Branscombe

Lovely morning driving down to Branscombe where we parked at the Old Forge. After having a look around in the shop we took the footpath down towards Branscombe mouth and the beach.

We stopped at the watermill on the way down; all of the sign said it was open but when we actually arrived at the mill on the door the sign said it was closed until the spring, which was helpful. The path down to Branscombe mouth was very muddy but, despite that, it was a pleasant walk through the gently folding valley, with the stream trickling alongside the footpath.

Once we got to the beach it was interesting to see how many people were down there. There were walkers, runners, kite-fliers, dog walkers, and people just making the most of the views. Branscombe beach is an interesting spot. It looks like the only break in the cliffs for quite a way. The stream that we had been walking along disappears down to the beach and then under the shingle and sand before emptying in the sea. To the east is a spot where, in the 1700s, a huge land slip occurred at Hooken. It now provides an interesting looking walking route. (We didn’t try it). It is also the spot where, in 2007, the container ship Napoli ran aground and lost its containers.

People turned up from all over the place to raid the flotsam and ended up breaking into containers and stealing the contents (including BMW motorbikes). It seems incredible that that was 13 years ago. The only souvenir of the event is an information board and the ship’s anchor.

 We walked for a while up along the beach, but then returned to grab a coffee in the tea rooms near the beach car park. Suitably refreshed, we strolled back along a different route, through the village and back to the forge. It really is very picturesque, but one suspects that it could be a nightmare in the summer.

We drove back to Sidmouth, passing through Salcombe Regis. The Gorse Fox had been wondering what the village would be like. He can report it is merely a tiny cluster of houses and the census would probably report a population of 10 people and two dogs. The dogs were clearly away on vacation when we drove through.

Back in Sidmouth, we parked at the hotel and walked straight down into the town. The sun soon broke through and we had quite a pleasant afternoon, weather-wise. We wandered around the shops and the Gorse Fox bought a nice sweater in Crew Clothing, while the Silver Vixen ordered a jacket from Joules, for delivery to the Chichester store.

We headed back to the hotel. Guess what, the GorseFox has just realised that he forgot to start the Geo-tagger software, consequently he can’t test whether his latest idea for solving the problem will actually work. The shame is that he actually took quite a few photos that needed the geo-tagger. He is sitting in the sun lounge with the Silver Vixen as she enjoys an afternoon tea and he enjoys a pint of Doombar. It has turned into a lovely sunny afternoon.