The South West Coastal Path Chronicles

Saturday, 10 July 2021

Maidencombe to Starcross

Date: 10th July 2021

Distance: 11.68 miles
Time: 4:38:08
Ascent: 1509 feet

Total SWCP so far: 536.8 miles

Route

Progress

Profile

Martin and Marina's Bit

Day 2 and this time we did get rained on, so much so that we started the day with waterproofs on. But it didn't stay wet forever and became a sunny, warm day later on.

En route we crossed a field which was home to a young bull. A toddler bull in fact. Young, curious and frisky. Said bull did generate a bit of excitement/alarm in the team though. Did you know that more people die from being trampled by cattle than from shark attack? This may or may not be true! But it's what we've heard, so being a little wary of the cattle on the path probably makes sense. No harm befell the intrepid four this time though and we evaded the evil hooves of the young bull, crossing the field to safety.

We crossed from Shaldon to Teignmouth by ferry, always a fun way to travel. We passed through the seaside resort of Dawlish and were enthralled by Derek's tales of how he lost various items of clothing when holidaying there as a child. In fact Derek did a full guided tour down that particular Memory Lane for us, which was great to hear.

Further on, we walked alongside the South Devon railway which was designed and built by none other than Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a man most famous for his love of enormous top hats.

Another jolly nice day.

Derek and Lesley's Bit

This was a special section for me as I spent my childhood holidays at Dawlish, Teingmouth and Shaldon.

The walk started with very wet rain & some sea mist but it soon cleared and the sun shone which was good and I was able to recite stories of my childhood. I think I was annoying although they said how much they enjoyed them!

Martin and Marina's Photographs

Another bunny

Our bovine friend, the Young Bull

Eh up! It's getting closer!

"None shall pass (moo)!"

A chatty gang of starlings

Derek's Photographs

Friday, 9 July 2021

Broadsands Beach to Maidencombe

Date: 9th July 2021

Distance: 14.58 miles
Time: 5:48:32
Ascent: 2402 feet

Total SWCP so far: 525.12 miles

Route

Progress

Profile

Martin and Marina's Bit

And.... we're back!

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Team Awesome (as Derek has it), AKA The Extra Mile Club had done no SWCP walking since 29th August 2019, nearly two whole years ago! So it was with great excitement that we organised our first SWCP trip in a long, long time and on this the first day, resumed our journey around this most wonderful of coastal trails.

Special mention must go to Marina here. Only a few days previously, she had walked across England, following Hadrian's Wall from the coast near Carlisle in the west, all the way to Newcastle in the east. She'd only been back a few days before she was on the SWCP striding forth! And for this and a history of being an unstoppable force of nature, Marina has been awarded the Stupendous Stamina Badge.

It has to be said that over the course of this four day trip, the weather was somewhat changeable. A classic British Summer in fact. We got wet. And we got sunburned. Obviously. But this first day, we stayed dry and enjoyed a warm but largely overcast 14.5 mile walk to Maidencombe. We passed through the seaside towns of Paignton and Torquay and witnessed the rebirth of the British holiday. Travel abroad is still restricted and so most people are opting to holiday in Britain. Not surprisingly, the coast is a big draw. We didn't let the relatively crowded towns diminish our enjoyment though and delighted in the rest of the walk, along cliff tops and through woodland. It was so good to be back on the SWCP!