“St Mary's Bay, Brixham”
This wonderful carving has been created in-situ. A dead tree that could have been removed has instead been transformed into a work of art. I love how the design is reminiscent of a ship's figurehead and thus draws me back in time.
Of course the elements will gradually wear away at the wood, but that is as it should be and lends its own unique beauty. A reminder that nature is never static.
The location is St Mary's Bay, near Brixham. On our last full day in Devon we drove just a few miles to Brixham to visit Sharkham Point. We then walked the coast path to Berry Head nature reserve. There is a lot of development along this part of the coast and we both began our walk wondering if it would be overly busy or just feel too urban compared to our earlier walks that week.
We were pleasantly surprised. Holiday parks were not too intrusive and whilst there were others on the path it was far from crowded. In fact I was delighted that such a densely populated part of Devon had such impressive nature reserves within easy reach of a major town. We passed St Mary's Bay on the way to Berry Head and Graham suggested that when we returned we should take the steps down to the beach. I readily agreed.
Other than this blog post I've not written about St Mary's Bay, but it might still happen. However our visit to Berry Head was interesting. As a site of Special Scientific Interest it is not surprisingly a key location for rarities. It was good to read the information boards because otherwise we might not have appreciated how it is home to many rare plants, insects and birds. Funnily enough one of these boards has sown a tiny seed in my imagination, so perhaps this will bear creative fruit at some point in the near future.
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23rd October, 2025