Salubrious Salcombe and Sleepy East Portlemouth

Only a short ferry trip apart, the contrasts across the Kingsbridge Estuary could not be greater.

Distance 4 miles (6.4km)

Minimum time 2hrs

Ascent/gradient 377ft (115m)

Level of difficulty Medium

Paths Good coast path, field paths and tracks

Landscape River estuary, rocky coast and coves, farmland

Suggested map aqua3 OS Outdoor Leisure 20 South Devon

Start/finish SX 746385

Dog friendliness Dogs to be kept under control at all times

Parking Near phone box in East Portlemouth or in small parking bay

Public toilets At Mill Bay, passed on Points 3 and 7

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Directions
Background
Information

1 Park on the verge near the phone box at East Portlemouth (or in the parking area - contributions to village hall fund). Walk through the parking area and steeply downhill on a narrow tarmac footpath signposted 'Salcombe', which gives way to steep steps.

2 When you reach the lane at the bottom of the steps, turn right if you want to visit the Venus Café and catch the ferry to Salcombe. If you want to get on with the walk, turn left along the lane as it follows the edge of the estuary. This is the official route of the coast path and it passes some very exclusive residences in almost sub-tropical surroundings.

3 The lane leads to the pretty, sandy beach at Mill Bay. Follow the coast path signs for Gara Rock along the edge of a sycamore wood, with lovely views across the estuary, and glimpses of inviting little coves.

4 At Limebury Point you reach open cliff, with great views to South Sands and Overbecks opposite and craggy Bolt Head. The coast path now veers eastwards below Portlemouth Down, which was divided into strip fields in the late 19th century.

5 The path along this stretch undulates steeply, and is rocky in places. Keep going until you reach the bench and viewpoint over the beach at Rickham Sands. Just beyond this, as the coast path continues right along the cliffs (there is reasonable access to the beach), take the left fork and climb steeply up below the lookout to reach the wall in front of Gara Rock Hotel.

6 Turn left to reach the hotel drive and walk straight on up the lane. After 100yds (91m) turn left through a gate in the hedge signposted 'Mill Bay'. Walk straight across the field (the roped-off area indicates a car park for the beach) with lovely views to Salcombe and Malborough church beyond. Go through a small copse, then a gate and across the farm track. Go through a metal gate down the public footpath.

7 This leads onto a beautiful bridle path, running gradually downhill beneath huge, ancient pollarded lime trees, with a grassy combe to the right. The path leads past the car park to reach Mill Bay.

8 Turn right along the lane. If you want to avoid the steps, look out for a footpath sign pointing right, up a narrow, steep, path to regain East Portlemouth and your car; if not, continue along the lane and retrace your steps up the steep tarmac path.

Salcombe is a delightful place. The only trouble with Salcombe is that hundreds of other people think so too, and during the holiday season the narrow streets are packed - and it's not somewhere that you want to be jostled and bothered by the crowds. So it's great to come to Salcombe out of season or, better still, to park away from the town and approach it from a different direction.

There's a wonderful walk in along the coast path around Bolt Head, to the west of the estuary; or you can follow this walk from the tiny hamlet of East Portlemouth, opposite the town, from where you get some of the best views in the area over the mass of small boats in the harbour, and the various creeks upriver towards Kingsbridge. Once the haunt of smugglers and pirates, today it has a civilised, prosperous, and, as a result of its sheltered position and deep blue waters, an almost Mediterranean feel. It's a much smaller and gentler place than Dartmouth (PWalk 27), and extremely popular with the sailing fraternity, with safe waters for novices (at high tide) further up the estuary. The estuary is a marvellous place for young families, too. At low tide there is a run of sandy beaches all along the East Portlemouth side, enabling those staying in Salcombe simply to hop on the ferry for a day on the beach. (Note: Many of these sandy coves are cut off at high tide, ie there is no access from the shore - take care.)

From Limebury Point you can see across the estuary to Overbecks, an elegant Edwardian house in a magnificent setting above South Sands. Otto Overbeck, who lived here from 1928 to 1937, left the house and its 6-acre (2.4ha) garden to the National Trust, and it's worth visiting for the garden alone: there is a fantastic collection of rare and sub-tropical plants here, thriving in the temperate conditions. The house is fun, too (there's masses to keep children occupied). Overbeck was a collector of all manners of things, many of which - shells, toys, model boats, local shipbuilding tools - are on display today.

East Portlemouth has a totally different feel to Salcombe. It is small, very quiet and unspoilt, and somewhat belies its rather difficult history. During the 19th century half the population was evicted by the absentee landlord, the Duke of Cleveland, as a result of their preference for fishing and wrecking over working the land. The 15th-century church is dedicated to St Winwalloe, a 5th-century Celtic saint, and a fascinating gravestone in the churchyard reveals the death by burning at the stake of a girl who poisoned her employer in 1782.

While you're there

Catch the ferry to the other side and explore the pretty little town of Salcombe. The ferry runs every day, from 8am-7pm on weekdays and from 8:30am-7pm on weekends and bank holidays. There's also a lovely river trip by ferry from Salcombe to Kingsbridge.

What to look for

Many stretches of the coast path are resplendent with wild flowers virtually all the year round, and during the summer months the path below Portlemouth Down is incredible. There are banks of purple wild thyme, heather, gorse, red campion, bladder campion, tiny yellow tormentil and pretty blue scabius. Look out too for the common dodder, a parasitic plant with pretty clusters of pink flowers. It draws the life out of its host plant, often heather or gorse, via suckers.

Where to eat and drink

Salcombe has a mass of pubs, cafés and restaurants, but if you want to stay on the East Portlemouth side try the Venus Café. It's in a glorious position by the ferry slipway, with a pretty garden looking across the water. The café serves great food and drink (try the panini), and is open every day from the end of March to the end of October unless the weather is absolutely dreadful. The Gara Rock Hotel (originally coastguard cottages) is open to non-residents.