June 24th: Torquay to Exmouth
- Phil Brown
- Jun 26
- 4 min read
On Day 25 of my journey, I departed from the Balmoral Hotel early in the morning, as I wanted to ensure that I had plenty of time to catch the ferry to Exmouth at the end of the day. I left before breakfast was served but the staff at the hotel were very kind and generously provided me with a bacon sarnie and some fresh fruit to take along with me.
Cloudy Skies, the view from Babbacombe to Lyme Bay and Kieron and Jo my walking pals to Teignmouth!
The first few miles today were leaving the Torquay area. The views were great, I was taking it all in and when I reached Babbacombe I noticed movement in the water.
To my delight it was a pod of dolphins, the first sighting I had experienced this whole month. I grabbed my phone, filmed them, put the phone away and walked to a suitable spot to send the footage. That is when I realised I was concentrating so hard on my walking, super-zoom, dolphin papparazzo moment, that I had regrettably not pressed the record button... until the end... when I put the phone in my pocket.
I had 15 minutes of the inside of my pocket and the sound of me breathing - gutted or what! If I had been recording from inside my pocket for the15 minutes that followed, one would've heard, lets say, some choice expletives!
The first ten miles of my trek included some challenging climbs but with views that made the difficulty worthwhile. Towards the end of this stretch, I encountered two fellow walkers, Keiron and Jo. We struck up a conversation and decided to walk together towards the ferry at Shaldon. They were incredibly kind and paid for my ferry ticket, a gesture that was very much appreciated. After our brief but enjoyable time together, we parted ways in Teignmouth, and I continued on my journey.
The next eight miles were much easier but also pretty boring... I walked along the long promenade at Teignmouth and it got a bit monotonus, then through Dawlish which also felt like a bit of drag with not much to look at. Towards Dawlish Warren, the Coast Path actually runs alongside a railway track, which runs directly alongside a beach/the sea.
This track has faced landslides over the years due to storms and being so close to the oceans edge. In stormy weather the sea spray can actually crash over the train which sounds dramatic. But nothing like that when I was there. It was easy walking but not very interesting... which made the miles feel longer.
Got to the ferry at Starcross in good time and it was the earliest finish yet, before 04.00PM. I ended up having a chat and a drink with a lovely couple from Andover, Sean and his wife who I am so sorry but I can't remember her name... Anna would know!! Then came the first tears for a couple of days, she and me, just connecting over shared experiences. Rather spookily it turned out that they were staying at the same bed and breakfast as I was! And lets just say you couldn't miss it...
Although painted bright green with red dots, which I have to say I found a bit odd, it had great reviews so I booked it.
Big shout out to Ian and Janet MacKenzie, my wonderful and extremely generous travel and accommodation sponsors, I couldn't have done this without you!
Upon checking in, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my efficient booking agent Max (my son), had once again managed to secure me an upgrade to a room with a bath.
About a week into this walk I realised what a difference it makes, getting to have a soak after a long day of walking. So I relished the chance to unwind and soothe my aching legs in a tub of hot water once again!
Followed the bath with another scrumptious seafood pasta dish, at the Land and Sea, lovely evening weather - a perfect way to end the day. Finally back to my room for the night for a much-needed rest... Before doing it all again tomorrow!!
Before my Strava stats for the day, here's a photo of my gorgeous daughter Alex, partner Howard, granddaughter Lennie and her Glastonbury Bin Painter/"Binnie" family! A show of support from them all, wearing our For The Love of Anna T-shirts :) Thanks to Tim our T-shirt sponsor and the designer Polly for making them happen! Have a great festival Binnies!
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