Synopsis: Travelling by rail, arriving at Torquay, departing from Paignton, a walk loop with the objective of gaining Beacon HIll, from where there are fine views of the whole of Torbay.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)
Today’s objective was Beacon Hill, a vantage point that I’d passed on previous walks. It’s set back from the crescent shaped Torbay, and from it’s summit it is possible to view the whole of the bay. No one goes there, but me, or so it seems. It’s a little inaccessible by car, and that’s all it takes to be quiet it would seem. Not a worry for me, as I have no car, and was traveling by train, arriving at Torquay Railway Station a little before 11am.
I picked up the path that follows a stream from Livermead Sands to Cockington Court. This is a popular walk, being close to the shore as it is. I planned to walk around the lakes of Cockington Court, but not into the village itself, nor to Cockington Court manor house. I broke off from the picturesque lakes near the old Gamekeeper’s Cottage, climbing into woods.
There was to be a whole heap of woods to walk through on this hike, and that I could see was going to be a significant part of the walk’s attraction. I’ve created a short list of the woods that I walked through today, which can be found below. Here is shown the track I walked through Ten Acre Brake.
I skirted a small housing estate before entering Occombe Valley Woods Nature Reserve. The quiet stillness of the woods belied the fact that only moments before I had been in a bustling seaside resort. I climbed steadily through the nature reserve and then followed a road for a while near Churscombe. From a footpath that crossed open grassland I caught my first sight of Beacon Hill, which was to be my lunch stop.
And this is a sample of the view to be had from Beacon Hill on a fine day like today. And, as expected, I had the place to myself. Here I sat in a field beside a hedge and ate my picnic lunch. It’s an extremely restful place. And, that was the hill climbing (or, at least, most of it) done for the day.
There is perhaps a surprising amount of park and woodland walking on the route I traversed today. I had only a small amount of urban walking to negotiate, and nothing unduly unpleasant. It wasn’t long before I was entering the small seaside resort of Goodrington. Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside, and it would seem, I’m not the only one that feels like that.
I picked up the rock walk, that snakes its way up the cliff face at one end of Goodrington beach. From the top of the cliff I stopped briefly to take in the view. The sun still shone, and I felt it had been a thoroughly enjoyable walk. A reasonable distance covered, but nothing too demanding. I walked on to Paignton Railway Station from where I caught a train back to Exeter. Information regarding my travel arrangements can be found below, along with walk statistics.
Woods encountered on my walk today: Thornhill Brake (passed by); Hellinghay Wood (passed through); Manscombe Woods (passed through); Ten Acre Brake (passed through); Scadson Plantation (passed through); East Down Plantation (passed through); Round Down Wood (passed through); Primley Woods (passed through).
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 18.6 km / 11.6 miles
Moving Time: 5hrs 47min
Stopped Time: 1hr 00min
Total Ascent: 469 metres
Maximum Elevation: 183 metres
Buses: (none)
Trains: Digby & Sowton to Paignton – off-peak day return with Devon & Cornwall Railcard: £5:00
…… Normal ticket price, without railcard discount (33%) would have been: £7.60
Train out: 09:29 – 10:48 (1hr 19mins) – no changes (arrived Torquay)
Train return: 17:49 – 18:58 (1hr 09mins) – no changes
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