Teignmouth, Dawlish & Shaldon

Lets start by getting off the train at Teignmouth.  You may have already experienced the ride through the cliffs, but for the rest of us that will come later.  Crossing a busy road we enter what at first seems an unpromising town.  You may still be thinking that when we reach the pier, but lets follow the coast round, past a large car park, and around the spit. Here is where we find some moored boats for hire, some two storey beach huts, and a little ferry (no not that boat - but one just to the left out of view!)

Leaving Teignmouth behind, the little ferry chugs across the estuary to the shore of Shaldon, where a couple of horses are being given a very short run up and down the gritty red beach.  Up on the promenade we find a sign pointing to the Ness tunnel - which gets us intrigued.  Heading off in that direction we find ourselves on the coast path half way up a cliff before we realise this can't be it.  Cutting down to a large carpark we eventually find the tunnel, hidden behind a toilet block.  I bet the customs men never thought to look there!  Through the tunnel, avoiding the drips from the roof we emerge to the 'secret' beach, which of course is full of people.  Allow me to clear them away with my paint brush to show you how it could look!

Returning through the tunnel we emerge to daylight and the walk down to the shore.  On the way this hostelry with a view across the water to Teignmouth tempts us in for some refreshment.  there is no rush, so lets savour the sunshine and the sea rippling round into the estuary.

With full bellies we walk down to the shore with plans to sit on one of the benches looking out across the estuary whilst our food digests.  When we get there the benches are all taken, but the view is still worth stopping for.  With boats clustered up close to the promenade and covered in blue tarps it reminds me of waves lapping at the shore - and a device used by Paul Nash in his painting 'Totes Meer' - a painting with a very different vibe indeed.

And at the end of that line of boats we can indulge in a little time on the distinctive red sands, enjoying the relaxing vibe of Shaldon.

Feel free to stop for a picnic lunch before we head on along the shore.

Want to build a sandcastle? Unfortunately the sand is not fine enough for that, but if we carry on we just may find one...

Its worth a look through the village.  You can take the road through past the little green where a game of bowls is in progress, or head up the hill and walk through the grandly named botanical gardens (just a park, but what superb views).

Carry on past the bridge and you may spot this unusual house that wants to be a sandcastle.

Curiously there are signs for a botanic garden.  Shaldon seems a bit small for something so grand, and so it turns out.  We climb the slopes and find there is a garden of sorts, though its mainly a steep grassy bank with another interesting castle like structure at its top.  But the thing that is most stunning is the view through the trees of Teignmouth.  And its time to head back across the river to see a bit more.

Having seen about as much of Shaldon as there seems to be, its back on the ferry or perhaps across the bridge to explore some of the nooks and crannies of the back beach.  Several of these have hostelries, but its one with half a sign up that catches our eye - not for the architecture, but the lines of little boats strung along the shore.

But what of the town itself?  Go behind the shore and you find rows of shops and an arts quarter.  What caught my attention though was this tree lined street, the dappled shade and the mix of odd shops

There is just one last thing to see and do before we leave Teignmouth, and that is take a walk along the promenade as the trains weave there way through the cliffs beside us. Its the only railway connection West of Exeter, serving Plymouth and Cornwall. A train passes every few minutes. This one is heading back, and we've missed it!