Yikes!

Approaching the cove

"Are those what I think they are?"

Rachel and I set off  from Little Dartmouth, following the coast path around towards Sugary Cove.   As we approached the headland we followed a track towards the edge that we hadn't gone down before.   We spotted a path winding down to an intriguing-looking little cove, and could see steps at the bottom. The water below was enticingly blue and we scrambled down the path and made camp on some big rocks.  The cove was perfect  (it is called Western Combe Cove).  About 50 yards offshore was a double island, with a cave in the middle, and to the right and left, whole processions of gullies and shark fin rocks.  I felt really excited about exploring this new territory, and we swam enthusiastically off towards the island.  Suddenly, Rachel stopped in her tracks. "Those aren't Portugese Men of War are they?"  She pointed towards some bubbles on the surface between us and the island.  My immediate reaction was "of course they're not" but on closer inspection, yes, indeed that's what they were.    Reluctantly we got out, and continued on our walk.  The sun came out, and it was very warm, and it felt like summer with the sunshine glinting on the rocks and on our faces. We stopped at a rock platform near Blackstone Point and had another, more successful swim, with the sun low in the sky.  It was only afterwards when we were getting changed that Rachel revealed she'd spotted the most enormous seal approaching me in the water.   When we were both safely on shore it popped up again,  raising its neck high out of the water.   

Remarkably well camouflaged PMOWs -just like bubbles

The only thing we need to worry about now is seals

Bouncing through the chasm

Most swims rarely turn out as expected.  My ideal swim at Sugary Cove involves gin-clear azure sea, blazing sun and flat calm, so you can enjoy a serene passage through the dramatic gully.  Well on this occasion we certainly had the sun, which was marvellous, but there was quite a swell, and far from a peaceful glide through the chasm, we got unceremoniously swooshed in, bounced along and then spat out. Not what I'd set out wanting, but totally invigorating and fun,

Solstice swimming and hangover cures

We have an emerging tradition which involves a carol singing party on the Saturday before Christmas - known as "Carols and Carousing" followed by a swim at Sugary Cove in Dartmouth  the following day.  Also part of the tradition is Queenie and Kate missing the party, but managing to get to the swim.  Last year they got the wrong day, this year, Kate felt lousy; we're already speculating what next year's excuse will be.  Still, they made it to Sugary Cove, where it was generally agreed that this was the perfect way to cure the hangovers and celebrate the shortest day of the year - or rather, the start of days getting longer.  In fact it turned out to be a day of double dipping, as Rachel and I also went in the Dart earlier, where it was a chilly 8 degrees.  The swim was enlivened by a naturist who joined in, and did some bracing stretches on the bank into the bargain.  At Sugary Cove the sea was three and a half degrees warmer, and we had a glorious swim through the channel to Castle Cove, before scoffing Queenie's delicious home-made mince pies, still warm, on the beach afterwards.

Bouncing through the chasm

It was the warmest Halloween ever apparently.  As Judy and I got changed on the steps at Sugary Cove, the sun beat down and it felt like summer.   However there was quite an autumnal swell in the water, and we had to dodge the rollers as we got in.   As we approached the channel which links Sugary to Castle Cove next door, the water foamed deliciously - and a little dauntingly.   But we bounced our way in, and bobbed though the chasm with the oak trees keeping watch overhead.   We made it through to Castle Cove where we bumped into another swimmer, Ruth, who had also taken advantage of the good weather and high water for an invigorating dip.

Through the ravine

I just love Sugary Cove in Dartmouth and not just because of its sweet name.  It has a secret channel - known as the Ravine - which connects it through to Castle Cove next door.  I was first alerted to the ravine by my friend Mark Green, having swum several times there without actually realising it was there.  As we gathered just before high tide there was a real old Devon mist, although the sea was a surprisingly nice colour given all the rain we'd had the two days before. As we swam into the channel I was possessed with that excitement I always get when entering a natural place which has that indefinable magic.  The grey and purple stripes of rock at angles rising above us either side, with a tree hanging perilously overhead,  that sense of drama heading through the ravine and being immersed in the watery passage, and the feeling of passing into and out of a secret world. 

Santa swims at Sugary

 We descended on Sugary Cove in Dartmouth where the tide was high, in anticipation of a swim through what is sometimes grandly referred to as 'the Ravine' - a channel bordered by high rocks on either side, which leads through to Castle Cove. We had Santa with us, aka my friend Allan, who led the expedition through some initially alarming swell and then headed bravely towards the channel.  I suppose, being used to going down chimneys and all, he had no fear of this particular tunnel, and was soon half way through the ravine.  We followed Santa, like a troop of little elves, and it felt spectacular being surrounded by the high, dark rocks, and getting through to the other side.

Get off my rock

The sea at Castle Cove in Dartmouth, at the mouth of the estuary, was like a boiling cauldron so we decided to find somewhere calmer to swim, and went to Warfleet Creek. This is a charming cove which leads into the estuary; the water is normally the most beautiful slatey green but today it was a thick brown. Undeterred, we set off and had a glorious time bobbing around as we headed towards the main body of the river. Then, to my left, I saw a rock which I thought would be fun to climb out onto, and maybe have a jump off. (Later I looked it up on the map; I think it's called Halftide Rock). Anyway, I was just standing up on it, and rather enjoying myself, when a man came out of a little pink house, virtually on the water, and told me the rock was his 'garden' and I should get off it. Naturally, being a polite and courteous swimmer, I did....but I did wonder how anyone can 'own' a rock in the estuary which gets covered up by the tide for quite a lot of the time...

Aquatic exploring

Apparently the sea in November is warmer than it is in May. And when we plunged in off Castle Cove in Dartmouth, this definitely seemed to be the case.The waters were still, and a beautiful opaque green. We swam around by the Castle, admiring its ancient walls built into the bedrock. We then headed up the estuary where we got battered by waves and winds, and so returned to the calm of the Cove, where we amused ourselves jumping and diving off the rocks.