LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

South West Coastal Path No. 52              Total: 472.5 miles

Time Taken:     Cycle:     Distance:   Enjoyment:    Weather:  
3.75 hrs              n/a           6 miles       90%       Cloudy & Mild
Companion:  Ann

Temp:     Cloud:     Rain:    Visibility:    Ground Conditions:  
17oC        100%          0%        Good         Excellent Underfoot 
Nature:  Blackberries & Wildflowers

Points of Interest:
Hallsands		Higher Ferry	Tinsey Head		
Beesands		Torcross		Pilchard Cove
Torcross Point	


General:
We drove to Hallsands, Devon, via the Higher Ferry at Dartmouth, parking 
the car in the Car Park near Prospect House. The start of the walk. Ann 
walked back to the car while I began the walk to Strete. Ann drove the 
car around the Devon minor roads to Torcross Car Park. She waited there
 until I arrived after my walk from Hallsands. I started my day's walking 
through the small village of Hallsands and onto the beach of Hall  Sands 
to a footpath on the edge of the field opposite. I followed the edge of the 
fields, parallel with the shoreline, passing Tinsley Head, until I reached 
the village of Beesands. There were good views of Start Point peninsular
at many places along the Bay. I continued following the path / road along 
the sea wall until the path rose above and over the disused Beesands 
Quarry, near the end of the beach. Not much of the quarry was visible but
the path was good. I descended to Torcross Point and the Village of 
Torcross to the sea wall. Following the sea wall to Start Bat Inn, I crossed
the Inn car park to the A379 Main Road, an alternative being the end of 
the sea wall. Torcross Car Park is on the west of the main road, almost
opposite the end of the sea wall, the pedestrian entrance situated at the
southern end of the car park, just after the old Wartime Tank. The tank 
was definitely worth a close inspection. Ann was waiting in the car with 
her boots on, ready to walk with me to Strete Village. There were many 
information boards which made interesting reading, in particular the 
references to the Exercises held in the area before the invasion of 
Normandy during the Second World War. We  walked along the track 
between the beach and the main road to the Slapton Sands Memorial. 
This was an impressive stone memorial about 19 feet (6 metres) high with
a moving inscription to the local population. It thanked them for leaving 
their homes to allow the wartime maneuvers to take place, thus providing 
battle practice for the successful assault on Normandy in June 1944. We 
had an interesting chat with another walking couple exploring the area. 
Where the main road turns left up a steep narrow road, we turned right 
and immediately saw a doorway in the high stone wall to a wood. Beside 
the doorway on the wall was an information board of Slapton Time Line 
about the area around Slapton Ley. This was another interesting read. 
We took the quiet narrow road off the A379 main road, passing the car 
park just off the beach. After the car park we continued along the track, 
following the coastline until a wood was reached. The path slowly 
diverged from the coastline and eventually turned left uphill to the A379 
main road. Walking along the road into the village we took take extra 
care because there was no footpath and the road was twisty and very 
narrow in places. Our full concentration was needed at all times. We 
walked  through the village, noting all the interesting buildings, to the 
kissing gate and a finger post, on the right. This is where the Way left the 
road and headed towards the coast. The end of the day's walk. There 
was a bus stop almost opposite the kissing gate but on the wrong side 
of the road. We walked into the village to take a bus back to Torcross 
where the car was parked. This was another very interesting SWCP walk 
with lots of history, taking your mind back to the storm, Hallsands lost 
village and the World War 2. Trying to imagine what it was like for the 
local inhabitants and the serving soldiers, we realised how lucky we are 
today. We have lots of wonderful walks to enjoy all over the country. 
Magical.