D107: TORQUAY to KINGSWEAR
Saturday 23rd September 2023
Today miles: 20.4 Total miles: 1809.7
Parked up in Torquay and using the Ring Go app I paid the £11 parking fee. It’s set fair and should be a good day. I left Torquay around seven thirty as the sun was just peering over the horizon and set off along the wide promenade towards Paignton, adjacent to the A379. The walking was easy and the first three miles just whizzed by in a flash. The first proper ascent came just before Preston Sands but it was reasonably short and easy enough. I hadn’t had any breakfast this morning and was keen to find something to eat. I continued to be disappointed when I noted each establishment I came across didn’t seem to open until 10am, which personally I thought was a bit late. I did finally manage to find a nice Costa Coffee at Splashdown Quaywest so settled for a huge cup of coffee and a couple of snack bars that I found at the bottom of my pack. Soon after Splashdown the concrete strip I’d been walking along disappears and was replaced by a nice dry earthy path.
The views to my left had some decent rock formations and there were the cliffs on my right which also made the walking more interesting. I’d been walking adjacent to the railway tracks since leaving Splashdown but these were finally left behind at Broadsands. At Broadsands I saved myself thirty English pennies when the generous council worker allowed me free access to the normally paying public toilets. Entering the Marina at Brixham I got this feeling of familiarity, then as I walked further towards the town centre I remembered that I had visited here about sixteen years ago with family. We’d spent many hours fishing for crabs from the dock, next to the old Golden Hind ship in the Marina. I popped into a local Co-Op store at Brixham and grabbed some fizzy drinks and food for the next few days before moving on.
Berry Head Country Park was about a mile away. I just decided to just crack on and move away from the crowds and stop there, expecting the views North across Torbay and South to St Mary’s Bay to be worthwhile.
Berry Head didn’t disappoint and it was a great choice for an extended break. Leaving Berry Head there’s a wonderful path across the top of the cliffs around St Mary’s Bay with lots of small ascents and descents. By the time I reached Sharkham Point my legs were starting to feel the strain.
I’d bumped into several others walkers during the day, mostly day hikers but some like myself were walking along the SWCP for several days. I bumped into one young lad, named Paul near to Southdown Cliff and we walked together for about an hour. He was trying to cover some ninety miles over four days and he was moving along a lot quicker than me. Eventually I stopped for yet another break, we wished each other good luck and then separated. As I approached the area known as ‘Inner Froward Point’ there’s a huge noticeable increase in old WWII defensive infrastructure, this includes a section of military rail tracks, gun emplacements and several various sized bunkers. I spent some time looking around these buildings. The final two miles through a wooded section was thankfully a lot flatter and easier on my legs.
I arrived in Kingswear around teatime and just by coincidence my bus was just pulling into the stop. The driver said I had fifteen minutes before we departed so I spent the time watching the steam locomotive moving along the Kingswear to Dartmouth line. It’s been a long, tough but enjoyable day, with some spectacular views and scenery. The next two days will be even tougher as I’m moving away from the SWCP and free wheeling myself around the River Dart and the Dart Estuary.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 