Last Updated on 5th February 2018 by Sophie Nadeau
There is nothing better to do on a sunny Devonian afternoon (other than consuming a cream tea- cream first of course!), than grabbing a bottle of water, picnic and a couple of friends (or maybe just the dog) before heading off on an adventure along the coastline. The turquoise sea, a winding path and even the chance to see some seals makes this one of my favourite things to do on a sunny day. Kingswear coastal walks are the perfect walks to take by the sea. And, they’re easily some of the very best and prettiest walks in Devon!
For my Birthday earlier this month, I did one of the National Trust Coastal Walks along the Kingswear Coast. I started the walk at Brownstone Car Park (free of charge) which is just up the road from Coleton Fishacre, a national trust property built in the arts and crafts style in the 1920s.
After walking past fields full of sheep, cows and even the occasional Dartmoor pony, I reached a winding path heading down in the direction of an island known as ‘mewstone island’. The name ‘mew’ comes from the old English word for ‘gull’- no prizes for guessing whether or not there are many birds in the area! In 1642 it was described as ‘resembling a lion’. I’m not really sure I see it myself- What do you think?
Contents
Don’t Miss on your Kingswear Coastal Walks:
1. National Coastwatch Institution Base
On the way back to the car, you walk up a steep hill (I did say you walked down quite a long way from the car park!), you reach Froward Point. It is an NCI (National Coastwatch Institution), meaning that trained volunteer watchkeepers monitor the sea during day shifts to keep track of ships going past, solo walkers wandering past etc. If you do happen to wander past the watch station, you can go in and speak to one of the knowledgeable watch keepers who will show you a bit about what they do in the station itself and show you some of the equipment!
2. The Chance to See Local Wildlife (in the sea haha)
- Make sure to bring some binoculars as you can often spot seals sunbathing on Mewstone island!
- Make sure that a seagull doesn’t steal your lunch!
3. Daymark
On the loop back around, you walk up the road from the NCI (all signposted), and you come across the strangest looking object in one of the fields. Can you guess what it is? Nope? I couldn’t either!It’s actually known as a daymark and standing at 80 foot high, it was built in 1864 to help guide ships into Dartmouth. If you’re really adventurous, you can actually walk along the coastline all the way to Dartmouth.
How to get there: I found the easiest way to walk along the Kingswear coastal path is to park in the Brownstone Car Park just along from Coleton Fishacre. By car: from Dartmouth (a pretty fishing town that’s well worth a visit) and Paignton, follow the signs to Coleton Fishacre. Once you reach Coleton Fishacre, carry on driving along the road for about 200m and on the left-hand side you will see Brownstone Car Park.
Price: Free
Time: The whole loop takes around an hour/ hour and a half but you could easily walk a longer distance by doing one of the longer coast paths// at the end of the walk I had one very happy but tired dog!