Sunday: 28th May: Weather: 9°C to 21°C: Cool morning then sunny and warm all day
Torquay to Exmouth: 12.0k walk: ?hrs ?? mins: 8am to 12.00pm: 1 x 30 min break: Ascent: 400 metres
Accommodation: Manor House The Beacon Rd Exmouth
Very hilly Watcombe to Shaldon
Thatched Tavern Maidencombe
View to Torquay from Maidencombe
3hrs of hill walking to Teignmouth
Teignmouth view from hilltop SWCP
Teignmouth port
Walking to bridge over Teign River
Dawlish Station
Train from Teignmouth to Dawlish
Beer with ham sandwich for lunch
Highlights of our day 15 were firstly a lovely wide tracked shady path from Watcombe to Sheldon. Then train from Teignmouth to Starcorss on one of the most famous UK coastal trains that is part of the London to Penzance line, followed by a ferry from Starcross to Exmouth. In Exmouth, we had amd interesting wander around the Marks and Spencer Food Hall looking for treats for dinner.
As usual we’re awake at 6am. The attic stayed warm all night and we slept well without the thick doona. But it’s a cold 9°C downstairs, so we put the heater on while we have a cup of tea, shower and have breakfast of muesli and yoghurt for Ian and for me, warmd bread from the microwave with jam, joghurt and seeds sprinkled on top. At 8am we’re packed and ready to go.
It’s still cool outside as we head down the track linking Watcombe back to the SWCP, but there’s a sign at the bottom indicating Watcombe Beach is closed. Another couple of walkers are turning back believing the SWCP is also closed, but we continue, because it’s supposed to be a nice track and we’re not turning back if it's not necessary. We soon discover that it’s only the steps to the beach that are closed, the SWCP is OK.
For the next 3hrs, it's the most ups and downs we’ve done in the shortest space of time. It was very tough, not because of the 100 metre ascents but the steepness of the climbs, and there were no seats for a coffee break on this wooded track. It was almost 11am when the last hilltop rise brings a superb view of the River Teign, the town of Teignmouth and beyond. Time for a coffee and fig roll at the first seat we’ve seen in ages.
It’s stil a steep descent down to Shaldon, then a walk along the river to the bridge following the signs to the Teignmouth Railway station. The ticket office is closed, so we have to fathom our way through the ticket machine, hoping it doesn’t chew up our Visa card. It spits out two tickets to Starcross, and we cross on the overhead rail bridge to the other side to wait for the 12.19 train. It actually goes all the way to Exmouth, but there’s another 15 stations inbetween as the train goes all the way to Exeter and back. We opt to hop off at Starcross, just two stations away, and get the Starcross ferry over to Exmouth.
The train is crowded with sunburnt poms. It is quite a spectacular train trip - so close to the sea edge that it is often washed away. We can see people walking some sections of the SWCP which follows the train line along the sea shore to Dawlish, but there’s sections which are undergoing serious repairs. After 14 minutes we alight at Starcross and walk 100 metres to the ferry.
The Starcross ferry is privately run, and only takes cash - but not “old” money like the paper pounds we have from 5 years ago. So lucky I saved two “new” £5 notes to pay for the ferry trip. Twenty minutes later we’re in Exmouth and walking the 1k to the Mountain Warehouse, where, as promised in Looe, they have saved us a Coleman isobutane/propane gas can. The gas can we bought in Newquay was almost empty after 14 days, so this new one should last us the next 10 days of our hike.
On the way to Mountain Warehouse, we’ve seen a large Central Park in the middle of Exmouth, and we return to it to find a seat in the shade and have a fresh bread cheese sandwich with a beer Ian has managed to carry from Watcombe, wrapped in some insulating clothes. It’s kept cool and goes nicely with lunch. We also spy a Marks and Spencer Food Hall, famous for lots of goodies, and after lunch we browse through the shop buying extras for dinner like peanuts, more fresh bread, bananas,a cup of Meusli, Somerset Brie cheese, mayonnaise, Prosciutto and Mortadella.
It’s only another 500 metres to our Hotel Manor which we easily find opposite the Manor Gardens where there’s a music festival, and soon we’re showered and have our socks washed before sorting photos. An hour later Ian trots off to buy two cold beers from Tesco’s Express, to have with dinner. We use two chairs and a small bedside table to make a dinner setting, and enjoy our salad and dried meats with a view over the chimney tops of Exmouth.
Time passes quickly and we can still hear the thumping of the band music from Manor Gardens opposite us. It’s not intrusive - yet! Time for a kit kat and a hot chocolate.
Shopping at Marks & Spencers Food
A nap after a beer for lunch