seaton to portwrinkle

in

south west coast path

thursday, 7TH september 2023

Start location: Seaton (SX 30424 54394)

End point: Portwrinkle (SX 35730 53867)

Map: Explorer 108

It looks like I'll be in for another day of beautiful weather with sun forecast for all day long and practically nothing in the way of a breeze. This is getting monotonous. Those temperatures look way too hot though.

Whitsand Bay high tide 11:15

Whitsand Bay low tide 17:40

I start the day next to The Smugglers Inn in Seaton. We tried to park here on Sunday and Monday but the place was heaving even though the kids should have been back at school and the car parks were rammed full. It is much quieter this morning but it is early yet.

smugglers inn

The beach at Seaton is a spacious grey sand beach popular with families and you can find the Seaton Beach Cafe here. Despite the good weather forecast the day has started grey and overcast.

seaton beach cafe

I drop down to the beach and amble along the sand. The tide is far enough out for me to continue a long way along the beach before I have to climb up onto the sea wall.

I walk along the sea wall photographing some of the wild flowers before dropping down to Downderry Beach.

Downderry Beach is a sheltered beach made of grey sand and shingle with rock pools at low tide. 

The wreck of ‘Gypsy’, the sister ship to the ‘Cutty Sark,’ is hidden under a kelp bed not far from the shore line. I pass underneath the Inn on the Shore at the far end of Downderry Beach.

inn on the shore

I come inshore next to St Nicolas Primary School which is just about to start its school day so there are parents and kids everywhere.

st nicolas primary school

I turn right and head along the imaginatively named Main Road heading towards Battern Cliffs.

I climb out of Downderry and then leave the road at a signpost telling me that Portwrinkle is two and a half miles away.

portwrinkle two and a half miles

I continue to climb upwards along Battern Cliffs, photographing some of the wild flowers around here.

I pass some apple trees no doubt grown from pips from a coast path walker’s cast aside core.

apples

I come across several species of butterflies including red admirals, speckled woods, wall brown, meadow browns and small coppers but they all prove to be elusive to photograph except a lone wall butterfly.

wall brown butterfly

The photographs for the entire day turn out to not be very good with a mixture of under and over exposed photographs so when I get home I’m going to have to experiment with the newish camera again to see what settings I haven’t got set up quite right.

I come across a green woodpecker which I don’t see very often and a lone pheasant which I see all the time.

I continue along the cliff tops and have lovely views over the harbour at Portwrinkle. It’s a shame that my camera isn’t able to capture the views.

The path reaches the village of Portwrinkle passing the tiny harbour. I explore the sand and shingle beaches here inside and outside the harbour.

It's time for a few not very good flower photographs and then my walking is done for the day and it's time to get my lift back to our home from home for the week.

The weather has remained largely overcast but the sun is now out and I’m hot and sweaty and my foot has been playing up again so I’ve hobbled my way most of the way around.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

  • red valerian

  • white valerian

  • red admiral butterflies

  • speckled wood butterflies

  • wall brown butterflies

  • meadow brown butterflies

  • small copper butterflies

  • wild carrot

  • ribwort plantain

  • oxeye daisies

  • red campion

  • periwinkle

  • knapweed

  • buddleia

  • hydrangea

  • blackberries

  • apples

  • scarlet pimpernel

  • yarrow

  • toadflax

  • red hot poker

  • fleabane

  • roses

  • tansy

  • aster

  • green woodpecker

  • pheasant

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via Apple Podcasts or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked a pathetic 4.7 miles which amounts to 12191 steps. It has taken me two hours 35 minutes. The weather started off overcast but turned magnificent and has been way too hot and it has been painful trying to walk on my injured foot. Eight out of ten!

WALK DETAILS

MAP

seaton

downderry

portwrinkle

beach collection

fowey to par sands

in

south west coast path

wednesday, 6th september 2023

Start location: Fowey (SX 12612 51668)

End point: Par Sands (SX 08682 53048)

Map: Explorer 107

The weather forecast for the whole week looks to be fantastic although it’ll be way too hot for walking. It looks like today I'll have a lovely day of beautiful weather with sun forecast for all day long and barely a breath of wind.

Par Sands high tide 10:31

Par Sands low tide 16:50

I start the day at the car park above Fowey where I wander down in to the main part of the town. All the buildings are rammed in tightly and the town is busy with lorry deliveries of beer barrels.

I head back up towards the car park and walk along the Esplanade where I pass the Fowey to Polruan ferry at Whitehouse.

whitehouse

At Whitehouse I have lovely views over to Polruan.

view to polruan

I head along Readymoney Road where I take up with local dog walkers and arrive at Readymoney Cove Beach, a small, sheltered sandy beach.

readymoney cove

readymoney cove

I leave Readymoney Cove and now have lovely views over to Polruan and up the River Fowey.

view back to polruan

view back to fowey

I pass the remains of St Catherine's Castle, one of a pair of small artillery forts built by Henry VIII in the 1530s to defend Fowey Harbour.

I pass over Penventinue Cove and then pass Coombe Haven which is completely deserted except for some stranded jellyfish. I head up onto Southground Cliffs and Lankelly Cliff.

coombe haven

The path descends to the south facing beach at Polridmouth Cove, which actually consists of two beaches. From the first beach I can see the beacon on Gribbin Head and I then follow the sea wall to reach the second beach which has a few people on it.

I climb grassy slopes at The Gribbin and pass below the 84 foot red and white Gribbin daymark, erected in 1832, enabling sailors to pinpoint the approach to Fowey's harbour.

I now have fine views over St Austell Bay where I can make out Par Sands, Carlyon Bay, Charlestown, Du Porth and Porthpean.

st austell bay

I continue along the cliffs and drop down to the beach at Polkerris. Here you can find the Rashleigh Inn where thirsty walkers can stop for a nice pint.

rashleigh inn

I enjoy the beach for a while which is getting quite busy. A sandy, crescent shaped, south west facing beach can be found here.

I head up the slipway passing Sams on the Beach which is based in the old  Polkerris lifeboat station.

sams on the beach

I climb out of Polkerris and I have lovely views back over the harbour.

polkerris harbour

It is now a short hobble to reach the views over Par Sands.

I drop down to the car park at Par Sands, passing the Ship Inn at Polmear on the way.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

  • red admiral butterflies

  • speckled wood butterflies

  • ribwort plantain

  • yarrow

  • perforate st john’s-wort

  • knapweed

  • bladder campion

  • bird’s-foot trefoil

  • ragwort

  • herb robert

  • red campion

  • blackberries

  • stranded jellyfish

  • scarlet pimpernel

  • wild carrot

  • scabious

  • cat’s-ear

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via Apple Podcasts or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked a pathetic 7 miles which amounts to 17285 steps. It has taken me three hours 25 minutes. The weather has been magnificent but way too hot and it has been painful trying to walk on my injured foot. Eight out of ten!

WALK DETAILS

MAP

fowey

polridmouth

polkerris

par sands

beach collection

charlestown to par sands

in

south west coast path

tuesday, 5th september 2023

Start location: Charlestown (SX 03779 51676)

End point: Par Sands (SX 08682 53048)

Map: Explorer 107

It looks like I'll be in for another day of beautiful weather with sun forecast for all day long. The temperatures look they are going to be on the high side with not much in the way of wind so walking could be a bit on the sweaty side.

Par Sands high tide 10:00

Par Sands low tide 16:13

I haven’t been able to put any weight on my right foot for a couple of days after injuring it on the walk on Saturday so walking today is going to be a bit tentative so I’ve changed my plans and I’m going to be walking much shorter walks for the rest of the week.

I start the day back in Charlestown where the sand and pebble beach here sits just outside the harbour and where I enjoy the the early morning sun before setting off.

I pass by the Pier House Hotel and Restaurant before rounding the harbour. The Charlestown Shipwreck and Heritage Centre is found at the head of the harbour.

I drop down and enjoy the grey beach next to the harbour before regaining the coast path.

I regain the cliffs and pass in front of Porth Avallen Hotel, photographing the flowers as I amble along.

porth avallen hotel

charlestown national coastwatch station

charlestown national coastwatch station

The path continues in front of Carlyon Bay Hotel and I come across loads of red admiral butterflies. I continue to photograph the flowers around here.

carlyon bay hotel

red admiral

I descend down 80 or so concrete steps to reach Carlyon Bay Beach.

Carlyon Bay consists of three beaches, Crinnis, Polgaver and Shorthorn, and once upon a time it was lovely around here but on my previous visits had turned into an eyesore with the Cornwall Coliseum at the top of Crinnis Beach gradually falling into disrepair. The Coliseum was finally demolished in the Spring of 2015.

There are still mixed opinions about this beach but despite there still being some remnants of the coliseum and a pretty odd security presence, I rather like it around here especially this early in the morning when there’s hardly anyone about.

rubble

security prescence

The sandy beach is around two miles long. Actually, it’s not sand, it’s made up of something called ‘Stent’ which is a waste material from the china clay and tin mining activities.

There's a number of pop up shops - although they look more permanent nowadays - on the beach which are quiet this early but I expect will be heaving later.

I don’t think there is an exit point at the far end of the beach so I head back up the concrete steps to rejoin the coast path where it continues alongside the Carlyon Bay Golf Course and towards a disused china clay works at Spit Point.

china clay works

I find a beach which is normally deserted just before reaching the china clay works but it's actually quite busy today and there are quite a few people swimming in the sea. There is a dead dolphin on the beach. The beach is unmarked on my Ordnance Survey map but must be Spit Point Beach.

I enjoy the beach here before walking through the deserted and dusty china clay works to reach the hideously busy A3082.

My foot is starting to feel quite painful now and I’m hobbling along propped up by my walking pole. The path continues past the Port of Par and then through the stinky village of Par passing the Church of the Good Shepherd.

church of the good shepherd

I continue past the Welcome Home Inn and find a sign pointing out to the coast path.

welcome home inn

I follow a convoluted path which eventually leads me to a wildflower meadow at Par Beach Local Nature Reserve.

par beach local nature reserve

I pass a bee hive, part of a ‘rewilding our honey bees’ project. The hive was installed by Just Bee Eco Hives.

rewilding our honey bees

rewilding our honey bees

The path finally leads me to the beach at Par Sands where I wander along the sandy beach and at the far end walk through the sand dunes to reach the car park where my lift awaits.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

  • red admiral butterflies

  • speckled wood butterflies

  • small tortoiseshell butterfly

  • japanese anemones

  • red valerian

  • ribwort plantain

  • hydrangea

  • buddleia

  • blackberries

  • herb robert

  • crocosmia

  • fuchsias

  • hawthorn

  • scabious

  • wild carrot

  • bird’s-foot trefoil

  • toadflax

  • roses

  • red campion

  • tansy

  • ragwort

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via Apple Podcasts or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked a pathetic 5.5 miles which amounts to 13376 steps. It has taken me two hours 40 minutes. The weather has been magnificent but way too hot and it has been painful trying to walk on my injured foot. Eight out of ten!

WALK DETAILS

MAP

charlestown

carlyon bay

spit point beach

beach collection

mevagissey to charlestown

in

south west coast path

saturDAY, 2nd september 2023

Start location: Mevagissey (SX 01485 44790)

End point: Charlestown (SX 03779 51676)

Map: Explorer 105

The weather forecast for the whole week looks to be fantastic although it’ll be way too hot for walking. It looks like today I'll have a lovely day of beautiful weather with sun forecast for all day long and barely a breath of wind.

Mevagissey high tide 08:02

Mevagissey low tide 14:22

Today's walk starts at the car park above Mevagissey. I descend down to the harbour. It's early and the harbour hasn't really got going yet.

I do a bit of exploration and pass the Wheelhouse Inn, the Harbour Tavern, The Sharks Fin, The Fountain Inn, The Ship Inn and the Cellar Bar before heading around the harbour towards Mevagissey Museum.

I climb up out of Mevagissey where I have lovely views back over the harbour.

The path heads behind houses on the outskirts of Mevagissey and the walk continues around Penare Point where the fields are full of docile cows.

cows

I amble along taking photographs of the wild and cultivated flowers.

I now have lovely views over Pentewan Beach. It’s looking pretty busy down there despite the fact that the kids should be back at school.

view over pentewan

I descend to Pentewan Beach and the Pentewan Sands Holiday Park. The official coast path route skirts around Pentewan Beach, presumably because the beach is privately owned. I head for the beach anyway and, technically, do a bit of trespassing.

At the end of the beach a path takes me back to the official coast path at Pentewan village.

Pentewan apparently means 'foot of the radiant stream'. I cross a stream but I can’t say that it’s particularly radiant. The village and harbour here date back to medieval times and although the harbour was once important for shipping china clay it is now entirely cut off from the sea.

I take a footbridge over the harbour entrance and then round the harbour to reach the The Ship Inn.

ship inn

The path leaves the square in Pentewan village and then climbs steeply up Pentewan Hill and passes All Saints Church.

all saints church

I amble along the path out of Pentewan, photographing the various flowers.

I have a final view down towards Pentewan beach.

leaving pentewan beach

leaving pentewan beach

The path passes Polrudden Cove and I have lovely views across to the beacon on Gribbin Head.

beacon on gribbin head

I continue ambling along the coast path where a sign warns me that the cliffs are dangerous and that the owners are not responsible for trespassers injuries. I also pass a lone cormorant out on a rock.

At a stream at East Vans I come across a puzzled couple who are examining a fallen down signpost and have no idea which direction to go. I will continue to meet them throughout the day, mostly the three of us going in the wrong direction.

We head off towards Hallane Mill which used to be surrounded by sculptures but these are long gone and the mill now seems to be a holiday let for Classic Cottages.

hallane mill

The path continues towards Black Head and passes a big granite block in memory of the Cornish poet A L Rowse.

“A L ROWSE CH
1903-1997
POET AND HISTORIAN

LEF A GERNOW
VOICE OF CORNWALL

THIS WAS THE LAND
OF MY CONTENT”

a l rowse

I should double back round on myself at the memorial but there aren’t any signs indicating this so I head off in the wrong direction where I meet the couple for a second time at a dead end on Black Head.

I’m starting to feel pain in my right foot, which has never happened before, and this injury will continue to cause me problems for the rest of the week.

We retrace our steps and round the memorial stone where the path heads for some woodland and then climbs up along Ropehaven Cliffs.

ropehaven cliffs

I enter woods and, at a bench, follow the wrong path (no signs again) and get temporarily lost. The couple follow me down the wrong path before we realize that we’ve gone wrong again and retrace our steps up to the bench to follow the correct path.

I pass Gwendra Point, Silvermine Point and Phoebe's Point where I have magnificent views over St Austell Bay.

view over st austell bay

I drop down to the village of Porthpean where there is a lovely, sandy beach. It is much busier than I was expecting. The beach is home to Porthpean Sailing Club and the Porthpean Beach Cafe can be found here.

There aren’t any signs so I go wrong again but eventually see my fellow walkers one last time walking along the sea wall where, at the far end, I find a set of steps which takes me back onto the cliffs.

A short walk over Carrickowel Point takes me to Du Porth Beach which means 'two coves' in Cornish. The beach is privately owned but accessible to the public and it's much quieter than Porthpean Beach.

My foot is causing me some serious grief now so I take a quick photograph before retracing my steps back on to the cliffs.

du porth

I regain the coast path and it takes me behind back gardens where I have a final view back over Du Porth.

du porth

I pass the Crinnis Cliff Battery, constructed around 1793 to defend the entrance to the new harbour at Charlestown.

crinnis cliff battery

I hobble down the path to reach Charlestown, an unspoilt example of a late Georgian working port, originally used to export copper and import coal but subsequently used to export china clay.

Nowadays it is much more recognized as a television and film location and has been used for The Onedin Line (Blimey! that was a long time ago!!), The Eagle has Landed, Longitude, Apocalypto and Doctor Who amongst others. 

The sand and pebble beach here sits just outside the harbour.

I hobble painfully up through Charlestown to the car park where my lift awaits.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

  • californian poppy

  • yarrow

  • echium

  • blackberry

  • roses

  • hydrangea

  • red admiral butterflies

  • speckled wood butterflies

  • fuchsia

  • herb robert

  • red campion

  • buddleia

  • ribwort plantain

  • purple loosestrife

  • crocosmia

  • cyclamen

  • cat’s-ear

  • wild carrot

  • cormorant

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via Apple Podcasts or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 9.8 miles which amounts to 24724 steps. It has taken me four and three quarter hours. The weather has been magnificent but the latter half of the walk has been painful trying to walk on my injured foot. Eight out of ten!

WALK DETAILS

MAP

mevagissey

st austell bay

porthpean

beach collection

woodbury castle to exmouth

in

east devon way

monDAY, 5TH june 2023

Start location: Woodbury Castle (SY032872)

End point: Exmouth (SX999811)

Map: Explorer 115

The weather forecast for the entire week continues to look fantastic. Today should be sunny and warm all day long.

Although I will only get glimpses of the sea today I’ll include the tide times for Exmouth Dock.

Exmouth Dock high tide 08:18

Exmouth Dock low tide 14:23

I start the day back at the car park at Woodbury Castle and cross over the road to Estuary View car park to see what the view is actually like. There are a load of bushes in the way but I can see where I’ll be walking for the rest of the day.

estuary view

woodbury castle car park

estuary view car park

I return to Woodbury Castle car park and follow the fingerpost to Exmouth on the south side of the car park. I follow a track south, keeping the A3180 road on my right.

fingerpost

I almost immediately come across common spotted orchids on the side of the track.

I go straight over a lane into a car park near Four Firs crossroads.

four firs car park

I turn right in this car park through a wooden gate into an area of conservation grazing, following the path through heathland. I bear right and follow the track uphill aiming for a gap in the conifers on the brow of the hill.

gap in conifers

After the conifers, where the track swings left I go straight ahead down a narrow pebble path through the gorse towards Blackhill Quarry. This is an amazing landscape of quarried red sand and gravel, being managed by the RSPB with grazing ponies.

I pass the lake in Blackhill Quarry on my right and join a broader track. I follow waymarkers and go through a gate, ascending towards woodland.

I turn right at the top, near Fryingpans on the map, then fork left at a waypost. I pass through a wooden gate and enter Lympstone Common. I keep straight ahead where I join a public bridleway. When I reach a crossroads of public bridleways, I turn left and follow waymarks though a pleasant woodland until I reach a car park, where I turn right on to the lane towards the B3179 road.

I turn left along the B3179 walking along it for 80 yards, then turn right down Higher Marley Road. This is a narrow residential road with no pavement.

higher marley lane

Bystock Woods is to my left. At the bottom where the road curves to the left, I keep straight on Marley Road, ignoring Gorse Lane on the left.

marley road

I continue between iron bollards on to a traffic-free section to reach Dinan Way.

I cross over this road via a pedestrian refuge to continue down Marley Road which is again closed to vehicles. I pass houses and, when the road becomes open to vehicles again with houses on both sides, I fork right ahead by a waymark post up a wooded track.

I cross over Hulhum Road, bearing slightly right and turn down a grassy public footpath with houses on my left and fields on my right, where I have my first proper glimpse of the estuary.

glimpse of the estuary

There are people here strimming the life out of the vegetation. When I reach Summer Lane I turn left to pass A La Ronde on my left, a unique 16-sided National Trust property. Members and paying visitors can visit the house, enjoy the views over the estuary and visit the tea room.

a la ronde

I continue on the lane with views ahead to the estuary where I will soon be walking. At a cross roads I go straight over the A376 Exeter Road, next to a petrol station.

I walk down Courtlands Lane, and after the last house on the right turn right over a stile along a public footpath.

I walk between a hedgerow on my right and an earth bank on my left and follow it left around a field of wheat. I go through a kissing gate and resume walking in the same direction with the hedge now on my left. I follow the path as it turns right around the field and then left through another kissing gate, glimpsing the view down to the estuary.

field of wheat

I go through another kissing gate onto an access track and, at the lane cross over on to a public bridleway. This turns left before meeting a lane. I turn right and continue until I see a railway arch over the road.

railway arch

Just before the arch I turn left though a gate to follow the Exe Estuary Trail for three quarters of a mile, a shared cycle route and footpath, part of National Cycle Network Route 2.

exe estuary trail

exe estuary trail

I pass a mural, made up of drawings by children from Lympstone Primary School and designed by Jo Salter who painted it with Steve Pixie.

I’m now next to the railway line and I begin to hear trains going into and out of Exmouth. As the path climbs a little I see the estuary on my right, a paradise for bird watching.

exe estuary

Ahead I can see the landmark of Exmouth church tower.

exmouth church tower

After another half a mile I pass National Trust owned Lower Halsdon Farm and join Mudbank Lane. I follow it right as it crosses a bridge over a drainage channel.

lower halsdon farm

I have lovely views over the estuary and I enjoy the wildflowers bordering the trail.

view over estuary

view over estuary

I turn right at the public footpath sign into a park, then turn right up steps to cross the railway tracks, taking care to look out for approaching trains. I go through
a kissing gate, then left at the junction to follow the path along the estuary.

beware of trains!

I have more magnificent views over the estuary and pass a signpost pointing back to where I have come from.

view over estuary

view over estuary

east devon way

After passing through a pleasant grassy nature reserve, I emerge and pass a coach park then a car park on my left and pass behind the railway station where a train is just drawing in. I follow the road beside the estuary until I arrive at a viewpoint with interpretation boards marking the western end of the East Devon Way. My walking is done.

viewpoint

start and end of the east devon way

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

  • red campion

  • bracken

  • common spotted orchids

  • roses

  • foxgloves

  • aqualegia

  • rhododendrons

  • herb robert

  • white valerian

  • red valerian

  • bluebells

  • hogweed

  • gladioli

  • borage

  • navelwort

  • cuckooflower

  • wrens

  • robins

  • chaffinch

  • chiffchaff

  • guinea fowl

  • swallows

  • sparrows

  • whitethroat

  • goat’s-beard

  • common bird’s-foot trefoil

  • common mallow

  • ribwort plantain

  • ox-eye daisies

  • sea holly

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via Apple Podcasts or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 7.7 miles which amounts to 18051 steps. It has taken me three hours. The weather has been magnificent again and the walking has been lovely. Ten out of ten!

walk details

map

exe estuary trail

mural

exe estuary

east devon way

(not) beach collection