{"id":356,"date":"2011-04-16T05:00:26","date_gmt":"2011-04-16T05:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=356"},"modified":"2011-04-16T09:31:57","modified_gmt":"2011-04-16T09:31:57","slug":"churston-to-kingswear-dart-valley-south-devon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=356","title":{"rendered":"Churston to Kingswear, Dart Valley, South Devon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Goliath lay at ease in Churston station, lazily jetting steam and curls of smoke into the cloudless blue South Devon sky.<br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.onload = setupZoom; function popwalk(walk) {var url = \"\/Walks\/amap.php?f=\"+walk;\nvar walkwindow=window.open(url,\"walkwin\",\"height=700,width=800,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes\"); if (window.focus) {walkwindow.focus()}}<\/script>First published in: The Times <a href=\"javascript:popwalk('Churston.jpg');\" rel=\"nozoom\" title=\"Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window\">Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5063\/5588397698_9be0d5a83e.jpg\" title='Waiting Room at Churston Station'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5063\/5588397698_9be0d5a83e_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5055\/5587807305_b5ecd56e77.jpg\" title='Dart Valley Trail'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5055\/5587807305_b5ecd56e77_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5066\/5588401726_275a25bafa.jpg\" title='view over Dart Estuary'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5066\/5588401726_275a25bafa_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5020\/5587810291_54bbdf43f5.jpg\" title='Dartmouth from trail'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5020\/5587810291_54bbdf43f5_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5103\/5587811691_61dfc8b204.jpg\" title='Dartmouth and the Royal Naval College'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5103\/5587811691_61dfc8b204_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5227\/5587813289_f6448500db.jpg\" title='pots and sheds'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5227\/5587813289_f6448500db_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5181\/5588407802_5120775776.jpg\" title='&#039;Lydham Manor&#039; approaching Kingswear Station'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5181\/5588407802_5120775776_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5296\/5588408864_b37dd2058b.jpg\" title='Kingswear Station'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5296\/5588408864_b37dd2058b_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nFacebook Link: <script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=356\" layout=\"button_count\" show_faces=\"true\" width=\"200\" colorscheme=\"dark\"><\/fb:like><br \/>\nWe stood watching \u2013 Jane, her sister Susan and I \u2013 mesmerised by the sounds and smells of childhood. \u2018She\u2019ll stay there till she\u2019s ready to go,\u2019 was the Zen-like observation of the man on the bridge. When the little black tank engine finally moved off, chuffing and clanking, her place at the platform was taken by Lydham Manor, resplendent in Great Western Railway green, simmering like a kettle and emitting mournful hoots like an owl on the boil. <\/p>\n<p>Out beyond the village we found stony Combe Lane rising gently, a hollow way through unseen fields. Buildings, cars and the trains of the Dart Valley Railway had all been whisked out of sight and earshot in a fold of the landscape, and we walked in a tunnel of blackthorn bushes and coarse-leaved elm suckers bursting with finch song. It wasn\u2019t until we were standing tiptoe on the fence at the crest of the hill like inquisitive kids (it must have been the Goliath effect) that we caught our first glimpse of the Dart estuary, a blue gleam between wooded hills, a scatter of yachts, a sprinkle of civilisation around Torbay, and the jagged granite vertebrae of Haytor sticking out of the back of Dartmoor on the northern horizon a dozen miles off. <\/p>\n<p>Beyond Higher Greenway and tree-cloaked Oakham Hill we followed a permissive path near the narrow estuary, south along a hillside where Long Wood clung steeply above the river. A hoot and a rapid panting from down by the Dart betrayed Goliath\u2019s progress along the waterside line. A gap in the trees allowed a peep over the river, a jade-green snake between dark woods and fields of deep red Devon soil.  \u2018I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can!\u2019 fussed invisible Goliath. <\/p>\n<p>Down and out of the woods, descending paths to emerge on the River Dart opposite the Royal Naval College, huge in red brick, all towers and ranks of windows on its hill. Trundling ferries churned the estuary between Kingswear and Dartmouth, opposing nests of tight-packed houses, blue, pink, white, yellow on the steep, as pretty as a picture. As we walked between river and railway towards Kingswear, Lydham Manor came hissing past in a cloud of pungent coal smoke, every carriage window filled with faces, an escapist grin across every one.<\/p>\n<p>Start: Churston station, Dart Valley Railway TQ5 0LL (OS ref. SX 894563)<br \/>\nFinish: Kingswear station TQ6 0AA (OS ref SX 881510)<br \/>\nGetting there: Train (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thetrainline.com\">www.thetrainline.com<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.railcard.co.uk\">www.railcard.co.uk<\/a>) to Paignton; Dart Valley Railway (01803-555872; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk\">www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk<\/a>) to Churston.<br \/>\nRoad: A379 Paignton-Dartmouth; Churston station signed in Galmpton.<br \/>\nWalk (5 miles, moderate, OS Explorer OL20): Leaving Churston station, left across railway; left down Greenway Road. In \u2153 mile, left past Manor Inn. Up hill; left along Kennel Lane; cross railway; right along Combe Lane (\u2018Greenway Walk\u2019\/GW). In \u2154 mile at top of rise among trees, right (blue arrow, GW) along hedged lane. Cross stile; follow hedge\/fence for \u2153 mile. Just before gate of Higher Greenway, left (\u2018permissive path\u2019; Dart Valley Trail\/DVT) into Long Wood. Steeply downhill; follow track (white, blue arrows). Where DVT turns steeply downhill to right by wooden frame, keep ahead. In 1 mile path hairpins right; descend to bear left across stream (DVT). Follow DVT for \u00bd mile to cross A379; on along roadway; in 400m, right (DVT) down path; cross road and railway; left along estuary to Kingswear station.<br \/>\nNB \u2013 Online maps, more walks: www.christophersomerville.co.uk<br \/>\nLunch: Royal Dart Inn (01803-752213), Ship Inn (01803-752348; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shipinnforecast.com\">www.shipinnforecast.com<\/a>), Kingswear<br \/>\nMore info: Dartmouth TIC (01803-834224; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.discoverdartmouth.com\">www.discoverdartmouth.com<\/a>)<br \/>\n<FONT COLOR=\"#0000ff\"><U><A HREF=\"http:\/\/www.ramblers.org.uk\/\">www.ramblers.org.uk<\/A><\/U><\/FONT> <FONT COLOR=\"#0000ff\"><U><A HREF=\"http:\/\/www.satmap.com\/\">www.satmap.com<\/A><\/U><\/FONT> <FONT COLOR=\"#0000ff\"><U><A HREF=\"http:\/\/www.LogMyTrip.co.uk\/\">www.LogMyTrip.co.uk<\/A><\/U><\/FONT><br \/>\nLlanelli Festival of Walks, Carmarthenshire: 27\u201330 May 2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Goliath lay at ease in Churston station, lazily jetting steam and curls of smoke into the cloudless blue South Devon sky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-walks","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}