Synopsis: A dash to the coast from Kingskerswell. Lovely views out over Torbay from Great Hill. The walk follows the John Musgrave trail for part of its length.
I needed a walk that wouldn’t require too much planning for today, as I started the day with nothing yet prepared. I’d recently walked from Kingskerswell to Teignmouth, and on that day the thought occurred to me that there were possibly other routes to the coast from here. A quick look at the map on my favourite walk planning web site, Where’s the Path, showed a route was possible from Kingskerswell to Watcombe Beach, from where I’d be able to walk on to Babbacombe.
Mr Heinz!I was promptly deposited by bus at The Sloop pub in Kingskerswell and set off up hill out of the town past some cottages. There are some lovely old parts to Kingskerswell, parts that aren’t done justice when the town is viewed from the main road, but how often can that be said? The best of Devon will never be seen from a typical car journey. I couldn’t help but be amused by the humour of Mr Heinz, who it just so happens lives at number 57! Would you believe it?
View over Torbay from Great Hill Once called Telegraph Hill
I was just over the brow of the hill and already I found myself in quiet Devon countryside and I began to relax. The walking was relatively easy going until I approached Great Hill,, where a gently incline through a park took me up to a superb vantage point looking out across the wide expanse of Torbay. Apparently this hill was once called Telegraph Hill and for a while there was a Royal Observer Corp encampment here. It was established during the Second World War, was closed down afterwards, only to come back into service for a while at the start of the Cold War. I guess we feared the Russians were coming! Today they come in great numbers, but mostly to buy postcards and ice cream. Perhaps the world has become a little more civilized.
Monument to BrunelAs I descended from Great Hill through parkland I came across a corner dedicated to the great Victorian engineer Brunel. Apparently Brunel much loved this area and built his retirement house here on the hill, only to die before ever moving in. There were various wood sculptures in this corner of the park, one a huge totem pole carved with gears and pistons and other engineering artefacts. There was even a sculpture of Brunel himself, which I (don’t laugh) mistook for the Mad Hatter. I suppose with the release of the new Tim Burton Alice film, I must have had Wonderland on my mind. Strange likeness though!
You might be wondering about my “tree of life” quote. Seeing this tree made me think of this as I’d watched the hauntingly beautiful film The Fountain only the night before.
Watcombe Beach
There was no time to waste, as I wanted to make Watcombe Beach for my lunch stop. Watcombe is a favourite place of mine, tucked away as it is in its discrete little cove where few people think to venture. There was a family on the beach when I arrived, and perhaps surprisingly for March, there were two little girls in bathing costumes playing on the beach. I find a secluded spot perched high above the beach and put the kettle on.
I was faced with rather a stiff climb out from Watcombe Beach to pick up the coast path to Babbacombe. Council workers were cleaning the toilet block as I climbed the hill, obviously in readiness for the forthcoming Easter holidays, cue for start of another holiday season.
Babbacombe cliff railwayI entered Babbacombe by the old cliff railway ferrying people to and from the beach. It has obviously done good service during its near hundred year history. I searched out a bench on the cliff top and rested up for a while. Looking out on Oddicombe Beach I could see there had been a significant landslip where a lot of bright red sandstone cliff now lay on the beach stretching into the sea.
Landslip at Oddicombe Beach
I checked out the bus times whilst resting at Babbacombe. The plan had been to catch a bus from here into Torquay from where I’d catch my bus home. The problem with this plan was I’d just missed a bus and faced a wait of nearly an hour for the next bus. I decide I might as well set off walking towards Torquay, keeping an eye over my shoulder for a bus should one appear. It didn’t! I walked the entire route into Torquay.
My walk today had been in lovely warm sunshine, which the subsequent days of my holiday week, days of rain, were to prove as having been something of a rarity. I’d had a really good walk and yet felt well rested as I travelled on my bus home through the sunny Devon countryside. I popped in on Mum as I walked home, and we looked through some old family photos I’d recently borrowed from my cousin Dennis. We could identify a number of faces, but many we couldn’t. More detective work required at sometime.
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 8.9 miles
Moving Time: 3hrs 13min
Stopped Time: 36min
Total Ascent: 440 metres
Maximum Elevation: 174 metres
Buses: X46
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