28 Babbacombe to Paignton

Cliff fall at Oddicombe Beach

Day 2 of our latest Coast Path trip. Yesterday we walked from Shaldon to Babbacombe. I had found a walk around Babbacombe on the Royal Geographical Society's  Discovering Britain website and so we started by investigating a house called Babbacombe Cliff. It was not particularly inspiring as a building, but its main claim to fame was that Oscar Wilde wrote A woman of no importance there.

 

We retraced our steps across the grassy Down in front of the hotel and then went down past the funicular to Oddicombe beach, the site of a major rock fall in 2010. We followed the coast path as it skirted the bay and at sea level got the clearest view of the cliff fall and what it meant: if you look closely at the photo you can that one of the houses on the top of the cliff tragically seems to be missing its whole right side.

Now began the inevitable long climb up from sea level to begin to walk around the series of headlands that separate Babbacombe from Torquay. Pevsner comments on the "exceptionally fortunate geographical situation" of Torquay, which has allowed it to keep "its various parts in attractive isolation from each other".

I thought I had better capture the sturdy new style signs which are in use in this part of the coast path.

We walked across the flat grassy area known as Walls Hill. The Discovering Britain walk guide explains that these flat cliff-top areas are known as "plains"and were formed tens of thousands of years ago when the sea was much higher than it is now: "wave-cut platforms" is the technical name.

We next passed Redgate Beach, closed to the public since 1998 because of falling rock. Apparently there was a local outcry at the time, but no doubt there would have been an even bigger one if someone was killed by a rock slide.

Soon we came to Anstey's Cove, with Devil's Point at its left side. We had noticed these points of rock on our walk yesterday and it seems they are nothing more than bits of a former quarry that proved too difficult to cut. Why not rename them the Dragon's Teeth?

At Black Head there was good view towards Hope's Nose with Ore Stone beyond it.

Now we finally turned the corner of Babbacombe Bay and found ourselves facing the fine sight of Thatcher Rock.

A bit further on, behind Meadfoot beach, we passed an intrusive modern block flats and then came on the Osborne hotel, offering "elegance at modest prices". It is a large Georgian style building with an elegant frieze and fine pediments at either end. It was built as Meadfoot Crescent in 1848 and renamed Hesketh Crescent in 1949. It was very striking how much better it fitted into the environment than the vast modern structure at the other end of this bay. 

Now we climbed to a grassy area (the strangely named Daddyhole Plain) by the Coastguard station where there was this lovely group of presumably early Victorian houses painted in delightful pastel shades - all except the one in the middle.What must the others be saying?

Turning another corner, we began the final approach to the centre of Torquay. The path passed through a delightful folly tower ...

... and descended to pass the Living Coasts coastal zoo. It was a surprise to see penguins on this walk!

Then down to the harbour, past a row of house with lovely iron balconies.

The view across the harbour was very pleasing, with GE Street's St John's church in the background.

Advance study of Pevsner had alerted me to the fact that the church features stained glass by Morris and Co, designed of course by Burne-Jones, who also painted two walls in the chancel. To our intense frustration, it was locked.

Also on the landward side of the harbour was this delightful clock tower. I imagined it must be another Jubilee Clock for Queen Victoria, but it turns out that it was a memorial for Richard Mallock who owned nearby Cockington. It was designed by John Donkin and erected in 1902.

After a break for lunch in Hoopers department store, we headed across to the Pavilion, which dates from 1912 in a mixture of classical and art nouveau styles. It is currently closed, pending re-development.

We walked along the sea front and were struck by the wide expanse of sand.

Set back from the beach is Torre Abbey, dating originally from 1198. After the dissolution of the monasteries the former gatehouse was remodeled into a house and later a Georgian extension was added. This is all closed for restoration at present. To the right is the Tithe Barn, which Pevsner thinks could date to the 13th century. It is a handsome structure.

The last leg of the walk was a plod along the main road, finally relieved by the first glimpse of Paignton.

We followed the road down to the sea front which we followed down past the pier to the small harbour, where we called a halt.

Conditions: cold, grey.

Distance: officially 7 miles, but it seemed rather longer. Distance now covered 137.6 miles.

Map: Explorer 110 (Torquay and Dawlish).

Rating: Four stars.

Sightings

Quite a lot of colour: white bluebells, violets, red campion and this lovely yellow shrub growing in profusion on the slopes as we made our approach towards Torquay.

26 Exmouth (Starcross) to Teignmouth

Exmouth from Starcross

The third day of our latest SWCP trip. We finished up last night at the ferry in Exmouth, so today we drove round to the other side, Starcross, and set off from there. The first two miles just follow the road (the A379 from Starcross to Cockwood and then a minor road) down to Dawlish Warren. As we approached this well-known holiday area, we were staggered by the number of holiday parks on either side of the road.

We wondered about going to see the nature reserve, but decided to press on, joining the path along the sea wall just by Dawlish Warren station. Signs warned that the sea wall route could be dangerous at high tide, but mercifully it was close to low water.

Quite soon, you see Cowhole Rock. I have scrupulously framed the photo to avoid the Red Rock cafe, the busy path and the railway, all of which are off to the right.

Once past the rock, you walk between the sea on the left and Brunel's extraordinary railway line, with red sandstone cliffs to its right.

It was interesting to see from close up how almost liquid the sandstone looks and how eroded it is.

Gradually the path comes nearer to sea level and you pass a series of groynes. Hole Head stands at the end of the bay.

After four miles of hard path we took a break for refreshments in Dawlish. As we left the town and climbed up to Lea Hill, we were surprised to see quite a lot of people positioned on the railway bridge and higher up, many with cameras, tripods, the works. We found out that they were all in place to see a steam train pass by which was expected in 30 minutes or so.  A quick Google search reveals that this service, run by Steam Dreams, is pulled not by the usual restored old steam locomotive, but by a new replica called the Tornado built by a group of enthusiasts .

We carried on and instead took a nice picture of the curve of Dawlish Beach leading up to the Langstone Rock. The wave patterns made an interesting sight.

After Lea Hill, there was a section of road, then we turned left to see - what joy! - a normal section of coast. I include the photo only to remember the sense of relief we felt. 

As we were descending towards the right, we heard the whistle of the steam engine, which is, it must be said, a wonderful nostalgic sound. I was quite pleased with this impromptu shot, taken by pointing vaguely in the right direction and focusing by guesswork. No doubt the people in Dawlish did much better.

After a steep climb with further views over Dawlish and another brief section along the road, we reached the sea wall by Shag Rock and followed it along, above the beach, to Teignmouth.

The seafront at Teignmouth presents a mainly 19th century face to the world. The symmetrical and harmonious blocks of hotels date from the 1820s (although some had to be rebuilt after damage during the war), while the pier dates from 1865.

The nearby lighthouse dates from 1845 and at 6m is probably one of the smallest you are likely to see, but its static red light still performs a useful function guiding boats through the mouth of the Teign to the harbour beyond.

The curious wheels attached to the lighthouse are a contribution to the 2012 Sculpture Trail: Spinning Flowers by Imel Sierra Cabrera.

The walk ended, as it had begun, with a view across a river estuary from a ferry point, this time in Teignmouth Harbour looking across to Shaldon. All that remained was to get a taxi back to Starcross.

Conditions: cooler than of late and very cloudy.

Distance: 8 miles. Distance now covered 124 miles.

Map: Explorer 115 (Exmouth and Sidmouth).

Rating: three stars. We felt that this was the least enjoyable leg so far, as it was almost entirely on made up paths. There were many interesting aspects however.

3 Swanage to Anvil Point

Swanage Beach

We used the visit of our friends Judith and Tony to continue our progress along the South West Coast Path. We skipped a couple of suburban streets in New Swanage and picked up the route at the start of the Swanage sea front.

At the end of the sandy beach we passed the curious column with three cannon balls on the top erected by John Mowlem (the founder of the building company) in 1862 to commemorate the defeat of a Danish fleet in 877 in Swanage Bay by King Alfred. This does invite some questions - mainly, why?

We followed the edge of the bay and then detoured to pay our 40p and walk along the Victorian pier. According to Swanage Pier Trust website, "The original Swanage Pier was constructed in 1859/60 by James Walton of London for the Swanage Pier and Tramway Company and opened by John Mowlem. The Pier was built primarily for shipping stone. Horses were used to pull carts along the narrow gauge tramway which ran along the Pier and seafront." We had noticed traces of the railway as we walked around towards the pier. The original pier was found to be too small and was rebuilt in the 1890s.

There is a fine view from the pier towards the Wellington clock tower. There is a wonderful story behind this. It was originally built in 1854 in honour of the Duke of Wellington near London Bridge, but was soon found to be impeding the traffic and taken down. George Burt, a nephew and business partner of John Mowlem, of whom more will be heard shortly, removed the stones to Swanage and rebuilt the tower in its present location. The clock never followed, and a spire was removed in 1904 as it had become unsafe.

We left the pier and continued on our way to pass a pair of Ionic columns, which mark entrance to Prince Albert Gardens. They were apparently date from the early 19th century and were brought to Swanage by John Mowlem, who clearly liked his columns.

A little further on there was a fine view looking back to the pier. Its dog-legged character was more evident from this vantage point.

 We now climbed up to skirt Peveril Point with its lighthouse and continued to climb as we walked along a grassy cliff overlooking the sea. After a short detour along a road we entered Durlston Country Park and walked along a well made path to pass beneath Durlston Castle. The Castle's website explains that it was built as a restaurant by George Burt and was part of his grand plan to create an exclusive housing estate on his land as part of his dream of transforming Swanage into a fashionable resort. The castle is currently under restoration and most of it is hidden under scaffolding.

A little further on, right below the Castle, is the Great Globe, 40 tons of Purbeck stone with a map of the world, nestling in an enclosure in which there are a series of stone plaques carved with quotations from poets and the Bible, as well as facts about the natural world.

We now followed the path above Tilly Whim Caves. (A whim was apparently a type of crane or hoist and Tilly was possibly a quarryman. As just-so stories go, we thought this was pretty weak.) Soon we reached the lighthouse at Anvil Point.

Here we left the Coast Path, turning inland to climb Round Down. From here a grassy track which later joined a road led us down to Swanage High Street, where we saw another wonderful contribution to Swanage's character from the indefatigable George Burt. This is the Town Hall.

It is essentially an unremarkable building to which has been added a superb facade by Sir Christopher Wren no less. Burt rescued it from the Mercers Hall in London's Cheapside.

We now retraced our steps to the start and  enjoyed an excellent lunch at the Ocean Bay restaurant.

Conditions: cloud, drizzle and rain, about 9 degrees.

Distance: about 5.5 miles, of which about 3 was on the Coast Path. Distance covered now 9.5 miles.

From: 50 walks in Dorset (AA) - but from a different starting point and with the sea front element as an addition.

Map: Explorer OL15 (Purbeck and South Dorset).

Rating: four stars.