Newtei two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 75.00% of reviewers

A Slow Way may be classified according to its geography eg. urban, city park, mountainous, moorland etc. NewTei is a foreshore or intertidal track. It is a public way which has certainly been in regular use for 300 years (probably for a few thousand) and I believe warrants inclusion as a Slow Way subject to its unique characteristics being recognised and respected.

An intertidal way includes significant stretches between tidal high and low water margins (the intertidal zone). Much surface of NewTei between the A380 bridge outside Newton Abbot and Shaldon is covered by sea water for several hours in every 12 hour period. It is passable in safety at any time of year in the 6 hours below half tide. However, it may be worth delaying the start of this stretch between the A380 bridge and Shaldon by up to a further 2 hours (i.e. up to one hour before low water) during a period of spring tides in order to give the ebbing tide more time to drain away and the surface to dry. This is especially relevant if walking from Teignmouth to Newton Abbot.

The surface is predominantly shingle, frequently damp but not puddled, often covered in eel grass and other seaweeds and therefore potentially slippery, with a slight camber, and invariably peppered with sharp shells and detritus from erosion, dead organic matter and, sadly, also human rubbish deposited by the receding tide.

NewTei is not appropriate for a wheelchair (even I suspect of the most “off-road” design though I should love to be corrected) but it is used by cyclists provided you are prepared to dismount and walk at times and occasionally shoulder the bike! Small pushchairs are not uncommon, especially in the summer months, provided again they can be easily manhandled where necessary. Such “vehicles” don’t react kindly to salt water though so hose down thoroughly afterwards.

Two essentials in planning an intertidal walk: tide times and appropriate footwear.
Tide tables are posted on Town Quay in Newton Abbot and in Teignmouth and Shaldon (although up-dating suffered in the pandemic!) and are freely available on the internet (use Teignmouth as location). While you will see walkers in flip-flops and summer sandals, walking shoes or boots with good soles make the walk both safer and more comfortable. Yesterday, with low tide at 11:31, I chose to depart around 10.00 in Vibram-soled walking shoes. The foreshore had been draining for 4.5 hours guaranteeing a broad exposed intertidal zone while still leaving a safe tidal window of a further 4 hrs which would allow me to dawdle as much as I wished. A great walk and no slips or wet feet!

Important warning though! Do not be tempted to walk on the exposed mud banks, or short-cut across coves such as Netterton, Coombe Cellars or Arch Brook. Brown mud is soft and very easy to sink into but frighteningly difficult from which to extricate one’s legs!

The route includes the lower third of the nationally recognised Templer Way from Newton Abbot Town Quay to Shaldon while the stretch from Shaldon Bridge behind Teignmouth Rugby Club and Bitton House on one side and the railway and docks on the other is a fascinating reminder of old Teignmouth

A Slow Way may be classified according to its geography eg. urban, city park, mountainous, moorland etc. NewTei is a foreshore or intertidal track. It is a public way which has certainly been in regular use for 300 years (probably for a few thousand) and I believe warrants inclusion as a Slow Way subject to its unique characteristics being recognised and respected.

An intertidal way includes significant stretches between tidal high and low water margins (the intertidal zone). Much surface of NewTei between the A380 bridge outside Newton Abbot and Shaldon is covered by sea water for several hours in every 12 hour period. It is passable in safety at any time of year in the 6 hours below half tide. However, it may be worth delaying the start of this stretch between the A380 bridge and Shaldon by up to a further 2 hours (i.e. up to one hour before low water) during a period of spring tides in order to give the ebbing tide more time to drain away and the surface to dry. This is especially relevant if walking from Teignmouth to Newton Abbot.

The surface is predominantly shingle, frequently damp but not puddled, often covered in eel grass and other seaweeds and therefore potentially slippery, with a slight camber, and invariably peppered with sharp shells and detritus from erosion, dead organic matter and, sadly, also human rubbish deposited by the receding tide.

NewTei is not appropriate for a wheelchair (even I suspect of the most “off-road” design though I should love to be corrected) but it is used by cyclists provided you are prepared to dismount and walk at times and occasionally shoulder the bike! Small pushchairs are not uncommon, especially in the summer months, provided again they can be easily manhandled where necessary. Such “vehicles” don’t react kindly to salt water though so hose down thoroughly afterwards.

Two essentials in planning an intertidal walk: tide times and appropriate footwear.
Tide tables are posted on Town Quay in Newton Abbot and in Teignmouth and Shaldon (although up-dating suffered in the pandemic!) and are freely available on the internet (use Teignmouth as location). While you will see walkers in flip-flops and summer sandals, walking shoes or boots with good soles make the walk both safer and more comfortable. Yesterday, with low tide at 11:31, I chose to depart around 10.00 in Vibram-soled walking shoes. The foreshore had been draining for 4.5 hours guaranteeing a broad exposed intertidal zone while still leaving a safe tidal window of a further 4 hrs which would allow me to dawdle as much as I wished. A great walk and no slips or wet feet!

Important warning though! Do not be tempted to walk on the exposed mud banks, or short-cut across coves such as Netterton, Coombe Cellars or Arch Brook. Brown mud is soft and very easy to sink into but frighteningly difficult from which to extricate one’s legs!

The route includes the lower third of the nationally recognised Templer Way from Newton Abbot Town Quay to Shaldon while the stretch from Shaldon Bridge behind Teignmouth Rugby Club and Bitton House on one side and the railway and docks on the other is a fascinating reminder of old Teignmouth