Shaldon
Continuing my series of posts on Devon, this one about Shaldon will be the first to come under the category of Teignbridge, a district that gets its name from the River Teign that runs through it.
Like many other Devon rivers, the Teign begins life seeping out of the mires of Dartmoor: It then continues to flow down towards Newton Abbot, where just below the town, it becomes an estuary before entering the English Channel, some five miles or so further downstream. Unsurprisingly, the main town at the mouth of the estuary is called Teignmouth, but on the opposite shore, connected by a bridge and year-round ferry, is the lovely village of Shaldon.
Sitting under a headland called The Ness, Shaldon is built on re-claimed land, and the sea/river defences are constantly being upgraded to make sure that it doesn’t revert back to nature. In contrast to the holiday towns of Teignmouth and Dawlish, Shaldon is a quieter destination with a combination of Georgian houses and old fishermen’s cottages among its narrow streets.
The position and character of Shaldon doesn’t make it an easy place to drive around, but ideal for wandering, so please join me while I give some practical tips on the best way of exploring this attractive village.
For those who are driving, I recommend that you follow the signs to the Ness Car Park at the top of the village on the Torquay road. One word of warning though; the car park is on a slope and, as the picture below shows, it’s best if you keep the car in gear with your handbrake firmly on.
Across the road from the car park, signposts lead to Shaldon Zoo. Now, I’m not the sort of person who will argue a point of view unless I can back it up, and for years I’ve not entered places like this for obvious reasons, but a while ago I decided to put my prejudices to one side and come in here to see if anything has changed where keeping animals in captivity are concerned.
With some trepidation I wandered around looking at the animals and talking to the staff. The enclosures are home to mainly primates and mammals such as marmosets, monkeys and meerkats, all of which are looked after by the Shaldon Wildlife Trust whose aim is to try and preserve what remains of some of the most endangered animals in the world. They went to great pains to tell me that none of the creatures in captivity had been taken from the wild and that their conservation programme had been a great success – but what did I think?
Well, I have to say that I felt worse when I came out than before I went in. I felt sorry to see the animals living in such confined conditions, I felt sorry for the dedicated staff who are passionate about the welfare of the animals – and I felt sorry that the world has had to resort to places like this to prevent these species from becoming extinct. There’s nothing more to say really.
If you can’t bring yourself to help finance the Wildlife Trust’s efforts in conservation, then you might want to lie out on Ness Cove Beach for a while instead. It would be easy to miss if you didn’t know it was here because access is via a smuggler’s tunnel next to the zoo. The beach is on the sunny south-facing seaward side and is quieter than the village beach. Incidentally, if you’re wondering why the headland is called the Ness, it’s because its shape supposedly resembles a nose – or Nez in French. So now you knows!
One of the smugglers that used the tunnel apparently was Lord Clifford of Ugbrooke, Charles II’s treasurer and member of the Cabal. He was obviously looking after his own financial position while he was looking after the rest of the country’s, and it sounds as though the wealth he accumulated was passed down through the family, because just down the road from the zoo is Ness House, built as a summer residence in 1810 for another family member. Today it’s a pub, restaurant and small hotel with terrific views across the estuary towards Teignmouth.
Having views from up here on the Ness at the start of your walk around the village means that you’ll need to walk back up here at the end, so you might want to consider stopping at Ness House on the return rather than at the beginning. Not only that, there are other options for taking a break elsewhere, and I’ll be pointing out a few as we wander around.
Whatever you decide, we have to walk down Marine Parade to get to the riverside. It’s not traffic free, but it’s not usually busy either – and it is only one-way. At the bottom of the hill the road has plenty of benches to take the weight off your feet while you enjoy the view. There’s no point in rushing anywhere because there’s nowhere to rush to – but that’s what Shaldon is all about: If you’ve come here looking to get an adrenaline rush, you’ve come to the wrong place.
Marine Parade ends where The Strand begins, and it’s also where the Teignmouth Ferry departs from. It claims to be the oldest passenger ferry in England, but whether it is or not I wouldn’t know for sure, but apparently there’s been a river crossing here since at least 1296, and possibly earlier. The journey across only takes about 5 minutes, and judging by the number of people who use it, I can see why the ferryman only officially takes Christmas Day and New Year’s Day off. He must be raking it in.
The cottages along The Strand were built for fishermen who worked for the Newfoundland Fishing Company. It’s hard for me to understand though why it was deemed necessary for fishermen to travel as far as Newfoundland to catch fish when there’s all this water around here.
These cottages were each allocated a portion of the beach where they could store their boats and nets. Today they have been turned into private gardens – and a public one if you’re a customer of the Ferry Boat Inn (FBI)
As I said earlier, there’s no shortage of places to eat and drink in Shaldon, and one of the most popular is the Clipper Café which lies just a short distance along The Strand from the FBI.
The outside terrace is what attracts people here, but the food’s pretty decent too. They’re open all day long, but my favourite time is breakfast time, when you can get a Captain’s full English if you have a big appetite, or a smaller Sailor’s Breakfast if you don’t, but why a captain should have a bigger breakfast than a sailor I’m not sure. When the sun goes down the Clipper tells us that “the candles are lit as the vibe changes to a relaxed informal dining atmosphere where our chefs frequently tailor the menu to include diners’ favourites and the local catch”. I can’t verify the truth of this statement as I’ve never been here on an evening and that’s because I’m more likely to be found in the London Inn which is a few yards away next to The Green.
The old village green went many years ago, but Lord Clifford gave the village another one so that it could be somewhere for the fishermen to dry their nets, or at least that’s what I’ve read. If that’s the case then it must have been one great big happy family around here, because surrounding The Green are many, what I would call, elegant houses that were occupied by ship’s captains and wealthy merchants.
Whatever His Lordship intended, I don’t suppose he envisaged it as a bowling green which is what it is now. In all honesty I think the bowling green is a reflection on what Shaldon is like today, and so it doesn’t seem in the least bit out of place somehow. The clock tower was built in 1921 in commemoration of the Great War.
By continuing to walk alongside The Green past the London Inn, and then turning right into Albion Street, you’ll come to Riverside, a road that leads to Shaldon Bridge.
The first bridge connecting Shaldon and Teignmouth was built in 1821, and at 1,632 ft (498m) long, it was claimed to be the longest wooden bridge in England. However, just eleven years later, due to an infestation of shipworm, the structure collapsed. Within 2 years a stone structure had replaced it, and although it lasted a hundred years, a change from pedestrian and horse-driven traffic to cars and lorries meant that a much stronger bridge was needed.
At the end of the 20th century more reinforcements to the bridge were required, and when the work was completed in 2002 the locals noticed that there was a whistling noise when the wind was coming from a certain direction. It drove people living nearby mad, as apparently the frequency was in a whining tone of F#. The problem was found to be that some of the tubes were acting like organ pipes, and after the fault was rectified the ‘Singing Bridge’, as it became known, lost its voice, but occasionally returns – although in a different key.
From the bridge we can return through the village via some of the back streets, and to avoid re-tracing our steps we can turn left into Bridge Road, and then at the top of the road turn left into Fore Street. Half way along Fore Street turn right into Dagmar Street and then just follow your nose. Around here is a warren of streets and alleyways that would have originally been part of the foreshore until it silted up and became reclaimed land.
Some of the cottages go back 300-400 years, most of them originally belonging to fishermen, and it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine them mending their nets around the original village green, which would have been situated between Dagmar Street and Middle Street near to a small area known as ‘Sunny Patch’.
Sunny Patch is a quiet corner of the village where three cottages once stood. A gentleman by the name of Mr. Allman lived on The Green and wasn’t too keen on the kids playing outside of his house, and so he apparently got the cottages demolished and donated the land to the village as a playground, but it would seem that the playground has now gone the same way as the cottages.
Middle Street leads to Horse Lane and back onto Marine Parade next to the ferry shelter, but for anyone who wants to extend their visit a bit more, I can recommend a detour up Horse Lane to Homeyards Botanical Garden. It’s free to visit and in my opinion, a hidden gem. The only downside is that it’s best to walk up and back down again rather than use the exit gate at the top which leads onto the main road.
This oasis of peace and tranquility was created in the 1920’s and 30’s for Maria Laetitia Kempe Homeyard whose husband made his fortune by inventing and manufacturing a cough medicine called Liqufruta. After his death in 1927 Maria transformed these sloping fields overlooking the Teign estuary into a terraced arboretum, and when she died in 1944 there were no heirs, and in 1950 the local council bought the gardens for a nominal sum.
The council has never really had the resources to keep the gardens in the way that they were intended, but with the help of the Friends of Homeyards Botanical Garden they have been kept in good shape.
Mrs. Homeyard had a summer house built where she could provide afternoon tea for her friends over a game of bridge. This ‘Summer House’ is made of stone and is locally known as The Castle. When I was here last, the ‘castle’ had been left to become a romantic ruin, but before it became a magnet for those whose lives are anything but romantic, funds have been found for it to be restored and put to good use.
All that remains for us to do now is to walk back down Horse Lane to the riverside and back up Marine Parade to the Ness Car Park – and perhaps it’s time to reward yourself with those refreshments at Ness House that you promised yourself earlier – unless of course you stopped off at the FBI, Clipper and London Inn along the way.
POSTED – MARCH 2022
Originally posted 2022-03-15 16:54:17.
I must say it actuakly does have a lot to offer for the more chilled traveller. I reckon I could spend a very happy day there. of course i do lvoe the sea.
It’s a low key sort of place and perfect for anyone who doesn’t want too much going on except to enjoy the natural surroundings. I like Shaldon a lot. Thanks for checking it out.
I liekd the feel of it that way. Where is is quiet but you can get a good wander.
That’s the way I feel nowadays too Shey.
Boats are a fun mer place for me. Good blue water share. 💦
A Bubbly Tipsy Mermaid sounds like a fun person too 🙂
That is what the fish community says. 🐬💦
Sounds a bit fishy to me 🐟 🙂
He he.💦
I think I’d be happy to drop into any – or better still – all of the hostelries on the way through this beautiful village, Malc. I have to say, though, I love the sign for the Ness, with that wonderful tall ship and the gorgeous moonlit sea and coastline. Another great introduction to a corner of your world that I’d never heard of before. It all looks very inviting from your customary superb photos (love the look of the ‘castle’, even if it isn’t medieval!). If I get to go there though, I’d probably park a way outside the village and walk in, looking at that upturned car, but then I guess it’s a good excuse for an extended walk too as the whole area seems to be rather appealing.
As for zoos, I have very mixed feelings on them. I share your views entirely, with the saddest part being that the conservation of these precious animals is necessary at all. It’s a sad indictment on humanity indeed. I guess, at least, all the animals that are part of these breeding programmes are very well looked after (you can see that from your photos) and if they were bred at the zoo they’ll never have known any different. At the end of the day, I guess these brave and dedicated people are making a concerted effort to conserve the creatures we’re supposed to be sharing the Earth with, and that’s got to be better than no action at all which would result in the animals being lost altogether. Ultimately, the truth is that what the planet really needs is less humans wreaking so much havoc and causing such devastation to the fragile global habitats.
I loved reading about Shaldon, Malc, and it’s good to be able to snatch a bit of time to catch up in the blogsphere. Thanks for your email, which I’ll respond to this week. In the meantime, take good care of yourself and keep smiling. 🙂
Thanks for your thoughtful reply again Alli. It’s always a pleasure to read your comments, probably because your thoughts always seem to coincide with mine.
As regards the zoo, the whole subject comes into focus when I let my mind wander. In my reply to your comment on my Drottningholm post I said that I would stop predicting the future in case I’m proved right again as it doesn’t give me any pleasure whatsoever – but here I go again – I just can’t help myself. The way I see it is than the animal kingdom will have the last laugh if the human world can’t get its act together. The biggest problem of all of course is that the world is vastly overpopulated and shows no sign of decreasing, and unless we can move large numbers of people to another planet, then nature will find a way of reducing those numbers – either by a world-wide disease, an environmental disaster or another world war – none of which are mouth-watering prospects. I’ve been thinking this way for a long time, and now that we’re experiencing a pandemic, an ugly war that could easily get out of control and a serious threat of an environmental disaster, then the world needs to unite – and the sooner the better. The human race can deal with the problems ahead if it really wants to, but somehow I doubt it will. The one good bit of news is that the natural world is more resourceful than the human one, and wildlife and plants will find a way to survive, even if it’s in a different form or different place. Perhaps then, the animal kingdom will be able to roam freely while humans are stuck in their own cages in solitary confinement. Let’s hope I’m wrong.
It’s no good worrying about these things though because worrying changes nothing. Fortunately, in the free and democratic world we have a say in what happens in society, and as long as it does, you can rest assured that I’ll definitely keep smiling 😊
Your thoughts on the state of the world and humanity, and our (mis)management of the planet absolutely match my own, word for word, Malc. Humans have got out of hand, and that’s the simple truth. As you rightly say, though, at least we know the natural world will recover when we’ve run our course and the planet – and ourselves – have got rid of us, and that’s a real comfort. In the meantime, we do have a say, yes, but I increasingly feel that those of us who care are shouting into the void. Escape is the best way to cope in modernity, I believe now, so one way or another we’ll keep each other smiling. 🙂
Alli, we’re all escaping into our own world, and it’s the best way. The world is so divided and toxic that we need to find a way to deal with it. I believe that the world has more good people than bad, but the good people don’t get heard enough which is why we need to cling on to the fact that when we put our cross on a ballot paper it means something. People who shout the loudest think their voice gets heard, but for me I don’t hear a word they say.
My only worry is that we’ve become so free in the Western World that if we’re not careful we’ll implode. I think you know what I’m trying to say. Don’t worry, I’m not on a downer or anything today (apart from the fact I’ve been charged 3 times for last night’s Chinese delivery). It’s just that I know that I can say things to you that I can’t to everyone else. I hope you don’t mind.
Once again I totally agree, Malc. Escaping into our own world is the best way now. The world’s gone mad, that’s for sure. I have to admit I’ve been escaping for a few years now, and it usually proves to be a good coping mechanism when the world gets too much, which it seems to be doing more and more these days. So no, I don’t mind what you say to me because we think very similarly about a lot of things.
THREE times?? 😀 How on Earth can you be charged three times for a Chinese? Something must have gone very wrong… I hope it was worth it! 😀
It was partly my fault. I’ll accept the responsibilty but I won’t take the blame 🙂
As long as you got your money back. 🙂
Not yet.
Eeek, make sure you do, otherwise that’s got to be the most expensive fried rice ever! 😀
🍛 🙂
Looks like a grand place to relax, paint, write some poetry…
And I am glad I don’t have a car, the car park seems a bit extreme. And the Ness is something to look at for sure. Loved it Malc. Thanks so much for such interesting places, really makes me just want to live on the road and see them all! Take good care and all the best. Enjoy Friday and the weekend! And don’t forget wine time later on this afternoon (here at 1900 hours). Cheers!
A big thanks as always Francesc. I’ve just returned from a couple of days away myself which I really needed. Hope you’ve had a good week too and I’ll be raising a glass to all my valued friends this evening. It’s not money that makes the world go round, it’s good people like yourself.
I quite agree my friend, the real value in life is human, human bonds and human kindness. Cheers Malc and all the best.
Too true F. Have a great weekend!
You too Malc!
A very informative post Malc – thanks for the walk, I enjoyed it 🙂
Shaldon looks and sounds like just my kind of place and only 20-ish miles from Torquay. I have friends who live there and I’m having tentative thoughts about coming down for a visit later in the year – if plans come to fruition Shaldon will definitely be on my list of places to go to while I’m down there 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the walk Eunice. Shaldon is about 8 miles from Torquay Harbour if that helps to persuade you 🙂
Thanks Malc. RAC Routeplanner gives it as 20 miles but that’s not from any specific point in Torquay. It depends where I’ll be going from – camp site or whatever – but I’ve just put in my friends’ address and it’s only 5 miles from there so that’s even better 🙂 Now all I need is for the price of fuel to come back down.
And the sun to shine 🙂
I love everything about your writing, Malc! Your narrative, often witty, the wonderful photos, and your views which are mine too.
The village is a true paradise!
Joanna
What lovely comments Joanna. Thank you so much, I don’t quite know what to say, except that your comments are trully appreciated and that you’re right about Shaldon 🙂
You are more than welcome! Just keep on writing!
Joanna
I will 🙂
Lovely pictures, Malc. Looks like a nice place to hang for a while.
Thanks Pat. Yes it is
I had to look this one up on the map, never having heard of it. Looks like a beautiful and peaceful area.
It’s not far from me Don, and at my time of life, I really like it here