“Dramatic, steeply undulating landscape” and a Strenuous grading with over 3000’ of ascent. This was my guide’s description of today’s stage and not one I wanted to do in the rain. So I pushed back my Rest Day until tomorrow and did the walk today. There was a brief spell of rain just before I left the hotel, otherwise it was a perfect day.

I started just after 7am as there was a possibility of afternoon showers and I hoped to get the walk done before that happened. I shared the tugboat ferry with the morning commuters for the short ride across the River Dart to Kingswear.

Leaving town the Path went along a quiet private road that was probably the drive to a fabulous estate in the old days. Now there’s just a few secluded homes, perhaps even a modern castle?

After a mile or so I descended into the woods, down to a cove with its castle folly, then back up and around, and down/up/around until coming out at Forward Point with its Coastguard lookout station and old WWII bunkers and batteries.

Then ensued several miles of coastal walking on great, smooth, recently trimmed path (yahoo!). I did run into some slow traffic on the trail that wouldn’t let me pass for ages!

Around 6.5 miles the strenuous section started. The passage of many boots have cut in alternating footsteps into the super steep slopes which is a godsend for not slipping going down or for not overstraining calf muscles going up. My Facebook group had many comments on not wanting to do these slopes in bad weather as they’d be treacherous in mud but I had nice firm soil.

After the climbs it was another mile of easy walking through hedgerow alleys atop the bluffs. At 8 miles I was at Sharkham Point in time to see a farmer and his trusty dog collect his cows to move them to another field.

Then I was looking across at the suburbs of Brixham. Just one big point to go around before I dropped down into the busy port town.