Staying in Kingsbridge another night allowed us time to explore the South Hams of Devon. We were staying in a lovely Air BnB called Bellfield house, Andrea our host was just lovely and looked after us superbly - her breakfasts are to die for! She also has excellent local knowledge and suggested we visit two places she thought we might like.
A short drive away was Salcombe (we found out that ‘combe’ means settlement in a valley of sorts!). A small village at the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary. It is a resort town - mainly holidayers with obvious short term rental properties around the village. The waterway is dotted with sailing boats moored and there are ferries that cross the estuary to to most gorgeous Sandy beaches! People were queuing for the ferry with the buckets and spades and picnic lunches as it was a glorious day.
We enjoyed a coffee and I bought some local Devon fudge to try…it was rather sweet! I’ve only managed to have a few pieces before packing it away! We had a lovely stroll through the shopping precinct - coffee shops, pubs, pastie makers, cream teas, souvenirs and lots of yacht crew clothing! We suspected that it might be a bit of a playground for the wealthy from london, and in talking to some people it was confirmed. The town became more busy later in the morning, so we opted to drive to the other place that Andrea had suggested.
This town, called Thurlestone, was west of Kingsbridge but also on the water as the coastline curves around. This small town sits on the hill side but just below the golf club (which boarders the coast) there is long sand stretch of beach called South Milton Sands. We parked our car and went for a walk through the dunes and over a creek in a bird watching area to something called The Beach Hut. We walked straight in and asked for a table and were granted one. Andrea, our host, told that is almost unheard of - apparently it is the place of the London rich and famous and told us “even Prince Harry” eats there. We didn’t feel it felt any different to any other small beach restaurant on the sand. The food was lovely - we enjoyed prawns and squid entrees and a salad which were lovely.
After lunch we walked along the beach back to our car and then headed through small country lanes back to Kingsbridge, where we dined at the local Pub.
The weather was stunning…and we marvelled at the locals in various states of undress and high summer clothing, while we were still carting around wind jackets and jumpers (just in case!).
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| Walking down the path at Salcome |
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| Beach path at South Milton Sands |
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| Pano at Salcombe on the Estuary |
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| Great reuse of a phone box at Thurlstone |
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| Kingsbridge Estuary - low tide after dinner |
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| Sitting amongst the daisies that line the lanes and highways - growing wild |
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| No parking down at the waterfront…full of lanes right to the water |
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| Just out of town at the Yacht Club looking north - Salcombe |
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| Looking north Salcombe |
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| The dinghies at Salcombe…so many boats! |
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| Inland from the water….rolling green hills |
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Bridge across the small waterway South Milton Sands
- on our way to the Beach Hut for lunch |
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| Boats in the Kingsbridge Estuary at low tide…stuck in mud! |
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| F amongst the daisies! |
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| Mother Swan and signets - Kingsbridge Estuary |
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| Walking up the hill Salcombe |
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| Looking out to see - South Milton Sands |
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| Sophie - Andrea’s 12 year old spaniel |
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| Looking up the valley Thurlestone Beach/South Milton S ands |
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| Walking down to the water Salcombe |
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