Maidencombe: a red-rock bay with a
quaint and comely shore. It's one of the few places where you can
get down to the sea along the hilly coastline that stretches from
the back-end of Torquay to Shaldon at the mouth of the Teign. This
walk explores a southerly section of that magical littoral.
Basic Hike: from Maidencombe taking the South
West Coast Path south as far as Roundhouse Point, before returning
along higher tracks.
Distance & going: five miles, plenty of ups
and downs on good paths.
The manor of "Medencumbe" is mentioned in the Doomsday
Book, but today the coastal farm and woodlands are managed under
a Countryside Stewardship Scheme under the auspices of the Torbay
Coast and Countryside Trust to protect wildlife, encourage traditional
farming and allow public access and enjoyment of the area.
Note that all maps on this site are only
indicative. You should never set out without the correct OS map.
The red sandstones you can see in the
cliffs down in the bay were once part of a huge desert similar today’s
Sarah, and the limestone fragments found in them were carried into
the dunes by enormous flash-floods. Who says climate change is a
new thing?
We made our way to the car park at the bottom of Maidencombe,
then headed south along the coast via lower paths to Roundhouse
Point - returning along higher, less vertiginous tracks.
You'll see the basic route if you look at Ordnance Survey's Torquay
and Dawlish Explorer 31 - but note that a number of permissive paths
have now been opened in addition to the existing rights of way which
appear on the map.
The South West Coast Path weaves its way south along the wooded
edge of the cliffs after leaving Maidencombe, then veers inland
in the most dramatic of ways to gain access to the Valley of Rocks.
Until I stumbled upon this most remarkable
ravine I would have put big money on Devon having only one gorge
of this name. The gaping, boulder-strewn and craggy crevice near
Lynton on the north coast is the Valley of Rocks I know and love
- but believe me, this secret southerly cleft is every bit as dramatic
in its own sylvan way.
To gain access to this secluded place there is a dramatic debouchment
of the path which has brought you the mile or so from Maidencombe.
It suddenly swings from the gloom of a copse into the bright, sunlit,
vertical, side of a cliff that runs at right-angles away from the
shore, which is hundreds of feet beneath. The path traverses down
this face of red rock, offering the most spectacular views, before
reaching the trees of the coombe.
One of my companions commented: "I think it's more Undercliffian
than the Undercliff near Lyme Regis. You can imagine the French
Lieutenant's Woman coming here to mope, or whatever it was she did..."
No doubt about it. Immense trees darken
this shady glade and nought but a million leafy ferns adorn its
floor. But through the chiaroscuro of dappled light, glimpses of
the bright red rock flit through the high canopy to remind you that
this is no ordinary glade. There are also caves that add a sinister,
prehistoric edge to the place.
Looking at the contours on the map you get the feeling that the
tortuous composition of the place must be natural, but something
there seems to suggest that man has been at work here hewing and
hacking at the rock for goodness knows what.
"This walk might be comparatively short but you have to be
fit to do it," puffed my companion as we ascended past Smuggler's
Hole. Having said that, we had very little difficulty traversing
the handsome section by Shag Cliff. And then, with a heart-pounding
zig-and-a-zag, we ascended the ramparts of Roundhouse Point. Here
the upper, return path shoots off to the right, but my companion
insisted on walking another few hundred yards so that we could enjoy
the superb views of Babbacombe, Long Quarry Point, Black Head and
Hope's Nose.
Well worth the effort - as is the slightly
less energetic route back - skirting, as it does, the top of the
woods most of the way back to Maidencombe. You occasionally dip
down to join little sections of the outward journey's path, but
eventually the higher route crosses fields to reach the lane that
leads down to the hamlet.
All along this walk you will see fantastic displays of wild flowers
at this time of the year, and I learn from the Torbay Coast and
Countryside Trust that the 150-acre Maidencombe Farm is a stronghold
for the rare Cirl Bunting. The farm also has a network of permissive
footpaths, which makes the area an ideal place in which to take
numerous short circular walks.
The hamlet of Maidencombe lies at the centre of the farm and the
Coast and Countryside Trust also looks after the village green,
car park and the excellent beach café.
Dartmoor
& South West Devon
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