South West of Salcombe
Walked August 2021
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This 6.5 mile walk starts and finished at the National Trust East Soar Car Park (https://w3w.co/relies.unframed.stitch, grid ref: SX 713 375). Quite, but not very hilly, it takes you around the headland to the south of Salcombe. Stunning views.
Thanks to Sally and Richard Gard for this walk.
1.
From the car park, continue on the lane until you see a footpath on the right. After about 200m, take the footpath on the right to Higher Soar.
2.
At Higher Soar, turn left and take Soar Mill Cove Road to the Soar Mill Hotel. Should you wish, you can get refreshments here and take in the view before continuing.
3.
Just before the beach (Soar Mill Cove), take the Coastal to the left.
4.
Continue along the coast path, taking in the cliff views, around Bolt Head and down into Starehole Bottom. There are number of routes back to the car park along the way, should you wish to shorten the route.
5.
As you descend towards Splat Cove Point, you meet a tarmac lane with stunning views of the luxury houses in Salcombe.
Follow the zig-zag road up to Overbeck's Garden. This was the home of Otto Overbeck who invented the 'electrical rejuvenator', claimed to stave off the aging process.
Otto Overbeck
Otto Overbeck
Otto Overbeck was an accomplished inventor, linguist, and art collector. Otto’s most economically successful invention was the ‘electrical rejuvenator’ that he patented in the 1920s, and which he claimed could defy the ageing process if users applied the electrodes from his device to their skin. He produced various pamphlets and published two books on his ‘electrical theory of life’ and successfully marketed the rejuvenator worldwide. The success of the product allowed him to purchase the property in Salcombe and it is thanks to him that the National Trust has this special place for everyone to enjoy
Source: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/overbecks/features/the-house-at-overbecks
6.
At the gate into the garden, continue up to the right and follow the footpath signposted with a teacup symbol. At the top of the hill, there is an option to go straight back to the car park or continue on the route to the East Soar "Outdoor Adventure". Here there is a small campsite and a "Grab and Go" café serving cakes, teas and ice creams etc with an honesty box for payment.
Be sure not to open the taped up freezer looking for the ice creams. We did this and we rudely told that it was closed for reason and asked what we were looking for. As a result we decided not to try the refreshments after all.
7.
The path from here to the car park, takes you past the Bolt Head Airfield, which is the remains of the WW2 RAF base. The grass runway runs parallel with the path.
RAF Bolt Head
RAF Bolt Head
RAF Bolt Head is a former Royal Air Force grass airfield 1 mile (1.6 km) south west of Salcombe on the south Devon coast, England from 1941 to 1945. During the Second World War it was used as a satellite for RAF Exeter. There were two runways, of 3,680 ft at 45° and 4,200 ft at 120°[1]
The Ground Control Interceptor Station (GCI) RAF Hope Cove was established on the northeast side of the field in 1941 to direct fighter operations in the English Channel. Unlike the airfield, Hope Cove remained in use into the 1990s.
Today the World War II buildings are almost all gone but a memorial to the airfield's war-time history exists in the centre of the site, two notable post-war buildings survive including a large R6 Rotor bunker (used until 1994 as a Regional Seat of Government) and a grass airstrip is still used occasionally by light aircraft. The landowners also hosted an air display there in 2009 which saw a Hurricane and Spitfire visit the airfield for the first time since the war.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Bolt_Head
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