Cockington Village (situated close to Torquay and Paignton) has been on our list of places to visit for a while…then lockdown happened! So as soon as we had the chance, we took a trip to this delightful little village and had a walk around to see what it had to offer. In the village itself, there is a pay and display car park, however it only takes coins, so we decided to carry on past the car park (on our right) and park a short distance down the road (Cockington Lane) where there were clearly marked (free) parking bays. From here we walked back towards the village.

As we walked back past the pay and display car park on our left, we noticed a path leading to Cockington Country Park. We decided to walk here first and have a look around. The first thing I noticed was a water mill nestled in the corner to our left which had a beautiful thatched roof attached to it. For anyone who doesn’t know of Cockington, it’s a quaint little village full of chocolate box cottages, it feels like you’re going back in time when you walk around this picturesque, charming little place.

The mill pond and the thatched mill house.

After having a look at the water wheel, we walked up some steps and sat at the top by the mill pond which had a few ducks and a moorhen nearby and a weeping willow shadowing overhead. After taking in the area and looking on a map to decide where to walk, we took the steps back down and turned right towards the Mill, which is now a little cafe selling refreshments (currently socially distanced!). Here was also the information centre and another thatched building, with gardens decorated with rose flower archways.

A rose archway adjoining a thatched cottage.

Gardens by the Tourist Information Centre.

We left the park through the main entrance, just ahead of the Tourist Information Centre. Across the road we spotted Rose Cottage, probably the most photographed building in Cockington. This iconic cottage is popular for its high tea in its tea gardens, it also stands out for the unusual sloping thatched roof! As we walked up the lane with the tea gardens to our left, I could see why it would be popular amongst visitors; the gardens were beautiful with ducks resting on the green lawn, a large pond at the top end and a little wooden bridge over the stream that passes through it. As we walked by, we both said we would have to come back and visit the tea gardens another day.

A short walk down this lane, with the stream to our left and beautiful cottage gardens to our right, we soon found a public footpath pointing us towards a wooded area that would lead to the seafront. Intrigued by the walk and what the beach was like at the end, we decided to take this route. From here we followed a clear gravelled path, with the stream now on our right. It eventually led us onto a boardwalk around a water meadow, with plenty of areas for dogs and children to play in the stream and climb on the fallen trees that form a bridge over the water to the grass bank.

The bridge we later take on our way back from the seafront.

The boardwalk that passes over the stream.

Eventually the path opens up again into a stretch of greenery before we left through a gate and crossed the road to walk down Cockington Lane towards the seafront. After just a few minutes walking we found ourselves spotting familiar sights of Torquay to our left and the sea right ahead of us. Crossing the road, we walked down the steps infront of us, which led us down to Livermead Beach.

We didn’t stop here long, as it was high tide, so there was no beach to actually walk on. It’ll be interesting to come back and see what the beach looks like when the tide is out. After a quick stop to identify the cliffs out to sea, (Berry Head was jutting out in the distance to our right) we then made our way back the way we came, but instead of walking the whole way back through the wooded park, we took the main bridge with the metal railings on our left, crossed the road and entered Cockington Country Park through the elegant entrance archway.

The Entrance to Cockington Country Park.

Once through the archway, there were several routes clearly marked with colour coded arrows and signposts, each showing the different ways to explore the park. We decided to take a route that led us around three lakes, where we were greeted by several ducks swimming by and damselflies darting about, zig-zagging above the water. There were several information points dotted around that gave a short description on what wildlife and flowers we may see. .

We followed the path around which then led us up to a green space with a large thatched building ahead of us. At first we wondered what this building would have been used for, as it stood out as rather unusual with a wooden grid on one side of it; as we made our way closer we spotted a sign informing us it was The Old Gamekeeper’s Cottage, which then made more sense as the grid could have served as a lookout point. From here we passed the Gamekeeper’s cottage and entered Manscombe Wood on our right, walking a clear wide path along the stretch of the woodland. This wood was popular with cyclists and dog walkers, as we walked along listening to the birds chattering away and the stream trickling past us on the right.

Once we reached the end of this path, we turned right up a hill, through a gate and across the road to enter another gate. This path took us around the outskirts of Cockington Court. We followed it through another gate then down a path to our right, which had a signpost informing us it was also a bridle path and cycle route. Once at the fork in the path we took the one to our right which lead us round the Arboretum. At this point it started to lightly rain, so we were grateful for a bit of tree coverage to shelter us. I could imagine this path is popular with children and dogs, as there were plenty of tree roots to hide and climb over, and different paths to explore that would all eventually meet up again. We eventually arrived at Cockington Court. From here we turned right and walked down to explore the beautiful Rose Garden.

The sundial in the centre of the Rose Garden.

One of the sweet smelling roses in Cockington Court.

As we entered the rose garden, the sweet smell of the flowers was prominent, and we were taken aback at how pretty is was, we really weren’t expecting it! There were plenty of benches here, so we decided to sit for a while and have a quick break and make the most of the surroundings. Afterwards we had a look at the map of Cockington Court (which is also very dog friendly), and headed towards the Sea Change Craft Studios. Most things were just closing for the day, but from what we saw, this area had a range of artists and craft makers in little studios, making high quality art and crafts.

The grounds are also home to a church, stables and Cockington Manor House. The Manor House hosts a tea room and the visitors welcome point. Sadly we arrived here after closing time so we couldn’t explore inside. Once we had finished looking around Cockington Court, we walked back past the Sea Change Studios and took a path leaving the grounds. Here we turned right down a leafy lane which eventually took us back onto Cockington Lane, where once we turned left, we soon found where we had parked our car. Cockington is definitely worth a visit, there seems to be something for everyone. It’s perfect for a lazy Sunday stroll, exploring the village, but its definitely perfect for families and dog walkers. Everywhere we visited today was dog and child friendly (as well as wheelchair and pushchair accesible), from the parks, public footpaths, woodland, rivers to paddle in and the beach, as well as Cockington Court itself. Torquay is just a short walk away, so Cockington is a great place to explore if you’re in the area for the day.