It is only an hour’s drive from Yelverton or Tavistock to the glorious south Devon beach of Bantham. You could easily spend your day here enjoying the unspoilt sand and sea. Why not try your hand at surfing (lessons available), kayak down the Avon estuary (bring your own kayak) or as we did, take the dog and children for a scenic walk.
This footpath is popular, well-worn and well signed. It has suffered from some erosion but the track never strays far from the cliffs. You begin from the car park with a stiff ascent, the Atlantic on your right, rolling farmland on your left and a handy bench half way up for a quick rest and a look back across the bay to Bigbury-on–sea and Burgh Island with stunning art deco hotel. From the cliff tops you can see small, sandy, secret bays, some accessible if you’re part mountain goat. The path runs along the edge of Thurlestone golf course past Yarmouth bay and then to Thurlestone Sands where you can see the distinctive holed Thurlestone Rock. We’d been strolling for about an hour by this time so we stopped for lunch at the Beach House café which serves local fresh seafood specials beside the beach.
This was enough of a walk for us so we turned back and retraced our steps to Bantham, making good use of the many well placed benches on our return to enjoy the views and abundant coastal wildlife. Alternatively there is a regular, if infrequent, bus service linking Thurlestone and Hope Cove or you can continue walking - just a short stretch along the road before re-joining the coastal path along the shoreline and low cliffs to Outer Hope then follow the path behind the delightful harbour down to the old lifeboat station at Inner Hope. Inland a little way is the old village centre with the picturesque Square and historic cottages – well worth the extra stroll.