The sun was shining, the views were indeed spectacular, therefore a walk to continue our journey on from Berry Head was definitely in order! We passed by both Napoleonic Forts, to reach the end of the path at the Cliff Edge where we did not complete the walk along the path yesterday. This time when I looked over to gaze at the sea views, the Sea was not as meek and mild as it had been previously, as the waves were crashing against the Breakwater with Gusto!
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| From 26.05.2012 – South West Coast Path – BerryHead – Churston Cove |
We followed the Coast path towards Brixham. Unfortunately it did not really feel like a “Coast Path”, as the path descends through a woodland area. On a very warm day like we were experiencing, it did not really matter, particularly as the shade the trees gave a great protection from the rays of the sun. I will admit, that I have started to enjoy the diversity of this path, from these woodlands, to narrow paths on steep cliffs, to to Seafronts! and gentle cliff tops :-)!
The path finally came out at a road. In fact there are no many signs as to where to go, but I think we made a logical deduction to follow the road towards the sea front! We found ourselves looking at “Shoalstone Outdoor Pool”. Unlike some of the Lidos, that I had encountered in the past such as the Cliftonville Lido and the Barking Lido it seems that Shoalstone Pool had remained relatively intact! The Pool was built during 1896 and during 1926 the pool was slightly altered to increase it’s size. A local lady gave the pool a great tradition of diving into the pool at the start of each season wearing a Union Jack just after the pool reopened after the Second World War! Despite threats of closure during the recent years, the pool has survived and still going strong today. I must admit when I saw the words “Closed” painted on the side of the pool – I didn’t realise it meant for the season, but with the waves crashing over the edge of the Pool Wall I was not going for a dip!
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| From 26.05.2012 – South West Coast Path – BerryHead – Churston Cove |
We walked on towards Brixham and to Breakwater Beach. The beach here may not be sandy and is quite small, but it is quite nice. We followed the path into Brixham Marina. The sea on this side of the Breakwater wall is so different. It is so calm, there were no waves at all! The noise we could hear was the wind whistling through Yacht Masts, it was certainly very eerie. The stroll along the Marina, was really pleasant, particularly as the Brixham residents had created beautiful little gardens along the Marina walls. These gardens were thanks to the “Pride in Brixham” volunteer group, their hard work had even won them some gardening awards. 🙂
We were now in the Harbour area, and we passed by the “British Seaman’s Boys Home” . The building was in fact Grenville House built in 1863 by William Gibbs, with it sole intention to provide a home for the sons of any British Seamen who had passed away. It remained open up until 1988, however, the house re-opened in 1990 as an outdoor and educational centre! I think it was well used, we definitely heard lots of noise emanating from there!
As we carried on our walk, we discovered that Brixham Marina did not just cater for the latest yachts, but had a small number of much older boats as well. In fact Brixham had the world’s largest fleets of wooden sailing trawlers. The 6 boats that are in the Harbour today are the only trawlers which remain in existence today. I was shocked to find a much older boat in the Marina, the Golden Hind! I thought I was having a touch of dejavu since I saw the same ship back in London in February? It seems that Francis Drake’s ship was obviously such a beautiful ship that it has been recreated twice!
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| From 26.05.2012 – South West Coast Path – BerryHead – Churston Cove |
We stopped in the Lovely Brixham for a while. I treated myself to a great Ice Cream (Salcombe Diary) and explored the area for a while before we carried on our walk. It is a shame that I did not capture any more photos here, particularly of All Saints Church. It is here, that Reverend Henry Lyte wrote the Hymns ‘Oh Worship The King’ and ‘Praise My Soul the King of Heaven’ and 1847, months before he passed away, he wrote the Hymn –
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
We carried on our journey around the Harbourside, and past the fish market. The path was pointing us in the direction of the Battery Gardens. Whilst on route, I was curious about the signs for Blackbeards Trail! I have since downloaded the PDF of the trail and it is very informative! The path ascended into what is now known as Battery Gardens. During the Second World War, there had been a whole Battery of Guns located here so that it would defend the entire bay. However, the actual Battery location is much older than the 20th Century. In fact there has been battery sited here, protecting the bay, since the 16th Century when England was at war with Spain. It certainly had a great position over Torbay and in fact these particular defences are not so exposed as the Berry Head Forts!
We carried on along the path which became very narrow to walk along where we reached Fishcombe Cove. Despite a lovely little cafe being sited here, we still decided not stop here and continued on. The path continued to climb and came out into a road and no longer followed a coastal route. The path followed leafy lane where it eventually came to a crossroads. We had a choice to either go to the little village of Churston Ferrers or on to Churston Cove. We choose to go on to the Cove which was a steep descent through a woodland area. As we had not stopped Fishcombe Cove, we decided to sit and rest in Churston Cove for while and watch the waves roll onto the beach!
For all of the photos for this part of the walk –
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| 26.05.2012 – South West Coast Path – BerryHead – Churston Cove |
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