckes House. Lord Graves was the grandson of Thomas Graves who led the Van Squadron in the "Glorious First of June' (1794), a famous naval battle in which the British Navy scored a decisive victory in the French Revolutionary Wars. A particularly fine stained glass window over the hotel's main stairway commemorates the event and incorporates an eagle, the charge on the Graves' arms and the Line of the Batle-ships. In 1909 Thanckes House was moved however, meaning literally pulled down and re-erected stone by stone to re-open as the Whitsand Bay Hotel in 1910."
Looe - a rest day I spent the day visiting with Anne and Bill, my aunt and uncle. Their holiday house is in East Looe with a panoramic view of the coast. The back of the house has a small garden and the grass had become overgrown so I spent some time making it a little more tidy with an electric string grass trimmer. But most of the day I just relaxed with Bill and Anne.
Polperro then Looe While I was sleeping Tony, my brother-in-law, crept into the room some time just after 3:00am. The previous evening after he had closed his shop in Burnt Oak, a suburb of London, he drove down to Fowey so that he could join us on our coast walk. So now there were five of us who were all walking for Hazel and Hazel's Heroes. After breakfast we all walked down to the harbour stopping along the way to pick up lunch items. At the harbour we waited for the ferry which took us from Fowey to Polruan. Our start on the path was rather late and up a steep climb along a road until we came to the coast path again. The three young men surged on ahead and then waited for Tony and I to catch up. Tony stayed with me which was much appreciated as I'm sure he could easily have gone faster. Polruan across the estuary from Fowey The weather was much improved and the walk was pleasant made even better by the company that had made the effort to be with me. Left to right: Tony, me, Chris, Kristen When we arrived at Polperro we stopped for a beer at a pub by the side of the harbour whle we decided what our next move would be. Chris had to catch a train to meet a friend and then go hiking in Wales so he left by taxi. The rest of us took a taxi to Looe where Kristen and Gareth had left their rental car. From there we took Tony back to Polruan so that he could take the ferry back to Fowey and then drive back to London. That left the three of us so we returned to Looe where we had a brief visit with my aunt and uncle before the boys had to leave for their journey back to Gatwick. I had walked from Looe to Polperro two years before so that counted as that leg of the coast path completed.
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Hazel's PoppaI'm a grandfather who lost an infant granddaughter and who wants to help Gillian, her mother, provide support for other grieving parents through Hazel's Heroes. Archives
April 2020
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