Broadsands, The Grove & Churston

5 km/3 m Moderate

Starting at Broadsands car park follow the Coast Path towards Brixham.  Elberry Cove was Lord Churston's private cove and, in the early 1800's when sea water bathing became fashionable, he built a bathing house here which still survives.   It contained two large copper boilers in which sea water could be heated, allowing for a highly constitutional hot and cold dip.

The path continues through Marridge Woods and so to Churston Cove. The woods leading inland from here, known as The Grove, are one of Torbay's oldest surviving woods.  If you follow the valley bottom you will pass old limekilns which produced powdered lime for use on the fields and in the building industry.  After a while you climb up onto the ancient trackway and trading route of Quay Lane (probably dating back to the Iron Age) which runs from Churston cove to the ferry crossing over the Dart at Greenway.

The Manor of Churston is described in the Domesday Book and a 17th Century manuscript calls it Chuchton.  The village used to cluster around the manorial centre of Churston Court (now an inn), the church of St Mary the Virgin and Court Farm, all of which still stand though the cottages which stood nearby were demolished in the 19th century.  In the grounds of the Court a good example of the Maidenhair tree grows, which is native to China.

You can continue towards the Dart from this point or cut back across the Golf Course and down the old drive towards the bathing house before returning to Broadsands and the start of your walk.

Wildlife

Behind the car park there is a relict reed-bed which has been invaded by willow-trees and is in danger of drying up.  Local conservation volunteers work to cut back the willow and recreate the reed-bed, which is an important habitat for many birds, including Reed Warbler and Water Rail.