Introduction

When I reached 70 in December 2019 I needed a little challenge and decided to try and walk the complete South West Coast path from Minehead to Poole. Not in one go, but doing a few days at a time, always in sequence so that I would resume at my previous end point. Then Covid intervened, so that I didnt start the walk until February 2022.  

Day 39. Bantham to Salcombe, 14 August 2026.

The pub did not serve breakfast before 9am (a bit strange when many of the guests will be coast path walkers) so I had to make do with a tray of cereals and toast that was left outside the room before setting off just after 8.  There was a fine view of Burgh Island in the early morning sun and I passed above Bantham Hand, a 10m sea stack that had given a memorable little adventure back in 2014. (The Hand is on the left in this photo).  

 

A level walk past the Thurlestone golf course and then across a beach took me to Outer Hope, a Cornish fishing village that had somehow ended up in Devon, and on to the slipway below the lifeboat station at Inner Hope.  Even at 9.30 am there were quite a few bathers so I joined them for a swim before climbing the hill to Bolt Tail, with its iron age hill fort and a fine view back to Hope Cove.

The path from here over Bolberry Down was a pleasant and almost level cliff top stroll before a very steep descent to Soar Mill Cove.   

 

The sandy beach is a secluded gem and a steep 1 mile walk from the nearest car park keeps the crowds away. Of course I stopped for another swim. After a long ascent to Bolt Head, the path turns north into Salcombe, passing this beach at Starehole Bay (only accessible by boat) and the rocks at Sharp Tor, which has a few easy climbs that I have never got round to trying. 

 On the way into Salcombe there are two sandy beaches, and a chance for an ice cream and another swim to freshen up before the journey home.

Distance today, 18 km. 

 

Day 38. Noss Mayo to Bantham, 13 August 2026

Not only did the farm provide an excellent breakfast but they would serve me at 7.30 so that I could be away by 8 before it got too hot.  I retraced my steps down the steep hill to the coast path, which gave a fine view down to the Yealm estuary.

The first section of the walk follows a carriage drive giving an easy and almost level walk for several miles round Gara Point.  The second half of the route to the River Erme was more strenuous but this was a fine stretch of coastline, unspoiled apart from a small caravan park tucked away by Stoke Beach.  

After a swim on Meadowsfoot Beach, which was busy but almost a tattoo-free zone, I followed the foreshore round to the River Erme below the old coastguard cottages and the crossing shown on the map.    

The coast path guides are full of warnings about wading the river and advise that you should only cross within an hour of low tide.  It was almost two hours before low tide so I stripped down to swimming trunks before wading across, but I need not have bothered as the water was only knee deep.  Later I saw someone wade directly across the mouth of the river from Meadowsfoot Beach, so maybe the river level was lower than normal after more than a month of drought. The crossing point is just upstream of the green patch in the river.  

The next section was hard going in the afternoon heat, and I was glad of an ice cream at Challaborough before continuing to Bigbury with its huge beach joining Burgh Island to the mainland at low tide.  

 I had thought that the hard work would be over at Bigbury so it was a bit of a shock to find a long uphill grind by the road up to Mount Folly, and I was glad that I had plenty of time before the River Avon ferry stopped operating at 4pm.  The path ends at this notice board and another lo-tech method to summon the ferry – ring the bell and wave at a thatched house about 300m away – but this seemed to work and I could soon see a small boat heading towards me. 

 

At low tide I could walk most of the way and the boat was only needed to cross a short channel. This photo shows the ferry boat and a view back across the estuary - the notice board is on the far side to the left of the turquoise boat.

 The river seemed pretty shallow and I wondered if I could have saved myself £4.95, and later I did see some locals wading the river a little way upstream, though a few hours later the whole estuary was under water. I had a short swim to cool down before checking into the Sloop Inn just up the hill. 

Distance today, 25 km. 

Day 37. Plymouth to Noss Mayo, 12 August 2026.

The route from Plymouth to Salcombe is the section with the most challenging logistics – three ferries, two with limited operating hours, a river estuary that must be waded at low tide, and a shortage of suitable accommodation.  I had considered taking kit for an overnight bivi, but then discovered camping pods on a farm at Noss Mayo, so I booked one and the pub in Bantham for a date with a convenient midday low tide.

I had hoped that the heatwave would relent before the chosen date but it was still scorchio when I arrived back on Plymouth Hoe where I had left off in March, with the parched turf showing the effects of two months' drought.

The first step was to cross the harbour – the options were a five mile urban plod to cross over the Laira bridge or sitting on a ferry for ten minutes.  A no brainer.   

The Mount Batten peninsular was a bit of a building site with lots of new apartments to take advantage of the fine view back over the harbour.  I made a mental note to check if Mount Batten had anything to do the last Viceroy of India or my father’s favourite cakes.  (The answer is no; it is named after Sir William Batten, a 17th century naval officer and MP). The walk south alongside Plymouth Sound was a pleasant stroll – Plymouth is a city that looks much better from the sea than from close up.  I passed this oversized coat path marker and then crossed over a stone slab on the path that said ‘Welcome to Plymouth, please wipe your feet.’

At Bovisand I liked this wooden sculpture behind the beach

 

 and then some easy walking along low cliffs took me to Wembury with another sandy beach and a chance for a cooling swim.  The beach was very busy with plenty of flesh on display, some of which would have been better covered up, and too many tattoos for this grumpy old man’s liking.

A couple of miles further on I reached the River Yealm and the second ferry crossing.  You could summon the ferry by lowering a hinged metal triangle on a post to reveal a large orange diamond, and the electric boat appeared within a few minutes to take me across to the far side.   

  

 I had another swim before flogging up the brutally steep slope to Worswell Barton farm where I had booked a camping pod.  After dinner in the pub, I sat outside the pod to watch the solar eclipse and then a spectacular fireworks display over Plymouth.

Distance today, 14 km.