2015 Walking Trip in Devon, Great Malvern, and The Shropshire Hills: South Devon Coast Walk

To see more photos, please click on the links to the right --->

He said:
Wow, a sunny day from the start to finish. Today was a treat, the sun really brought out the beauty of this coastal area: blue skies with some puffy clouds, blue ocean, green foliage, and clean air. Our path took us to Strete, then to Blackpool Sands, then to Stoke Fleming, then past Dartmouth Castle to Dartmouth. Lots of flora and fauna to see along the way as all were enjoying the day.

We saw and heard many things today: a sun dial, stained glass windows, grave stones, a pheasant, butterflies, two noisy crow rookeries, cows, song birds, two churches, wild garlic, flowers, sandy beaches, jaunty beach huts, rocky cliffs, blue water and sky, but with all the ups and downs and also the many stairs, I started to forget all that we saw and started thinking about my knees instead. But now, sitting on a couch, typing in words on a laptop, I'm remembering all that we saw and heard today, and I am happy.

She Said:
Quite an amazing start to the day - blue skies and clear, clear, clear!
We began in Strete (place names are so kooky here) at St. Michael's Church. This Church was not fancy - a plain country Church - and it didn't have anything older than Victorian era, but it had great energy and seemed to be a real community of loving and giving people.
On its sign board:
- Help create dementia-friendly communities
- Welcome the Homeless
- Pray for the people of Nepal

We learned more Spanish Bluebell vs. English Bluebell info at breakfast today. Spanish Bluebells stand straight all the way up through their blooms; English Bluebells' stalks curve at the blooms. We tried all day to see the difference as we walked. No luck.

The first long views out of Strete were phenomenal!!! Calm, blue ocean, green fields dotted by bright yellow rape fields, blue sky, and a couple of puffy white clouds. Miles and miles of this view in both directions, up and down the coast.

We walked into Blackpool Sands, which was code named "Green Beach" during the D-Day assault training. It is now a lovely day use beach, with a beautiful beach and upscale concessions. All the beaches and small towns along this stretch of Devon have plaques and info signs telling of the Normandy Invasion practices held here. They all honor especially the US war dead and gratefully acknowledge their contribution, through practice trial and error, to the ultimate success of the Invasion of Normandy. We are always humbled by the sacrifices of war. Any war.

The water today looked so tropical - I have never seen the English ocean with this deep, turquoise blue color.

Stoke Fleming was our next town. And, as usual, we found the Church and were rewarded with history galore.
Saint Peter's Church
1272. (Though the baptismal font dates from 1236.)
An intact and incredible brass memorial on the floor near the alter - John Corp, 1361; his granddaughter, Elynor, 1391.
A stone effigy (pretty worn down) of Lady Elinor Mohun, Foundress of the Church, 13th century.
Jumping ahead a few hundred years, a very intricately carved pulpit from 1891 - carved by Miss Violet Pinwell, aged 17 years!
An organ with finely painted pipes from 1861.
Vibrant and crisp stained glass windows throughout.
And, of course, a 14th century stone wayside cross, long used as a gatepost in the neighboring hamlet of Venn, now in the Churchyard and appropriated as a War Memorial. - for The Great War and WWII.

The Village Magazine
March/April 2015
February 18 - men undertaking and clearing of a footpath of ordinance and unspent shells, "mainly of US rocketry which are the leftovers from the live-firing during the D-Day practice landings made by those US troops who occupied all or part of this and 8 other local Parishes from November 1943 - June 1944." An "explosion, as the Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Squad sorted out yet another piece of live WWII debris. The hole remains...the Coastal footpath should be clear."
Sheesh!

We ate First Lunch in a little, enclosed courtyard near the Church, listening to the crows in a nearby tree in their rookery of 8-10 nests.

A sign of the times...
We passed a bus stop/shelter with a flyer and picture for a lost drone.

Along a section of the Path - sticks hanging on a post. "Flicking Sticks" to be used (hopefully) by dog owners to flick their dog's duty to the side of the Path. Posts placed here and there - take one and return it to another.

We walked happily back into our town of Dartmouth at about 3 pm. We came upon a man with a hooded falcon on his arm (no lie!). He was on his cellphone, but his colleague said it was OK to take his picture. I did. I assumed he was an eccentric falcon-lover. Turns out he has a business - Bird and Pest Control! Dartmouth, being at the ocean's mouth, has loads of seagulls. And the seagulls get into anything and everything that is remotely edible that is not in a "Reusable Seagull-Proof Refuse Sack" - really. So, this guy has a business based on "Falconry Response - The Natural Choice" for bird and pest control. He was in that neighborhood of Dartmouth at the request/hiring of the residents. I guess the falcon scares the seagulls away, at least for a period of time. Crazy!

Marks & Spencer's again for the evenings provisions.
Happy Hour.
Showered, full and definitely happy.

Sun Dial Clock on the St Michael's Church in Strete