Synopsis: Glorious view along the length of Slapton Sands on descending the hill from Strete. Lunch on the beach before circling inland to Torcross. Lots of villages and churches along the way.
The weather forecast for today was rather doubtful, but I was desperate to be outdoors. Something told me the weather might be better than expected, and that’s how it turned out. Yet another early start as I had to be in Totnes to catch a connecting bus from here at 9:10.
Totnes CastleI knew I’d have some time to spare in Totnes before my bus was due to depart, so I strolled up the hill out the back of the town towards the castle. This old mott and bailey Norman castle I’d not taken a close look at since I visited it on a school trip. I’ll leave you to work out how long ago that was.
From what I understand, the position of the castle high on a hill overlooking the whole of Totnes was designed to intimidate, and I would think it surely did. Today it’s managed by English Heritage and of course was not open at the unearthly hour of my visit.
Totnes Butterwalk
It was a short distance back to the high street where the market traders were busy setting up their stalls for the day’s business. I noticed this building propped on the wobbliest looking post one could imagine. The area is known as the Butterwalk. The Butterwalk was built to protect the dairy products sold here from the sun and rain (see direction 11).
Totnes Church
There was a notice at the door of St Mary’s church which explained there was an exhibition of old photos of Totnes in the church. I was intrigued to know more, so pushed at the door to hear voices, as the priest and another person were conducting a service. I snuck along the back of the church to where I could see photos being exhibited. I discover this is only a part display of a the Totnes Image Bank collection of photos, the full display being at the Old Mill, which now serves at the Totnes Information Centre (see blog for previous week’s walk).
Woodlands - curious Llama
The bus out of Totnes dropped me by Woodlands leisure complex, an old haunt of ours when my daughters were younger. There were some lamas in a field that were curious enough about my passing to come over and inspect me close up. These are peculiar looking animals, nearly as strange as the hordes of campers in the next field.
Blackawton Church - clad in scaffolding
My first port of call was Blackawton, famous for it’s real ale (for real men!). And, true to form, on entering the village I read that there is going to be a beer festival in the village today. As it’s a bit early for beer, I wonder on to the church, only to find that it’s a building site with numerous ‘hard hats’ sign. As I’ve left mine at home, I decide it best to simply view from a distance.
Strete Church - rather plain
There was quite a lot of cross country walking to follow before catching my first glimpse of Strete around late morning. The village church is quite plain in appearance from the outside, and the interior design matches this look. Sorry, but not very inspired.
Strete - The Kings ArmsOn leaving Strete I come across an information board at a car park on the edge of the village which I stop to read. Apparently this had been the location of the Women’s Institute building that was hit by artillery fire during preparations for the Normandy D-Day Landings during 1946. The village was evacuated for 12 months to allow for these preparations. I find it difficult to imagine an area of such beauty as this being put to horrendous military purposes as happened at during World War II. An old tank salvaged from the sea stands in Slapton Sands car park as a reminder of all that took place during this period of our history.
Slapton Sands - lunch stopThe plan was to lunch on the hillside approaching Slapton Sands, but there’s nowhere particularly suitable to stop for a picnic lunch. Seems to me rather a wasted opportunity, as a little imagination and a stunning view could be the accompaniment one’s refreshment. I found myself on the beach wondering where to eat, and as there was a considerable cool breeze running the length of the beach, this didn’t seem that appealing. Instead I climbed back on the embankment and found a position with a nice view and free of drafts.
Slapton LeyAfter lunch I set off along the length of Slapton Sands. Most of the way there’s good footing along a well trodden path, but where I had to walk on the sand progress was slow and hard. I walked only about half way along the beach and then picked up a lane in the direction of Slapton village.
Slapton Tower
One of the first things that I noticed on entering Slapton is a ruined tower that at first I think is the church, but it isn’t. I approached the tower down a narrow lane where I also come across the Tower Inn that, towered over by the tower (sorry, I know that’s terrible!). There’s no explanation of the tower anywhere around, so unless I find something on the Internet later, this is destined to remain an enigma.
Slapton - to the BastardsThe sun has come out by now and it was beginning to warm up. I take out just a little more time to explore Slapton church, which is quite pleasant and has some things of interest, particularly one stained window I rather liked.
Slapton Tower dominates the village
I passed some pretty cottages as I exited from Slapton. There was some fairly strenuous walking I was to encounter on the next leg of my walk which was to take me to Stokenham. I descended a steep hill into the village with the tower of the church prominently on view.
Stokenham Church decorated capitals
The scale of Stokenham’s church is impressive for what is quite a small village. There are some interesting, but heavily restored paintings on the rood screen. Perhaps most interesting are the carved capitals, which are very ornate, unusual for a church.
Approaching Torcross - grand views our over Slapton LeyAfter Stokenham there was yet another climb in my walk, but I knew this would be worth it. The reason I wanted to go the way I did is that I’d previously walked this lane into Torcross and knew that it gave wonderful views along the whole length of Slapton Sands and Slapton Ley. It was tiring, but I was right to do it, as yes, the views were stunning. I learn from an information board that some miners were employed to mine a tunnel between the Ley and the sea so that it could drain without flooding the road, which apparently it frequently did during winters previous to this measure being taken.
TorcrossI had just time to spend 15 minutes strolling about Torcross before returning to the bus stop to catch my bus into Kingsbridge. There were quite a high number of people about Torcross, I suppose because it was a bank holiday.
Quite a long walk, and quite arduous, climbing so many hills as I did. The highlight was definitely seeing Slapton Sands and the Lee. This is a phenomenal location. More swallows about than last week, when I saw my first of the summer.
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 13.4 miles
Moving Time: 4hrs 51min
Stopped Time: 48min
Total Ascent: 581 metres
Maximum Elevation: 198 metres
Buses: X64, 111 & 93 (Note: 93 is a First bus, therefore an additional ticket to the Stagecoach Devon Explorer had to be purchased for the trip Torcross to Kingsbridge.
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