 Tracy Island. (or Thatcher Rock to give it it's correct name)
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Day 6 - Brixham to Babbacombe
Author: Dave
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Low expectations
Torquay Harbour.
Today was going to be a trudge through the 'English riviera' of Touquay. Long tarmac espanades, Ice cream vans and people. I'm not a town sort of person, preferring the open coastal path, and so I had low very expectations. I always find that keeping your expectations low mean you are less likely to be dissapointed which may have helped with today's journey in part.
We left the B&B after a good lard fueled breakfast and headed round the harbour to pick up the coast path. It was another warm morning without a cloud in the sky and was forcast to be particularly warm later. I tend to suffer (and moan a lot) in the hot weather and combined with an uninteresting walk through a holiday town sea front, I wasn't overly looking forward to the day ahead. It started well though as we climbed up toward Fishcombe Point and through some pleasant woodland walking along the top of the cliff path. The day was starting to warm up already and the shelter from the trees was very welcome.
We left the B&B after a good lard fueled breakfast and headed round the harbour to pick up the coast path. It was another warm morning without a cloud in the sky and was forcast to be particularly warm later. I tend to suffer (and moan a lot) in the hot weather and combined with an uninteresting walk through a holiday town sea front, I wasn't overly looking forward to the day ahead. It started well though as we climbed up toward Fishcombe Point and through some pleasant woodland walking along the top of the cliff path. The day was starting to warm up already and the shelter from the trees was very welcome.
Lunch.
We dropped down to the sandy bay of Broadsands with it's beach huts on the sea wall and just past this point is where the urbanisation kicked in. This started off a bit dreary but once we got to Goodrington Sands the path followed the seafront promonade through Paignton which was easy walking with plenty of refreshment stops. The one down side of this kind of walking environment is the need to find a public convenience rather than just the nearest tree as with most of the rest of the SWCP path. Public conveniences are rarely conveniently located in my experience and I had been on the lookout for about half an hour when I spotted one further along the promamande. With a shout of 'I'll be back' I legged it leaving Jason plodding along. I came out of the toilet and looked around....couldn't see Jason anywhere, but the promanade was quite busy so based on my assumption he had carried on at his previous pace I broke into a trot expecting to catch him up in a minute or two. After several minutes I still hadn't seen him and came to a stop where the path narrowed on the basis that everyone was being funelled through and Jason should be easier to spot. After a couple of minutes he came into view carrying a couple of drinks. It seems I must have passed him when he was queing to pay at one of the many kiosks along the front. I gratefully accepted the drink while thinking some rest from the near midday sun might be nice as my hat only had a narrow brim and I could feel my neck burning. I had been looking for a new hat for walking with a decent brim for some time to replace the old one that had disintergrated in the washing machine. The problem is, I'm fussy and hadn't found one that was just right so was using a cheap one (£2 from Donnington download festival) that was a compromise - and not a very good one.
The walking, while not quite as insipring as open, rugged clifftops of Cornwall, was a pleasant enough stroll and we were making very good time so decided to start looking for a suitable place to grab some lunch before we left the populace of Torbay behind. We found it - in the form of a chip shop. We sat inside in the shade to give my neck a rest from the burning sun and ordered our food. Jason went for a burger which he ate using a knife and fork as is his way, and I went for the athletes option of chips & curry sauce (with the optional extra slice of bread and butter). To complement Jason poshness of eating his burger with cutlery, my curry sauce came in a silver gravy boat. If only I had known, I would have dressed up.
The walking, while not quite as insipring as open, rugged clifftops of Cornwall, was a pleasant enough stroll and we were making very good time so decided to start looking for a suitable place to grab some lunch before we left the populace of Torbay behind. We found it - in the form of a chip shop. We sat inside in the shade to give my neck a rest from the burning sun and ordered our food. Jason went for a burger which he ate using a knife and fork as is his way, and I went for the athletes option of chips & curry sauce (with the optional extra slice of bread and butter). To complement Jason poshness of eating his burger with cutlery, my curry sauce came in a silver gravy boat. If only I had known, I would have dressed up.
Not a cloud in the sky.
Suitably refreshed, we headed back out into the blazing heat of the early afternoon. We had made very good time today due to the easy going underfoot and it wasn't far to go now to the B&B. We decided to take it easy and enjoy a bit of a relaxed pace. As we were just leaving the main drag of Torbay seafront behind we passed a small Chandlery. Now I'm not normally the shopping kind of bloke, but these emporiums of useful bits'n'bobs draw me like a magpie to shiney stuff. I shouted another 'I'll be back' as the chandelry's gravity well sucked me in. In the cool shade of the shop, I briefly perused all manner of useful things and managed to resist the purchase of any outboard engines or other inpractical items to carry on my back for the rest of the week. As I was wandering aimlessly towards the door I saw some hats.....and of a similar specifcation my fussyness required. I found one that was spot on and was the last of it's kind on the shelf and so I tried it on for size - perfect ! I looked over it; no price. Damn. I asked the proprieter who informed me it was £45.
'Eh? for a hat ? You're having a laugh.'
'But this is a very good quality hat. How much were you expecting to pay sir ?' the fella asked.
'About twenty quid, tops' I replied. 'for £45 I would expect a jewel encrusted crown !'
'Well it's the last one we have and so I could probably do it for £30 for you....'
'Well, thanks, I'm very grateful for the offer but I've only got twenty quid on me.....I'll have to give it a miss. Thanks anyway' and I set off towards the door.
'Oh, go on then. Twenty quid cash then.' he called over.
We exchanged cash for hat and I ventured out, once again, into the blazing heat of the early afternoon sun with the wider brimmed hat protecting the back of my delicate neck.
Jason naturally took the piss out of my new hat and I regaled him with the storey of my masterful haggling technique while we worked our way up the steep slope away from Torquay harbour. Half way up I glanced down to the vast netted aviary and spotted some penguins wandering around in there. A bit surreal on a hot sping day in Devon.
'Eh? for a hat ? You're having a laugh.'
'But this is a very good quality hat. How much were you expecting to pay sir ?' the fella asked.
'About twenty quid, tops' I replied. 'for £45 I would expect a jewel encrusted crown !'
'Well it's the last one we have and so I could probably do it for £30 for you....'
'Well, thanks, I'm very grateful for the offer but I've only got twenty quid on me.....I'll have to give it a miss. Thanks anyway' and I set off towards the door.
'Oh, go on then. Twenty quid cash then.' he called over.
We exchanged cash for hat and I ventured out, once again, into the blazing heat of the early afternoon sun with the wider brimmed hat protecting the back of my delicate neck.
Jason naturally took the piss out of my new hat and I regaled him with the storey of my masterful haggling technique while we worked our way up the steep slope away from Torquay harbour. Half way up I glanced down to the vast netted aviary and spotted some penguins wandering around in there. A bit surreal on a hot sping day in Devon.
We worked our way up the hill and around the headland that is Torquay. The walking, although fairly sanitised with tarmac paths and trimmed grass, was quite pleasant and we stopped and sat on a couple of conveniently placed benches every now and again. Just off the end of the headland is a small island that looks like something out of Jurassic Park or Thunderbirds. It's actual name is Thatcher Rock; we renamed it what we considered a much more appropriate Tracy Island, although there was no sign of the palm trees parting for Thunderbird 2 to take off. FAB Jason.
We soon came into Babbacombe and a kind of long grassy promponade at the top of the cliff with dozens of people sitting on the grass and benches having picnics, sunbathing and generally enjoying the sun. We glanced around and there was our B&B over looking the sea. It was a bit early in the day but we knocked on the door and checked in anyway. We spent a pleasant hour or so sitting in a (shady) conservatory at the front drinking tea, having a read and generally relaxing while watching the next door neighbour attempting to assemble a flat pack swinging garden chair.
The evening was finished off in fine style with a visit to the local curry establishment followed by a pint of decent cider in the pub a couple of doors down from the B&B. I was feeling a little rough, possibly as a result of some mild sun stroke from the day (did I mention I'm not good in the heat?) and decided to head for bed while Jason stopped on for the pub quiz......All in all, a far better day than we had been expecting and actually a pleasant and quite civilised all things considered.
We soon came into Babbacombe and a kind of long grassy promponade at the top of the cliff with dozens of people sitting on the grass and benches having picnics, sunbathing and generally enjoying the sun. We glanced around and there was our B&B over looking the sea. It was a bit early in the day but we knocked on the door and checked in anyway. We spent a pleasant hour or so sitting in a (shady) conservatory at the front drinking tea, having a read and generally relaxing while watching the next door neighbour attempting to assemble a flat pack swinging garden chair.
The evening was finished off in fine style with a visit to the local curry establishment followed by a pint of decent cider in the pub a couple of doors down from the B&B. I was feeling a little rough, possibly as a result of some mild sun stroke from the day (did I mention I'm not good in the heat?) and decided to head for bed while Jason stopped on for the pub quiz......All in all, a far better day than we had been expecting and actually a pleasant and quite civilised all things considered.
The coastal path undulates onward under a beating sun.
