Synopsis: Picnic lunch on the grass near Meadfoot Beach. Then we drove across the bay to Berry Head where we’d just missed a mock battle between the English and the French. Then ice creams in Brixham.
We had the day to ourselves, Laura, Mum and Me, and no definite plans as to what we wanted to do. Weather was mixed, so it was difficult to say what would be best. We decided to make a picnic lunch, pile into Mum’s car and set off, and have a bit of a magical mystery tour.
Oddicombe Beach - Babbacombe Cliff Railway
We first stopped at Babbacombe where I parked up and we rode the cliff railway down to Oddicombe Beach. This is a lovely old funicular railway that first opened in 1926. It certainly provides a convenient and effortless way to and from the beach. Very civilised!
Oddicombe Beach
Having been deposited at Oddicombe Beach we walked its short length to where it is possible to see the enormous land slide that must have occurred quite recently. It looks like a large red gash in the cliff side.
Babbacombe Beach
We then walked around the bay in the direction of the beach near Withy Point. Here there is a short harbour wall from which people fished and young boys were jumping into the sea. Laura and I were experimenting with our cameras, attempting to capture wide-angle panoramic shots at various locations. The photograph to the right was probably my best effort.
We walked back to the cliff railway which we rode on to the top of the cliffs. From here we took a brief stroll around the gardens of Babbacombe before returning to our car. I then drove us to the grass area behind Meadfoot Beach where we had a picnic lunch and a nice cup of tea.
Once again we weren’t sure what to do next. I stood on the shore of Meadfoot Beach looking across the bay to Berry Head and said why don’t we head out there. Mum and Laura were in agreement, so off we set.
Berry Head - English Heritage event - Anglo-French battle recreation from c. 1800
On driving out to Berry Head we seemed to be hitting rather a lot of traffic heading in the opposite direction. I’d seen some posters from the car saying something about a battle. Once we had arrived it was easy to see what was happening. We’d just missed an enactment of a mock battle between the English and the French, how it would have been fought during the Napoleonic Wars. There were a lot of people dressed in period costume and there were numerous tents with food cooking on wood stoves. I believe this event was staged by Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust. It was certainly interesting thing for us to see even though we missed (late again!) the battle itself.
And to round off our little trip I proposed that we drive down to Brixham and take a little walk around the harbour. Having parked by the roadside and whilst walking towards the harbour, Mum asked, on seeing steep steps down to the harbour side, do we have to go down there? I replied, probably rather cheekily, “Only if you want an ice cream.” It had the desired effect anyway, for Mum was soon leading the way down those steps! It was well worth it, because we were soon eating delicious ice creams from Kelly’s Ice Cream shop on the harbour side.
Today was certainly a day of great variety, full of many things of interest, and all done on the spur of the moment. Well, who needs plans anyway? And yes, quite magical in its way.
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