Synopsis: As it would be Mother’s Day this coming Sunday, this was my little treat for Mum. A drive over Dartmoor and onto Looe for pub lunch. Then a drive around Whitsand Bay and the coast of south Devon.
The sun was shining, the day was warm, and the weather forecast for the rest of the week was lousy, so this seemed the ideal day to get out and about. Options were rather limited this early in the year, with most National Trust properties closed. I suggested to Mum we take a drive, and that’s what we did. A combination of moor and coast seemed a good plan, so to start the day we drove over Dartmoor to Tavistock, and then on to Looe for a pub lunch. The driving route for today is shown on the map below.
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Looe was busier than I thought it would be, with quite a bustle in the streets and cafés. We parked just over the bridge that separates East Looe from West Looe, although I believe today the place is simply known as Looe. A brief walk along the river and over the bridge found us searching out a pub for lunch.
Looe, Cornwall
After lunch we wandered about the confined byways of Looe, rather amazed at the traffic squeezing its way though the extremely narrow streets. The medieval plan of this town remains largely intact hence the winding and narrow streets to be found wherever we ventured.
The Old Guildhall (Grade II* Listed), now a museum, we passed by, but was probably worth a visit, only time for us was sadly too pressing.
Looe, Cornwall
It was only a matter of a few minutes before we had reached the small beach with its soft yellow sands. The sun we’d experienced on our drive over Dartmoor was by now losing its prevalence over the hazy clouds drifting our way.
The Francis Frith collection of old photos of Looe is very extensive and worth a browse. The photo I’ve selected from the collection to present here in my blog I’ve chosen simply because it is easily possible to see the exact roof line in this photo of mine. It seems to me the garb may have changed considerably, but in all other respects Looe appears — very commendably — much as it always has.
By now our 2 hour parking ticket was close to expiring so we made our way back towards the car park. We drove from Looe to Seaton and picked up the road that runs high along the cliffs of Whitsand Bay. This is a very picturesque, almost corniche like stretch of road with views sweeping across the bay as far as Rame Head. We parked briefly in a lay-by near Donkey Lane to enjoy the views but we weren’t inclined to take the air as there was by now a brisk wind blowing.
Lay-by on the Military Road with views across Whitsand Bay
We crossed the River Tamar using the Torpoint Ferry which was quick, efficient and relatively cheap. After having crossed Plymouth we picked up the road for Kingsbridge where we stopped in Tesco to purchase some drinks fearing that the cafés would likely be closing as it was now approaching 16:30. I pulled into the car park that looks out on Kingsbrige Estuary for us to consume our drinks whilst taking in the views.
From Kingsbridge we headed out on the south Devon coast road. My original intention had been to drive to Dartmouth but time was against us, so I detoured off the coast at Strete to pick up the road for Totnes and from there we took a more direct route back to Exeter.
We picked up sandwiches and a trifle (Mum’s favourite) in Tesco on reaching Exeter and settled down to these whilst watching the film Then She Found Me on BBC iPlayer which was very enjoyable and relaxing. I think the day worked out really well for both Mum and I.
Drive Statistics:
Total Distance: 165 miles
Buses: (none)
Ferry: Torpoint (single car crossing: £1.50)
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