82 Take a walk..... Salcombe and Soar Mill Cove SWCP winding high above Soar Mill Cove.


Difficulty: Challenging - Several stretches of ascent and descent, some of them steep or prolonged, with steps, stiles and paths that are rocky in places. There is a short section of narrow road with steep hedge banks: it is generally quiet but listen out for traffic.


Start/Finish (circular walk): Salcombe’s North Sands car park - TQ8 8JT


Length: 6.6 miles (10.7 km)


A loop through the woods and picturesque thatched villages behind Sharp Tor, returning along a stretch of high heathland seamed with ancient stone walls, where there are panoramic views from Dodman Point in the west to Prawle Point in the east. Ravens and buzzards circle the dramatic craggy cliffs above an estuary that


is a haven for wildlife but a menace to shipping. Look out for dolphins, seals and basking sharks. In spring the hedges in the narrow lanes are alight with wildflowers such as primroses and violets, and the woods are carpeted with bluebells and wild garlic. Look out for early purple orchids too, and pink-headed thrift around the cliffs. It is a good


place for birdwatching in the autumn and is the only place in Devon where sometimes an American migrant bird can be spotted, such as a blackpoll warbler.


This is a dog friendly walk. Use this walk (or part of it) to visit the hidden beach at Soar Mill Cove which is a dog friendly beach.


Route Description 1. From the entrance to the North Sands car park turn right to walk above the beach, along Cliff Road, bearing right at the end to follow the brown sign towards South Sands. Carry on around the double bend uphill, past ‘The Moult’, to the junction at the top of the hill.


Looking back across North Sands,


you can see the ruin of Fort Charles on the rocks. In 1646, during the English Civil War, it was the last fort in England to hold out against Cromwell’s men, when the Royalist troops occupying it held out for five months while under siege Originally a small fishing village, over time Salcombe’s picturesque


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100