Swimming spot: Livermead Head and the Hindu Temples, Torbay, Devon

Devon authors Matt Newbury and Sophie Pierce have published a new guidebook to magical swims in Torbay. Here they share one of their favourites.

This amazing swim starts near Institute Beach next to the Livermead Cliff Hotel (easy to spot as the establishment’s name is not so subtly marked in white paint on the seawalls below) and takes you right around to Hollicombe Beach past an unusual set of sea caves.

The little sandy stretch next to the hotel is called Institute Beach. At a low tide the foundation stones of the arm of a medieval harbour, carved from the surrounding rocks, become visible, extending from Livermead Head.

Start your swim

The swim route goes out from Institute Beach and around Livermead Head, and on towards Hollicombe. It is best done at high tide, so you can swim through the caves.

Once in the water, bear right towards Livermead Head. Hug the coast on your right and swim around the corner of the headland (there is a large rock platform here where you can get out and rest if you need to). You will start to see an extraordinary series of arched sea caverns in the Permian rock, which we dubbed the Hindu Temples after reading a description by Charles Kingsley (author of The Water Babies).

As you explore the chambers with unique views of the sea and town framed by the curved natural windows, it’s worth taking a second to enjoy this secret place only ever really visited by fellow wild swim adventurers and kayakers. Thousands of people drive past every day on the main road between Torquay and Paignton, unaware of the dramatic natural beauty of the coastline just yards away.

The first cave you get to looms magnificently, with a large arched entrance. As you swim in there is a small channel to the right which is a dead end. Bear left and you can swim out through the cave under a second archway. There is an unusual, very square cavity on the right, which looks like the top of a fireplace. The sound of the water as it echoes and rumbles around the caves is awe-inspiring, as are the colours, which vary according to the time of day and the clarity of the sea.

Continue along the coast and the next set of caves is a veritable sequence of ‘rooms’ that we think resembles the coastal holiday retreat of the Flintstones.

Depending on the height of the tide, you can swim through them all, or else you might have to do a bit of scrambling.

At the far end there is a charming little hollow, like a basin or a font, that you can sit in. The caves are a wonderful place to swim at dawn. They face east, so when the sun rises, it floods them with golden light.

As you round the headland, Hollicombe Beach comes into view.

If you are making the swim during the spring and summer months, the cliffs of Livermead Head are an amazing sight, decorated by a colourful patchwork of flowers and plants that have escaped the grounds of the houses above, to form a Hanging Gardens of Hollicombe. You can now either swim back the way you came or exit the water and walk back through Hollicombe Park, and along the main coast road.

Photo: Sophie Pierce

Wild Swimming Torbay by Matt Newbury and Sophie Pierce is published by Wild Things Publishing. Readers can receive 25% discount and free P&P with code OSMag23 at wildthingspublishing.com