It’s been over six months since our stay in Newton Ferrers and the walk around the beautiful estuary of Noss Mayo. With much of that time “locked down” in leafy East Sussex it now feels somewhat of an escape and a bit of a culture shock to motor the few hundred miles to Devon. Arriving at 9 AM (yes, we did leave at 4 in the morning!) at the National Trust car park on Wembury beach we are too early for the café so backtrack along the coast path to Warren Point, start the Garmin and enjoy the view of the boats bobbing in the water at Noss Mayo.

The trail couldn’t be much easier – a few feet above sea level surrounded by the prolific fluffy white flowers of the blackthorn contrasted against the bright yellow gorse. The path meanders alongside the mouth of the river Yealm with spring wild flowers just starting to bloom – primrose, bluebells and bright pink honesty.

It’s about a mile re-tracing our steps back to the car park passing a handful of modest dwellings and some lovely individually crafted wooden gates. We spot the little church spire with its Union Jack flag hanging half-mast to mark the sad death of Prince Phillip a few days before. As we walk, we are thinking about the potential menu choices in the Old Mill Café, thankfully we are not disappointed and are soon tucking in to breakfast baps and hot chocolate.

Despite the sunny weather, we are not tempted to join the sea dippers – it’s only April and they are rather red in colour as they wrap up in their Dryrobes! We continue walking the coast path around Wembury Bay circling round the Great Mew Stone, half a mile out at sea. We learn, from the interpretation board, that it was inhabited by a series of families in the 18th and 19th century – as a prison sentence. A later resident, named Sam, offered day trips to the island – if you were interested you waved a white pocket handkerchief and he would launch his boat to come and pick you up.

Heading round Wembury Point we pass the hamlet of Heybrook Bay, where we cross the little bridge over the river then wander passed the coastal cottages with, bizarrely, a tennis court right on top of the cliff. The going continues to be easy but the odd rain cloud, including one with little hailstones, keep us moving quickly.

I’m always a little disconcerted when I see ‘holiday centre’ on a map but the Bovisand holiday chalets are very pleasing to the eye. The wooden dwellings with little gardens are very quiet considering its still school holidays, but I’m guessing are more designed for elderly residents (similar to those in the book I’m currently reading “The Thursday Murder Club”) rather than young families.

We stop for a snack on Bovisand beach where some young girls are starting a barbecue and a few families are running around with their dogs. Someone has thoughtfully attached black rubbish sacks to the fence for litter but I’m pleased to say that I’ve actually seen very little litter along the way.

The cliff near Bovisand Fort has experienced a recent cliff fall – attempts have been made to hold the cliff together with mesh and very large bolts! A steep set of steps takes us up behind a row of cottages then behind Bovisand Fort and Pier. To our right on the hill top is Staddon Fort with its radar making a high whirring noise. It’s still being used by the Royal Navy as a radio station – I’m guessing not to play cool tunes or as is currently being played by the BBC – “sad and contemplative” tunes.

We stand aside to allow a young lad and his parents to pass, he is counting as he goes down the steps, currently over 200 –we have a climb ahead of us. Despite notices to take care and keep dogs on leads the terrain is very easy going, especially compared to some of the hills in Dorset we’ve tackled!

We can see glimpses of the grassy Jenny Cliff and a Royal Navy ship in Plymouth Sound not far from the 1560-metre-long Plymouth Breakwater pier. Stopping for lunch on a grassy bank we then embark on our last leg, admiring a rather large stone sign saying “South West Coast Path” and passing some newish looking houses as we head into Mount Batten Point. We get confused walking down the breakwater only to realise the ferry point is towards the marina in the river Plym. A dozen or so people join us on the passenger ferry, with face masks on, as we take the short crossing to the Barbican.

It’s a momentous day in the year 2021 and many people are making the most of the pubs opening for the first time this year whilst enjoying the welcome sunshine – in stark contrast to reports of freezing temperatures and even snow back home. We wander alongside the National Marine Aquarium to find the bus stop to return to our car at Wembury.