Day 1: Torquay to Teignmouth
In which our intrepid band discovers the joys and rigours of the South West Coast Path…
The South West Coast Path is just over 1,000 km in length (and less than a metre wide in parts, but that detail is superfluous to this post); that’s 630 miles. I think it is the pick of the trails in the UK for views and pubs, but it’s the absolute pits for elevation variation. In other words, great photographs, great beer, and a great number of exclamations along the line of, ‘Fuck. More steps (up or down)?’.
It’s simply because you are going up and down the headlands of deeply embayed coastal cliffs; and most of it is hard to strenuous, but the bit we have chosen to do is probably easier than most, with the two days along the Exe estuary standing out as pretty well dead flat. The first day was billed as moderate, but with four novice walkers in the team, it was always going to be a bit experimental.
The route itself is fairly straightforward — it follows the cliffs and shores. We changed it so we could get to Exeter for a few days for family reasons. This was the route as we planned it.
It’s no surprise that we varied it on the first day! Determined to be flexible, we had left the option of completely the official stage to Dawlish or Dawlish Warren, knowing that a lack of accommodation there would mean a quick train trip back to Teignmouth (and what turned out to be the best accommodation of the trip at The Ness). Those extra kilometres and the promise of a cleansing ale as we walked passed the pub put an end to that!
Part of the challenge in choosing the route was picking a section with reasonable difficulty. You can see why in the two route profiles below, the first from Brixham to Exmouth, the second from Exmouth to Lyme Regis.
Undaunted by these facts and figures, which I carefully disguised from the Sibs-and-in-laws, we set out around the promontory above Lyme Bay and towards the aptly-named Hopes nose. It needs to be said now that much of the SWCP is designed purely for masochistic aesthetics: if we had walked up the road to Babbacombe, which is just a suburb of Torquay in some ways, we would have made it in 30 minutes. The path takes a lot longer, but the pictures were glorious.
We took some time to work out a rhythm and were perhaps slower than we intended to be. There was a lot to see, cream tea for morning tea became the lunch break, and we were enjoying each other’s company. Then there was the issue of the killer cows…
These young beasts began to follow us as we walked near Labrador Bay, and it became quite hysterical as they began to nudge us, clearly expecting a treat of some kind. Clearly, they were far too domesticated, but Ben, with his roots in the soil of a Minnesotan farm, came to the rescue and shooed them away.
We ended up a little footsore at The Ness, just above Shaldon on the south bank of the Teignmouth. The river was a surprise, with two fair-sized cargo coasters at the piers on the Teignmouth side. The pub was fantastic, with quirky touches and a great outdoor area overlooking the estuary. Comfy beds, good food and drink: what more could you want?
