A Fun Family Challenge! – Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust

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We have created a challenge for you this year. Your mission (should you choose to accept it!) is to tick off as many activities as you can. Good luck!

Search for fossils, walk around Cockington, spot wildlife...

Search for crinoid fossils at St Mary’s Bay, Brixham. (The best time is after a storm in April)
Follow an estate walk around Cockington. Download a copy of the routes map below.
Visit the bird-hide at Occombe Farm. If you stay very quiet you never know what you’ll see!

Cockington Estate Walks Map

Hunt for butterflies, go letterboxing, spot guillemots!

Go on a butterfly hunt! On a warm spring day look for an orange tip male at the water meadows in Cockington or a silver washed fritillary at the Grove Woods. Walls Hill is a great place to spot migrating painted ladies in the summer.
Pop into the Bird Hide at Berry Head to spy on the guillemots that live on the cliffs there. There can be up to 1,200 guillemots at any one time and are best seen from March to early July.

Look for spring flowers and wiggly tadpoles!

Visit Occombe Valley Woods in April and May, to see the stunning carpets of bluebells.
See spectacular displays of camellias and rhododendrons throughout the spring and summer months at Cockington Country Park!
Tadpoles will appear around April and are great fun to find. Spot them in the ponds at Cockington.

Go for a yomp, uncover our great bat story...

Go for a yomp! Follow the South West Coast Path from Torquay town centre, to Hope’s Nose, through Bishop’s Walk and on to Walls Hill. You can jump on a bus back to town!
Read the story of our most famous residents at Berry Head at our Visitor Centre on the headland. Can you find out what they like to eat the most?

Berry Head teenager sitting on cliff top

Hunt for shells, look for dolphins, go for an evening stroll...

Collect tiny empty cowry shells from the shoreline at Saltern Cove. They are really small, so you’ll need to look hard!
Go porpoise and dolphin spotting. Berry Head is a great place to see them. How many can you count?
Take an evening stroll at Berry Head at the beginning of July. You may get to see the young guillemot chicks leaping from the cliffs to follow their parents out to sea.

Build with pebbles, find autumn squill and try rockpooling...

Build a pebble tower at Elberry Cove – how high can you go!
Look for autumn squill at Berry Head or Walls Hill, in August and September.
Grab a net and try rock pooling at Goodrington. Summer is the perfect time and Goodrington has the best rock pools in the Bay.

Spot seals, listen for skylarks...

Go seal spotting. Watch them swimming off Hope’s Nose or Berry Head. See if you can catch them stealing fish from the fishermen!
Hear skylarks singing as they swoop around the skies of Maidencombe, or the fields around Cockington anytime throughout the summer.

Follow the trees, take a dip!

Take a dip at Anstey’s Cove. It’s a great place to snorkel and view some amazing marine life.

EXCITING EVENTS

There is something to do every day with events and activities for the whole family. Come rain or shine there's wildlife, heritage and activities both indoors and outdoors. Bookig an event is simple!

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So Much to Explore

The Trust cares for over 1,700 acres (that’s 850 football pitches) of stunning countryside and coastline across Torbay. Diverse and beautiful places where you can picnic, walk, cycle and play.

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