Wall Hill and Ansteys Cove

 Wall Hill

 Redgate Beach (closed) and Ansteys Cove (open)

 A view from the cafe at Anseys Cove

Me at the cafe having a cup of coffee

Yesterday I went for my usual walk, doctor orders. Sometimes I just go down to the Harbour and catch a bus somewhere and walk home, makes it more interesting. Also gives Stagecoach some well needed revenue(sic). Anyway a 32 for St Marychurch had just come in so I got on that intending to have a walk along the Downs but when I got there I turned left along Wall Hill Road which goes up to The South West Coastal Path and Walls Hill which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. At the top of the cliffs is Walls Hill, a limestone plateau. Some 2,500 years ago this was an Iron Age fortification, a headland fort where tribal groups would have retreated in times of threat. Mostly it is frequented by the local dog walkers, one person had 5 dogs in tow.

At first it is a continuation of Babbacombe Downs but eventually the scenery gets a bit more dramatic. Lots of fences to stop the dogs and any children you may have with you from vanishing over the edge which is a good job, it's 300 feet down to the sea. Continuing along the coastal path takes you down to Ansteys Cove. Now I have lived in Torquay for nearly fourteen years and have never been down to Ansteys Cove. It's quiet an easy walk down, nice wide path with hand rails for the nervous but the views are spectacular. And there is a nice café to get a cup of good coffee, none of that powdered cheap instant muck you get in some other places I've been to. The café is only open weekend till the end of May then it will be open daily to sell snacks and hot and cold drinks including beer and wine.

Next to Ansteys Cove, which has a small rocky beach is Redgate Beach, bigger and sandy but fenced of as the cliffs above have a tendency to drop rocks onto the heads of people sat on the beach. Actually it's been closed of since 1998 which was the year we moved to Torquay. You would expect the beach to be covered with rock and rubble by now but it did look fairly clear to me.

After relaxing with my coffee and taking a few photos I started the climb back up to the main road. When I was 20 metres from the road the Torquay bound 32 went driving past, I should have checked the timetable, the next one wasn't for half an hour.