The Wreckers Guide To South West Devon Part 2

Continue through East Prawle and park at the road end Prawle Point. Follow the Coast Path one mile west. Now the woods and fields are havens for wildlife and the ruins are fascinating to explore. The half moon bay forms a perfect crescent of sand, set beneath rolling downs and ancient woods. There are sea caves in the cove to the left, and a grassy hill fort to climb too. The beach and dunes here stretch for miles in both directions. To the east is Titchwell Marsh nature reserve, famous for its migrating birds. To the west lies the iconic wreck of the SS Vina steamship, sunk on the sand flats by the military in for use as a target for bombing practice and revealed and then resubmerged with the tide.

Four miles west of Burnham Overy Staithe on A Turn at church then park at the golf club. The lane ends abruptly at the crumbling cliff edge and a roofless church in a lost village stands surrounded by empty fields. This is an eerie kind of place and a visceral reminder of the power of the sea. From Wrentham A12 turn off for Covehithe.

Take footpath right, yds before church NR34 7JW.

Follow field edge to beach. The Seven Sisters white cliffs are iconic, but not many know about the beach at the bottom.

Places by cover

A switchback metal stairway and a vertiginous boat-launching ramp lead down to the wildest beach in Sussex. A vast expanse of chalk rock pools filled with marine delights and a narrow gut of shingle and sand leads out to sea for swimmers. Signed from Friston A This is also the place for night bass fishing, so bring your rod and try your luck under the moonlight. The beach shelves steeply, so take care of undertows when the sea is rough. At Traeth Mawr there is an old mill and a woodland stream tumbles down to a vast beach with flat rock platforms perfect for sunbathing.

In the village of Monknash above there is an ancient inn built into the ruins of the old monastery and its inglenook is the perfect place to warm up after a swim. Follow B from A48 to Monknash.

Hidden behind an old Army camp, contorted rock stratas have created an abbey-sized archway on this beautiful south-facing sandy beach. From here, a secret rock tunnel leads through to Skrinkle Haven, where a mammoth sea cave, over 50 feet tall, can be found and acres more sand. Turn off the B east of Manorbier signed to the Army camp and youth hostel.

Park beyond the hostel and descend on the metal stairway. This great sweep of empty sand on the dramatic Pembrokeshire National Park coastline was once used to break the world skinny dipping record. If you continue north east up the coast, past several more secret coves, you will reach the old ruins above Porthgain and can then relax on the harbour front at the quirky Sloop Inn SA62 5BN, Down an unsigned, little-used path you suddenly come upon a ruined harbour and old brickworks with a honeycomb of furnaces and chimney stacks to explore.

The beach is made of perfect quartz white shingle and there is a natural rock arch to swim through. This thick wedge of pure white, west-facing sand occupies a deep cleft in the cliffs. There are flower-filled dunes and a hill fort, perfect for spotting pods of dolphins jumping through the waves at sunset. This is a good place to seek out spider crabs at low tide — they are one of the tastiest types of crabmeat, though picking them up is a bit tricky! Holy Island, or Lindisfarne, was the birthplace of Christianity in England.

Many cross the tidal causeway to visit the monastery founded by St Aidan of Iona in the seventh century but few know about the beach on the north side of the island. This haven is where the monks would retreat to commune with the ocean and cleanse themselves in the waves. The sandy bay is overlooked by sandstone caves that are homes to birds of prey. Turn left and left again out of the car park and follow unsigned lane up past the farm buildings and on through scrub for a mile.

An elaborate eco-pod offers Wi-Fi and a state-of-the-art projector for late night movies, with a simple outdoor kitchen — at a price. Or pitch your own tent. Set out from here to explore Speke's Mill Mouth waterfall, which tips down on to an awesome bay with large low-tide pools. Also make time for the limekiln ruins and rockpools at Buck Mills and for sinking a few ales at the Wreckers Retreat inside the Hartland Quay Hotel.

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This hand-built tent on the southwestern flank on Dartmoor is a homely nest filled with authentic 17th-century woven tapestries, sheepskins and a wood-burning stove, plus an outdoor kitchen. In spring the woodland is filled with bluebells and wood anemones and the river Walkham is only a short walk away, where there are pools to cool off beneath a tunnel of greenery.

Your host Nick, who admits to a happily feral childhood building dens and rafts in the woods, can introduce you to the local fauna and flora, and the delights of Dartmoor are on your doorstep. Stride out to explore Drizzlecombe stone row, the remains of a once-bustling Bronze Age site, then skim stones on the undisturbed waters of Burrator Reservoir.

• Top 20 holidays in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall | Travel | www.newyorkethnicfood.com.
• An Arab, A Jew, and A Truck.
• Wrecker's Guide to South West Devon: Pt. 2 by Peter Mitchell (Paperback, 1992).
• Top 20 holidays in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

Cornish legend tells of a beautifulyoung woman who used to attend St Senara's church in Zennor, and charm parishioners with her sweet singing voice. After one such service she made eyes at a young man called Mathew Trewella, who decided to follow her towards the cliffs, never to be seen again.

Today, the myth lives on in a magnificent carved pew at the local church and, more cheekily, through the locally made Moomaid of Zennor ice-cream. The Old Chapel backpackers hostel and cafe offers simple accommodation from which to walk the coast path and scan the restless seas in search of sirens. A short drive down the coast brings you to Levant Mine, the only Cornish beam engine in the world still being powered by steam, which was brought back to life in the s by a group of volunteers known as the 'greasy gang'.

For a truly immersive wild experience in the woods, sign up to this weekender with Thom Hunt, one third of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Three Hungry Boys.

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Thom will give you a crash-course in woodland living: Attendees are encouraged to make the most of the space, freedom and time by foregoing their watches, phones or iPads. Instead, you can enjoy getting to know your fellow foragers, take the weight off in the hammock village and sample the latest brew from the Driftwood Bar. Thom's Lost Cottage offers simple home comforts in the form of bunk beds and open-air showers. Albion Farm Yurt is pitched in a secluded corner of a smallholding at Mylor, with a wood burner for cool evenings, sides you can peel back on warm mornings and a roof light for star-filled nights.

And the best part is — one of Cornwall's most endearing pubs, the 13th-century Pandora Inn , is just a minute walk away via a pretty creek-side path. The pub's pontoon is an ideal spot to while away an afternoon tucking into pints of prawns. Ask inside for lines and bait if you fancy trying your hand at crabbing. There are a wealth of family days out within a few minutes' drive of the yurt, such as Enys Gardens with its delightfully mossy waterwheel and acres of bluebells.

Stop in at the cafe to try out Tinkerbell, the estate's light, and citrusy honey. Also, don't miss Kennall Vale, a steep-sided valley dotted with the remains of a 19th-century gunpowder mills, now dripping with ferns. Tregothnan, England's only tea plantation has nine tempting cottages on the estate. They all ooze Cornish character but Pencreek Cottage is particularly well set, tucked away in an orchard of lichen-covered Kea plum trees. The damson-sized plums have been grown here for the last years and are found in just 20 acres beside this remote tidal inlet.

Too sharp to eat fresh, they make a mean jam — and an even meaner afternoon tea, especially when served with a locally-picked Earl Grey tea on your own private patio.

The Wrecker's Guide to South West Devon, Part 2

The estate offers monthly guided garden tours, but you're also a short drive from the magnificent Trelissick Garden. James Otter is keen to pass on his twin passions of surfing and woodwork in these new bellyboard-making workshops, which let you design, saw, shape and oil your own wooden bodyboard in a day. Once you've made your board, it's time to practise your technique — and it just so happens that you've got some corking beaches to choose from: Chapel Porth is a firm favourite with James; he particularly recommends the beach cafe's hedgehog ice-cream — Cornish ice-cream on a cone rolled in clotted cream and then in hazelnuts.

That will take some serious surfing to burn off. For a list of where to stay in St Agnes visit st-agnes. The coastline around Mousehole in Cornwall is among Britain's loveliest. Artists have been drawn to this picturesque village by the quality of light for decades, and today you'll still find a number of galleries among its tangle of streets.

Boutique Retreats have a number of self-catering cottages here, but No 5 Cherry Garden Street is particularly charming, with whitewashed walls and sea views from nearly every window. In spring, the coast path will be ablaze with white ox-eye daisies, clusters of blue-purple sheep's bit and pearly pink thrift.

Places: Cornwall, England, UK

An invigorating walk west brings you to the open-air Minack Theatre, carved into the cliff. The wonders of nearby St Michael's Mount have always been tempting, but perhaps even more so since the recent storms unearthed the remains of a petrified forest in the bay. Treat yourself to a meal at the Cove in Lamorna , a fine restaurant serving a "modern Cornish cuisine": With its mild climate and slow pace of life, the Isles of Scilly feel a lot further away than the mile distance off the tip of Cornwall would suggest. Samson Hill Cottage guesthouse, which has a Green Tourism award for their commitment to using local resources, reducing waste and encouraging low-impact holidays, welcomes visitors with homemade scones, Bryher jam and Scilly clotted cream and offers simple, modern luxury.

Once you've explored your island retreat, hop on the local ferry pick up tickets from the quay kiosks or Tourist Information Centre to discover the sub-tropical gardens at Tresco, marvel at a beach that wouldn't look out of place in the Maldives on St Martin's, and watch the sun set at Britain's most south-westerly pub, The Turk's Head on St Agnes. The Wild-de-go was an Isles of Scilly ferry that chugged around Cornwall in the s. The highlight has to be the wood-fired hot tub outside, sunk into the timber decking beside the boat. If you fancy a wilder dip, head down to Bude Sea Pool, a s tidal lido created under a curve of cliffs, which fills with seawater twice a day.

Devon, Cornwall and the South West wildthingspublishing. This creative oasis is just a short drive from the A1 and M1, and a great place to break up a long journey - plus it's free entry! Set in the woodlands…. Less than 10 minutes from junction 33 of the M6, Lancaster is ideal for breaking the long journey up to Scotland from the south. The historic castle where…. At km end to end you could make a weeks holiday cycling along this beautiful canal path. However, we took an easier option and camped at the green. For a cycling holiday that is car-free, level, and therefore perfect for families with younger children, cycle the voie verte from Rennes to Dinan along….

Turn autoplay off Turn autoplay on. Jump to content [s] Jump to comments [c] Jump to site navigation [0] Jump to search [4] Terms and conditions [8]. Top 20 holidays in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall As the Dawlish railway reopens , the south-west is keen to let visitors know it's open for business. We've selected 20 breaks for families or friends, from river swimming in Somerset to hiking the Exmoor coast and a stay on a Cornish tea plantation.

The area is back open for business after the floods earlier this year. SOMERSET Cider brandy, smoked eel and local cheese on the Somerset Levels Historic Muchelney was completely cut off for two weeks during the floods; now though it's open for business, its excellent walking and cycling pathsready to be explored, and with a new farm shop set up by locals who found themselves stranded during the crisis.

Alamy The area to the west of Frome is well worth exploring. Alamy Huddled around the River Horner in the heart of Exmoor, Burrowhayes Farm is within easy striking distance of the national park's quaint villages, wooded combes and wild flower-covered coast. Download a map of the Drake's Trail Shipwrecks in Hartland Loveland Farm The Hartland coast in north Devon is a landscape of contorted cliffs, churning Atlantic seas and reefs where many a ship has come to grief, backed by bluebell woodlands and fringed with long curving beaches. Alamy Cornish legend tells of a beautifulyoung woman who used to attend St Senara's church in Zennor, and charm parishioners with her sweet singing voice.

Seek the light fantastic at Mousehole Mousehole. Alamy The coastline around Mousehole in Cornwall is among Britain's loveliest.