South Devon Day 3 - Kingston to Salcombe

Arriving back at the Coast path after our 'Off Path' stay at Kingston. Views down to Westcombe Beach

Ayrmer Cove to Warren Point

Ayrmer Cove with a nice climb after it !

Time for a breather at the top - The sun is out and conditions are lovely, with a breeze to keep the body temperature just right.

Burgh Island with the tide out. Many tourists were walking over to the Island with the Pilchard Inn and Burgh Island Hotel prominent at the front of the island. Had it been High Tide - then we may have seen the novel Sea Tractor being used which was parked up for now.

Approaching the River Avon and our next ferry crossing - Those trees look familiar, wonder if they are the same type that are on Great Mell Fell ?

As it's low tide and from this distance the River Avon also looks wadable - but bet it's not when you get closer

Here goes ! After I worked out that you need to actually hit the bell with the hammer, not just shake it (Thanks Dave) - A chap appeared on the other side and waved, we waved back and then he headed for his small craft to come and get us.

After about 1 minute we were approaching the landing area and handing over our fare.

Heading into the small hamlet of Bantham

After a short break for some traditional Devon ice cream just outside Bantham, it was into the adder territory. We didn't actually see any, but have done on previous SWCP days. Think they generally give the path a wide berth.

Thurlestone Beach

At Beacon Point looking ahead to the prominent Bolt Tail

Approaching the beautiful Hope Cove

After a very enjoyable sandwich lunch stop at Hope Cove (Inner Hope), we pressed on around Bolt Tail and looked back at this beauty spot.

Fires in the ferns and gorse as we head along Bolt Tail, with the fire service in action putting them out and dampening the ground. How do they start ? I guess a discarded cigarette. Can't think that there would be camp fires around here or any malicious activity - but who knows ? Anyway, our main concern was trying to get by without getting wet ! There were quite a few blackened burnt areas around here, so this was obviously a frequent occurrence.

Past all the drama and now heading towards Slippery Point.

At Lantern Rock we decided to take our 'selfie' of the day - The weather was lovely and we had the delights of Salcombe to look forward to, so spirits were high. It did end up being quite a taxing day though as we managed to clock up nearly 3500ft of ascent.

Looking down to the pretty and secluded Soar Mill Cove

Off Cove

Heading towards Bolt Head

Looking across Starehole Bay we can see our path traversing round the headland over the other side.

Admiring the stunning beauty of Starehole Bay. The colour of the water and the serene isolation of this magical place made it, for me, possibly the highlight of the entire South Devon stretch. We admired the beauty and tranquillity of this place for quite some time before pressing on.

One last look across the turquoise bay before we walk around the rocky headland edge which benefited from a hand rail in places to make sure you didn't actually fall into the bay whilst your eyes are focused elsewhere.

Round the bend of Sharp Tor and Salcombe comes into view. Don't be fooled into thinking that the walk is almost done for the day, as the rich hamlets of South Sands and North Sands need to be walked through by road. This seems to take an age on tired legs, with quite a few climbs to negotiate and many brand new BMW's & Mercedes to get out of the way of en-route to our nights B&B - which was also very high up in the town. But a great day with a good night out to follow hopefully.

Salcombe was a wealthy, but friendly place. It was a Sunday night, so 2 out of the 4 pubs were closed, but we still managed to enjoy a nice meal and have a limited pub crawl.

Overlooking Salcombe Bay.