6.1km along the coast and 6.0km inland. Part of section 50 in the SWCPA handbook.
The forecast was for rain to start at about lunchtime and continue all afternoon, though there was a little sun in the morning it was still windy. So again, we thought it wise to start reasonably early.
From our holiday cottage it was only five minutes’ walk to join the coastal path at Outer Hope. This starts with a gentle ascent over the cliffs to South Milton Sands where we walked across the beach until we got to the stream and had to walk through the sand dunes and across a long timber bridge.
The path then follows low cliffs beside a large golf course. The sea was quite rough now and spectacular when the sun came out. Although there were signs about danger from flying golf balls, there were not many players prepared to battle the strong winds.
The path follows the coast before turning inland at Bantham Sands, which looks to be a pleasant sandy beach, backed by sand dunes at Bantham Ham, then to the start of the village where there is a “Seasonal Ferry” towards Bigbury-on-Sea. We walked down to Bantham Quay, but the ferry was not running till April, however the quay is pretty and there are a number of boathouses along the River Avon.
From Banthan, where there are a couple of rows of thatched cottages, but not much else at this time of year (The pub was being renovated) we walked up a steep footpath and then to Thurlestone where, next to the church, we found the friendly Post Office offered coffee as well a selection of postcards and other necessities
The best route back seemed to retrace or steps back along the coastal path to Hope Cove.
