8.7 km along the coast and 9.7 km inland.
About half of section 53 in the SWCPA handbook
There is a bridal way that leads from near our Chalet in Norton Park down towards Dartmouth, so we took this down to Old Mill Creek, where there are a collection of old boat yards. Then up a steep minor road and past the entrance to Britannia Royal Naval College, which dominates a hill on the North Side of Dartmouth. From here we followed the main road down the river.
As it is quiet at this time of year it is a pleasant walk along the river front to the Lower Ferry. This is an ancient crossing point and has been run using a curious combination of a tug and pontoon for many years, the access slipway is just a gap between two houses.
Having stopped for hot-chocolate (ice cream didn’t seem appropiate though the shop had a collection of Dartmouth ice-cream as well as fudge and other delights) we re-joined the official South West Coastal path. The first part continues to follow the river front to Dartmouth Castle and St Petroc church, with a rather curious idea of a gun battery built at the end of the church.
The path then passes a couple of pretty little coves and goes through grounds that had obviously been landscaped a long time ago, no doubt in Victorian times. After some quite steep ascents and decents with steps the coastline becomes slightly softer and the path is mainly grassy, though muddy at times.
After stopping for a picnic lunch we met a minor road at the Little Dartmouth National Trust car-park. From here the path is along roads and paths through Stoke Fleming, though it is ingeniously signed along minor roads and avoids the busy narrow A road through the village centre.
Another minor road and then footpaths next to the main road leads down to Blackpool sands. We had been here in the summer when it is crowded and has an extensive café and various water-sport activities. However in the winter with a few people walking on the beach, with the occasional dog, it is rather more attractive and the size of the empty beach is impressive. The sand could be described as either large grained, or very small shingle but it does have the classical orange/yellow colour.
From here we took a series of minor roads and a bridleway the 4km, mostly uphill back to Norton Park.
