Peace and Solitude in the Erme Estuary

A magical part of the county's south coast that even those who live in Devon seldom manage to find.

Distance 5.6 miles (9km)

Minimum time 2hrs 30min

Ascent/gradient 394ft (120m)

Level of difficulty Hard

Paths Fields, tracks and good coast path, 7 stiles

Landscape Rolling farmland, river estuary and cliff top

Suggested map aqua3 OS Outdoor Leisure 20 South Devon

Start/finish SX 635478

Dog friendliness Dogs to be kept under control at all times

Parking By the church in Kingston village

Public toilets None on route

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Directions
Background
Information

1 With the church left, follow the lane uphill to Wonwell Gate and turn right down the lane signed 'Wonwell Beach'. When it bends sharp left then right, turn left through a gate/stile and straight on, keeping the hedge left. Pass through the hedge into the next field, then follow the sign right, diagonally across the field to enter Furzedown Wood over a stile into a green lane.

2 This leads into the next field; cross that, then go over a stile into Wrinkle Wood and follow the narrow path steeply downhill to meet a lane.

3 Turn left; there is limited parking for the beach here. Walk down to look at the Erme estuary, an attractive spot for a picnic.

4 Retrace your steps and follow the coast path signs up steps right signed 'Bigbury'. Follow the narrow wooded path, which leads onto and along the back of Wonwell Beach. Go up a flight of steps, over a stile and straight on along the estuary to Redcove Point (with superb views to Battisborough Island opposite).

5 The path veers eastwards over a stile (National Trust Scobbiscombe Farm), then sweeps across a broad grassy area above Fernycombe Beach to reach Beacon Point, with glorious views opening up ahead. Walk on through a small gate, into a deep combe and up to a gate. Pause at the bench overlooking Hoist Beach, before the path drops down into a deep combe and climbs up through another gate.

6 Follow the steep and difficult (often slippery) descent to quiet Westcombe Beach. Take great care here, parts are stepped, but even the steps are sandy and it's easy to skid.

7 Turn left over a stile at the back of the beach, following signs for Kingston (this is a permissive path, unmarked on maps). The path has a wire fence left and stream right; walk over a wooden footbridge right to cross the stream and enter a willow plantation. The path twists out through a strip of woodland.

8 Cross over a stile and straight on up a pleasant, gradually ascending green lane (a bridleway to Kingston). Continue on to pass the ponds at Okenbury right (the track is muddy in places). The track runs into a tarmac lane, and back uphill into Kingston. Turn right, then left to the church and your car.

This walk is centred on one of those places that very few people ever seem to find. It's almost as if Kingston and the lovely estuary of the River Erme are a jealously guarded secret by those 'in the know'. Both are rarely mentioned in the standard tourist literature. This part of the South Hams isn't really on the way to anywhere, and it's a fairly long trek along narrow, winding lanes to get there. But it's so worthwhile - you really feel as if you've stumbled on to somewhere secret, special and undiscovered.

The lands on the opposite side of the Erme are part of the Flete Estate, most famous these days for providing the setting for much of the filming of Ang Lee's adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility in the 1990s, starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. Recorded in the Domesday Book, Flete was originally a Saxon estate. The later large Elizabethan manor house was incorporated into a neo-Elizabethan mansion in 1878 by Norman Shaw. Gothic-style restoration had already taken place in 1835, and the façade of the house dates to this time - it's an impressive, if slightly mixed up, building. The estate is not generally open to the public, and is now run as a home for the elderly. The house was lived in by the Heles in the 17th century, and there is an unusual monument with 22 tiered figures, representing three generations of the family, in the pretty church at Holbeton, which has a graceful early 14th-century tower and spire.

When you arrive at the Erme estuary it's hard to think that anything much has ever happened here. But the River Erme has a long and interesting history. It rises on Dartmoor, not far south of Nun's Cross and runs south to leave the moor at Harford, passing through an area of intensive Bronze Age occupation. There is evidence of hut circles, stone rows and cists and, in later medieval times, tin mining activity. Piles Copse in the upper Erme valley is one of the last three remaining areas of ancient oak woodland on the moor. Further downstream there is evidence of lime kilns, and, before the estuary silted up, small vessels imported coal and limestone for burning. The only way to negotiate the ever-changing sand bars was to use a pilot, and the remains of his cottage can be seen at the back of Wonwell Beach today. The only way across the river is by wading, and the coast path signs on either side of the river indicate where it's possible to cross with care at low tide.

Where to eat and drink

Kingston's 16th-century Dolphin Inn is quite something. There are pretty beer gardens, one with a play area, and good food. The next pub, 2 miles (3.2km) to the south east, is the Journey's End at Ringmore .

While you're there

If the tide is low enough, wade across the river to Mothecombe. Its beautifully sandy beach is only open to the public Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday (all year), but in the village there's a tea room in the old school by the car park and toilets too.

What to look for

First recorded in 1243, Kingston is a tucked-away village, a pleasure to explore. There's nothing exceptional, but its isolated yet cosy feel, and the flower-bedecked cottages, soothe away the pressures of modern life. The church dates mainly from the 14th century.