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Anyone ever been to Shaldon?

Hollis

bloody furious
Every time I pass it on the train, I think, that looks like a nice place to live... So does anyone have any info, other than it being next to the Teign estuary.
 
Not far from me.

Very posh, believe it has the most wealth per household for any part of devon, this is down to a lot of second home owners I believe. Nice bakery.

You can walk along the Teign estuary to Newton Abbot at low tide.
 
Every time I pass it on the train, I think, that looks like a nice place to live... So does anyone have any info, other than it being next to the Teign estuary.

It's very posh. House prices are batshit crazy but not many people actually live there.

Lovely walk from there to Babbacombe but it's not for the feint of heart.

There's a beach at Ness Cove you can get to down a long tunnel. Also a pub with lovely views of Teignmouth, the estuary and the sea.

There's a little ferry from Shaldon to the back beach at Teignmouth.

There's also some kind of little castle thing with landscaped gardens that's open to the public. Keep meaning to go there and have a look round.
 
One of the smuggest towns you'll ever encounter; lovely, and it knows it.

Cute monkeys in a little zoo, excellent mackerel fishing, nice beach through a genuine ex-smugglers' tunnel, a great view across Lyme Bay (on a clear day people say you can see Portland from the Ness)

The 22 bus goes through on the way to/from Dawlish and Torquay. That's a nice journey to take on the top deck.

And that's about it :thumbs:
 
Oh well... that's another dream shattered! The closest i've been is Newton Abbot - spent a couple very pleasant afternoons in the 90s getting pissed on 80p pints of cider in a pub called 'The Cider House' or summat... Dunno if it's still there!?
 

I'm not totally convinced. At 100m height you can see just over 20 miles, ish (eg. you can clearly see the coast of France from the top of Dover castle) but Portland is at least 40 miles across the bay from the Ness, and the Ness can't be more than 100m tall (probably less tbh), so at least in theory Portland must be too far away to really see one fom the other. I suspect what can be seen is a sort of refracted/reflected version of Portland from just over the horizon.
 
I'm not totally convinced. At 100m height you can see just over 20 miles, ish (eg. you can clearly see the coast of France from the top of Dover castle) but Portland is at least 40 miles across the bay from the Ness, and the Ness can't be more than 100m tall (probably less tbh), so at least in theory Portland must be too far away to really see one fom the other. I suspect what can be seen is a sort of refracted/reflected version of Portland from just over the horizon.

I know you can see it from Babbacombe Downs, a few miles down the coast from Shaldon Ness. That's about 100m above sea level. The highest point on Portland likewise. Portland looks from Babbacombe like an island quite a way from the mainland, because Chesil Beach is behind the horizon.
 
Am thinking of heading over there for the Teignmouth air show in a months time.

Also in uglibun news; I’ve just discovered where I live is getting a branch of the Shaldon bakery (the main bakery site is here already but this will be a retail outlet)
 
I’ve been to Shaldon this afternoon

The ferry boat inn pub seemed quite nice. Didn’t get any further than that as was a bit pushed for time

Very quiet really due to the second homes and a nightmare for parking when busy I’d imagine as the roads are very narrow. Best to arrive by public transport :)
 
Bus 22 or (in summer) train to Teignmouth then the little ferry from back beach.

Or by bike! Newton Abbot - Shaldon along the south side of the estuary is a really nice and short ride. From Shaldon towards Torquay though is strictly for the hardcore, steep hills, blind bends and quite a lot of traffic... 😬
 
The problem with shaldon is that it points the wrong way. If I lived by the sea I would want to face south West, not north east. It's in shade for most of the winter.
 
One thing I will say is the walk along the riverbed at low tide from Newton to Shaldon is a bit shit. Basically walking across mud, slippery seaweed, shingle. Not stunning scenery. So one for a rambler / hiker, definitely not a family walk.

Not technically difficult but you’d want to walk briskly I think as I find it’s easier to keep your footing. It took me about 1:10 to cover the bits that are underwater at high tide, the stretch is approx 3.8 miles or so.
 
Last time I did it was with a kid and it was quite a cool nature trip, wildlife, foraging, that kind of thing. Its main bonus is, it's easy. A bit stinky, but takes in a lot from the overpass and sewage treatment plant to sandstone cliffs and cockle beds. More interesting than beautiful I think.
 
Yes it definitely ponged at one point! I can see it being fun as a nature walk actually.

One thing I do like is how high the reeds in the middle of the channel are just before the overpass. Must be nearly 3m high. And that no one can reach them except maybe by canoe as it’s marsh so it’s just birds and other wildlife undisturbed.
 
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