guidedwalks

DEVON LIFE   JULY 2018 EDITOR: Andy Cooper CONTRIBUTORS:  Kate Haskell Pat Keenor Fran Mcelhone Su Carroll Nigel Bishop MOOR FROM THE EDGE (Another West Country walk offered by Simone Stanbrook-Byrne and James Clancy)    A beautiful walk on Dartmoor's western fringes Dartmoor, what a place of alluring mystery and so much variety, where ponies are there to greet you and the sprawling land goes on forever. Dappled light trickles through the shady trees and on a clear day, you can embrace the magnificent views of Brentor Church, Cornwall, historic houses and the ponies. Dartmoor appeals to so many different types of visitor, from backpackers to active families and one can even climb the rocks of Haytor where the views are fantastic.

DEVON LIFE APRIL 2018 Editor: Andy Cooper Contributors: Liz Parks Sharon Goble Orlando Murrin Natalie Millar-Partridge Caron Sprake Meandering the Middle Ages by Simone Stanbrook-Byrne From circular walks In North Devon, one of a selection of Simone Stanbrook-Byrne’s West Country walking guides. There are also other walks that really prove how Devon is a place full of surprises. Circular walks in the South Hams Circular walks in East Devon Circular walks in Central Devon A dozen dramatic walks in Devon Favourite Walks in Devon

Coastal Glamping in sunny Devon and Cornwall: Editor is Alex Fisher April contributors are  Sasha Wood Caroline Ednie and  Martin Dorey who are sharing their  coastal musings. The inspirational quote behind Coastal is 'Because Life is Better by the Sea' Summer is finally here and it is so nice to see the first shoots of green bursting through the winter terrain. What better way to spend the first weeks of summer than with a glamping weekend, enjoying the home comforts whilst luxuriating in nature.  Coastal magazine focuses on life by the sea for families of young and old and because visitors are now starting to chase that unique experience that differs from the usual, there is nothing nicer than a night under the stars.  .  

It is very foggy in Paignton today, yet the sun is trying to come out as we continue our guided walk through Paignton.  Whilst  retracing the steps back to the footpath opposite the brewery building.   I can’t help think how all of this beautiful sandstone, being in its original form, has stayed in great condition over the years. I look up to the steps towards Church Street and see a wonderful image of the Parish of St John the Baptist Church, which is circa 1600s.   Walking through the graveyard gives you an eerie feeling of what it must have been like back in the 1600s.   The ages of some of these tombstones is phenomenal and I try and imagine who these people were and whether they played a part as the medieval archers that used to sharpen their arrows on these very walls ready for battle.

Walking down the Old Brewery along the slope, I notice the buildings in front of me that I have never seen before. It is amazing that so many people live here and probably do not even know the history behind Paignton. As I approach the pathway that leads to ‘the clink’, which is an old holding cell that is believed to date back to the 1550s.   Walking past it, I can only imagine what it must have been like to be held there, so dark and scary, yet back in medieval times, prison was prison and not like it is today. This is a grade 2 listed building that must be left in its current condition.

As we cross the road at the traffic lights and turn right into Winner Street, the start of which is marked by a bronze sculpture of a mermaid. I arrive at the historic Winner Street, Winner Street is recorded in the Pembroke Survey of 1566 and was formerly known as Wynerde Street, meaning 'Vineyard Street' because during the middle ages, the Bishops vineyards lined the slopes on the left, above. As we continue to walk up Winner Street, you will notice a number of wide arched openings, these are old coaching inn archways that allowed horse-drawn carriages to pass through and park up their horses whilst the driver had a drink and a meal at the inn or stayed overnight. I never knew there was so much history in Paignton, looking around at all the people that live here, I am sure they have no idea that Paignton is full of history.