East Budleigh Common via Squabmoor Reservoir

Laura Waddell July 20, 2020

I’ll start off by saying Woodbury Common and the surrounding area is great for exploring. Anyone who hasn’t walked up there before, it’s worth going, especially if you have a dog. The area is full of wildlife but also has a lot of history hidden behind it from World War II, just on today’s walk I spotted several old brick buildings that would have housed the Royal Marines during the war. The Marines still currently use the common for their training and if you’re out walking certain areas you may one day come across them either on land or above in one of their helicopters. This walk I specifically did today involves walking along East Budleigh Common, through to Hayes Wood, Yettington and East Budleigh before coming back through Dalditch and Squabmoor. It’s all dog friendly; there is one road I had to walk along in Yettington, but even so, its wide enough to walk safely, and doesn’t get majorly busy anyway.

East Budleigh Common, the pebblebed heath.

This walk starts in Wheat Hill car park (free), just up from Squabmoor Reservoir. From here I took the main path just to the left of the informatIon sign, which gives more information about the area and the history surrounding it during World War II. From this main path I soon see views of the Sid Valley to my left as well as remains of an old brick building that would have been a ‘Nissen Hut’ housing some of the Royal Marines (Dalditch Camp) in the Second World War. I soon come to a pile of logs on my left, from here I continue on the path ahead (not down the hill), but as I walk past the logs I spot the curved brick wall at the bottom of a hill to my left, this would have been the Marines’ firing range wall, but now it’s hidden away a fair bit by the natural surroundings of trees and gorse. I get a better view of the firing range as I continue on the path and turn right. From here I have a choice of two paths but I continue to follow the clearly marked footpath arrows.

The old Dalditch Camp Firing range wall (This photo was taken at the bottom of the hill but isn’t the path I took on this walk)

I now walk a path where there are trees on my left and more remains of an old brick building on my right, leading through a shaded path under trees. At the bottom of this slope I take the path straight ahead of me, where soon I spot a public footpath sign on my left and a field to my right with a stile. Although the field on the other side of the stile looks rather inviting from this shadowed path, I instead continue ahead, passing some gates on my right. I’m now leaving East Budleigh common behind as I continue to walk along Hayes Wood Lane. This path has so many interesting old trees with roots that stretch far along the bank, it reminded me that the area has quite a few caches, for those geocachers out there!

I soon meet a Public Footpath sign, pointing left into some woods. I take this path and walk the clear path now directly ahead of me, this is Hayes Woods. It’s important to add, anyone doing this walk will need to stay on this footpath through the woods, as the rest of the area in this wood is private land and out of bounds. This path soon leads down a slope where eventually I spot a white house in the distance. This is Hayes Wood Cottage. It’s not long before I’m walking past this house, on my left, as I then continue on down a track which has views of East Budleigh village and rolling hills ahead of me and High Peak and Peak Hill to my right.

As I continue walking down this track I soon spot a white house next to a farm, over the hedges to my left. This is Hayes Barton, the birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh. The house itself is not open to the public, but you’re able to get a closer look of it if you turn left at the bottom of this track, its just a short walk up the road. Today I chose not to take a detour to Hayes Barton, instead I cross the road and enter the public footpath directly infront of me. This path soon leads up a hill, and through some fields of corn. I make sure I stick to the path on the right of the field, and stop for a moment to take in the views of Hayes Barton behind me, Hayes Wood where I had just come from, East Budleigh Village to my right, and Yettington where I’m heading to. I then continue down this path, past yellow footpath signs ensuring I’m on the right track. I soon pass through a wooden kissing gate, turning right towards Yettington. Here I walk a short distance along a road and cross over a bridge, where the stream leads to Sawmill Reservoir. I now turn right, where I see a sign telling me East Budleigh is 1 mile away.

A view of Hayes Barton from the footpath.

Views of Hayes Wood from the top of the footpath in a field.

I follow the sign pointing me towards East Budleigh, which takes me through the village of Yettington. Here I walk past several beautiful cottages, a Brook on my right which children were playing in, and eventually the Village Hall up the road. Once I pass the village hall, I ignore a road on my right, instead I continue straight ahead where I now pass fields on my right with views down to East Budleigh. For anyone doing this walk, this is the road which you’ll have to be cautious of if you’re walking with children or dogs. It doesn’t get too busy, but several cars and a tractor did pass me today, so be aware and keep dogs on short leads and under control.

Some of the pretty cottages in Yettington.

It’s not long before I pass Bicton Arena (an equestrian venue) and a turning towards Ladram Bay and Otterton on my left. I ignore this turning and continue up the road where soon I spot the church of East Budleigh in the distance as I walk further towards the village. Soon I come to the East Budleigh sign welcoming me into the village, where I turn round the corner, walking past the church on my right and the Sir Walter Raleigh statue on my left. Here there is some benches to sit on and look down towards the village. I normally take a break here, but it had just started to rain as I entered the village so I decided to press on with the walk.

It’s worth a little detour to wonder around the village if you’ve not been before. It doesn’t have much to offer in regards to shops, but it does make up for it with character and history. Budleigh brook passes through the village, which leads to the River Otter, there’s a lovely pub called Sir Walter Raleigh, a community stores and a little woodland and recreation ground. As I continue on this walk, I turn right onto Hayes Lane once I passed the local pub on my left. From here I followed the road round to the left, passing several beautiful cottages and a public car park on my right before crossing a footbridge over a stream and Vicar’s Mead (where Sir Walter Raleigh was educated) on my left. I love spotting the little thatched animals that sit upon some of the thatched cottages in the village, including Vicar’s Mead’s courtyard wall.

The thatched animals on the courtyard wall of Vicar’s Mead.

Once I pass Vicar’s Mead I see fields to my right by a Weir (you won’t be able to see the Weir, just hear it), these are the fields I could see previously when walking out of Yettington by Bicton Arena, meaning I’m now at the bottom end of the fields looking up at where I had just been. From here I continue on where soon I see an electrical substation on my right and a track on my left. I take this track up where soon I spot a public footpath sign, I cross the stile here and walk up this hill where I’m rewarded with stunning views of East Devon, including Otterton, East Budleigh, Bicton Obelisk, High Peak and Mutter’s Moor as well as the sea. I eventually leave these views behind when I leave this path through a gate and enter a field immediately in front of me through another gate.

Views of the sea and rolling hills. Can you spot Bicton Obelisk to the left?

I keep to the left of this field and work my way up, today passing some cows grazing, and over a stile in the top left corner. From here I enter into Short Wood Common. I keep left on this path, ignoring a turning to my right, and again when I come to a little crossroads in the path I continue straight ahead. This area soon leads under tree coverage and into some woodland where I soon pass a rope swing on my left, tied to one of the many old rooted trees here. After a short walk through this woodland I arrive at the end of this path where I see a public footpath sign pointing towards where I’ve just walked. Here I turn right then turn left up a path where I spot a buzzard flying overhead.

Leaving the field and entering Shortwood Common.

At the bottom of this dusty track I see a farm gate to my right, and then another one just round the corner to my left, which has views of Budleigh and the sea in the distance. Here I have a choice of two paths, I take the one on my right which takes me down a sheltered path past more large rooted trees. As this path comes out of the tree cover, I spot a house up ahead, this is Dalditch Farm. It’s not long before I walk past some houses on my right which have some rather interesting and quirky displays on their gates and outside their house, including a rather impressive metal robot. As I walk past this house I turn right up Dalditch Lane, passing a stream on my right. I soon come to a crossroads with a green space in the middle, here I turn right, up a stony path just left of Dalditch Farm.

The impressive drainpipe display and metal robot.

After a short walk up this path, I soon come to a wooded area where I take a path to my left, clearly signposted as a footpath, I continue along this path, being careful of the tree roots underfoot. This path is beautiful during the spring and summer months, bursting with colour from the pinks, purples and yellows of the heather and gorse, reminding me I've now arrived back into the pebblebed heaths. The path soon becomes sheltered again, where I soon spot some bees flying around some apiaries (man made beehives) to my left in a field. I continue on for a while, ignoring an option to turn right I carry on ahead where it eventually opens out into a meadow. Just at the top of this meadow is Squabmoor Reservoir so be aware if you have children or dogs with you, as this is very deep water, and also a busy fishing spot.

Taking the clearly marked footpath to the left towards Squabmoor.

The beautiful colours on the pebblebed heaths.

As I walk further up the meadow I now see Squabmoor Reservoir in front of me, here I cross the small car park and walk a path with the reservoir now on my left. This area is popular for fishing, but it’s also home to a lot of wildlife. Today I saw a family of ducks and a few swans enjoying the water amongst the lily pads. I continue walking along this path where soon I leave Squabmoor behind and enter onto a stony path. When I arrive at a fork in the path, I turn right and then at the end of this path, I turn left where it then opens up onto East Budleigh Common again. This path soon widens, where eventually at the top of the hill I turn right. I carry on along this path, ignoring the first turning on my left, until I arrive at a clearer path on my left. I walk up this track where soon I see the familiar remains of an old brick Nissen hut in front of me that I saw at the beginning of my walk. I now turn left up this track where I’m soon back at Wheat Hill car park where I started. This walk took me around 2 hours to do and wasn’t too strenuous. As I said before, its very dog and child friendly, but you do have to be careful walking on the road through Yettington. If you want to extend your walk slightly, you can visit Bystock Pools Nature Reserve which is just down the road from Wheat Hill Car Park and Squabmoor Reservoir. Here you’ll find a beautiful pond filled with lily pads and alive with all kinds of wildlife.

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Exmouth Loop to West Down Beacon Coast Path

Laura Waddell July 10, 2020

This is a 6 mile circular walk starting and ending in Exmouth that takes you along an old railway line, a golf course, and the coast path, where you’ll be treated to great views at West Down Beacon. I started this walk off from where I live, but for everyone else, there’s a free car park at Littleham Cross called Jarvis Close Car Park. If the car park is full, there’s usually plenty of space along the roadside in Jarvis Close as well as nearby roads. Anyone who is interested in doing this walk, I would suggest you wear walking boots or similar shoes that you don’t mind getting muddy, as sometimes the footpaths on this walk can get pretty muddy after a lot of rain. Luckily for me, I did this walk in warm weather, and the footpaths were mostly dry!

From the car park, I turned left down Jarvis Close, where soon I join a cycle path, crossing the road I continue along a path to Bidmead close, where the cycle path continues up to a green space and then under two bridges. This is the old railway line to Budleigh Salterton, which is a lovely walk, but today I won’t be going all the way to Budleigh. For now, I continue along this path where I then spot Littleham Church (St Margaret’s) to my right over the fields. This path is surrounded by fields, the one to my left has cows with their calves in it, and as I carry on along this path, I look back to my right over another field, I can just about see the sun glistening on the sea in the distance.

There are fields either side of this path.

Eventually I cross a foot bridge and shortly after, another one, where the path now becomes more sheltered by the trees overhead. This stretch of the path is great to walk in Autumn when the trees are turning brown, and the ground is a blanket of colour from fallen leaves. Eventually I meet a sign post just before an old railway bridge ahead, here I turn right up a path that the sign tells me is Castle Lane. From here I join the road, which runs over the bridge I just saw.

The path becomes more sheltered by the trees.

I turn right past a sign telling me about the old railway line I just turned off and walk past some houses on my left. Once I pass a house called ‘Oak Glade’ there is a path to the left going up to a gate. I take this turning, and pass through a gate on the right next to a public footpath sign. This sheltered path leads through a golf course, so anyone doing this walk will need to keep dogs on leads and be aware of incoming golf balls! As I walk along this sheltered path, there’s a footpath going off to the left, I ignore this path but do turn back and look at the views of the East Devon coastline beyond the golf course.

The footpath leading through the golf course.

The shaded path leading through the golf course.

The path opens out onto the golf course, sea views to the right.

The sheltered path soon opens out onto the golf course. Here I follow the path that bends left between some trees then opens out onto the golf course again. From here I walk straight ahead in the direction of the trees (in the photo above). There are yellow footpath arrows on posts pointing me in the right direction, with the golf bunker (the area with some sand in the photo above) to my right. Already there are beautiful sea views to my right, whenever I walk this path, I always think it must be a great place to play golf with these views!

A sign by these trees informs me that I’m joining the coastal path. I follow this path with trees on either side of me, but I can still see the sea views peaking through gaps in the trees. At the end of this path there’s a bench on my left. For the best views of the coastline, there is a narrow path just to the right of the bench, between some gorse. Here is West Down Beacon, and with it are 360 degree views of East Devon countryside and coastline. On a clear day like today I could see Exmouth town, the holiday park and straight point cliff sticking out to my right, well as as Torbay and the countryside in the distance. On my left I could see rolling hills of the Sid Valley, as well as Budleigh beach and the coast beyond that. Even the white cliffs of Branscombe and Beer were visible today.

Views of Straight Point from the beacon.

Countryside and coastline from the beacon.

After taking in the views I rejoin the coast path, where in front of me is a sign telling me Budleigh Salterton is left and Exmouth is to my right. I’m heading back towards Exmouth so I take the path to the right (the walk to Budleigh and beyond I will save for another day). This path becomes fairly narrow and has lots of stones underfoot for a short while so I have to take extra care here, especially when walking down the hill. The path soon opens up into a field where I continue to follow the clear path along the coast while still taking in the coastal views all around me.

Views of the sea and Exmouth town from the coast path.

From this path I can see Straight Point and Devon Cliffs holiday park a lot clearer now. Straight point is the red jagged cliffs sticking out to the left of the photo above. The top of this headland is a firing range used by the Royal Marines, as well as there being red warning flags up, you can always tell when they’re training here, as you’ll hear the gunshots. If you do hear the guns firing, look out for the Range Safety Boat that will stay close to Straight Point, (I normally see it close to Sandy Bay beach) to warn boats/vessels to stay clear of the area while in use.

Views of the coast path I just walked, and beyond.

I soon arrive at a kissing gate which then leads down some steps, crossing a footbridge then up some more steps before leading me into another field. This area is well known for land slides and sheer drops, so anyone with dogs and young children must be careful walking too close to the edge. This field soon arrives at another kissing gate where it leads me into Devon Cliffs holiday park. From here I keep to the coast path on my left as I walk down the hill with clearer views of Budleigh just behind me to my left.

Views of the jurassic coastline with Budleigh beach in the distance.

Soon the hill I walked down turns into a road and car park in the holiday park. From here I walk straight ahead and up the grass bank, keeping to the edge by the hedges. I turn right and keep the hedge to my left as I walk round and see a wooden coast path sign pointing me towards the beach. From here I follow a path behind some static caravans where the firing range is now to my left. I then walk down a slope where I have clear views of the sea ahead, as well as Bixham, Torquay and Dawlish across the water. Soon I’m met with the entrance to Sandy Bay Beach to my left and the South Beach Cafe and Shop in front of me. For anyone who hasn’t been before, the South Beach Cafe is a lovely place to grab something to eat or drink and sit outside overlooking the sea views on a Summer’s day.

After a quick stop to take in the views of the beach below, I head up towards the exit of Sandy Bay. There are signs dotted around the holiday park telling you where the exit is, but for those needing to know how to do this I’ll explain the quickest route now…Keeping the South Beach Cafe on your left, walk up towards the road where you’ll see a zebra crossing. Cross here and walk up the road that has a sign saying ‘Apple Grove’. Keep to the pavement on the right where you’ll spot a zip wire arial adventure zone on the right. At the next junction turn right and you’ll see a bus stop on the left and the car park for the entertainment centre. Walk through the car park and rejoin the pavement where you can cross the road and continue on the pavement on the right. From here you’ll see a sign telling you the way out is to your left. Soon you’ll see the welcome flags at the entrance to the holiday park. Cross the road here and continue along the pavement leaving the holiday park, now with World of Country life on your right and eventually you’ll see the Sandy Bay entrance Arch in front of you. Here I like to cross the road and walk on the raised footpath on the right as there’s sea views on your left just in the distance over the fields and houses. This route will lead you into Littleham village where there will soon be thatched cottages on the left, the local Pub ‘The Clinton Arms’ on ahead and a lovely thatched cottage tearooms around the corner on the right called ‘Tythe Cottage’. Here they do a great cream tea but they sell a variety of food and drink.

Once I pass Tythe Cottage on my right, I cross the bridge with St Margaret’s church ahead of me. Here I turn left up the road (keeping the church on my right), where soon I come to a road called ‘Elm Lane’ on my left. I turn into this road and take the footpath just ahead of me to my left. This leads onto a shaded path which then leads through a metal gate and out into a field. I keep to the right of this field, where soon I leave through a gate and see a thatched farmhouse on my right. Normally I would continue on ahead to another footpath but this one has been closed off further down with tape so instead I turn left where I join Maer Lane.

Crossing the bridge over Littleham Brooke with St Margaret’s Church ahead.

Maer Lane can sometimes become fairly busy with cars, mostly during the summer months, so anyone with dogs and children, be careful when walking this road. From here I turn right and walk up the road where I soon spot the red building that is Pratshayes Barn and Campsite. They also have a ‘Cow Shed’ bar here open to the public but their opening hours do vary so it’s best to check first if you want to visit. Once past Pratshayes I walk up the road where I see the entrance to the South West Water plant on my left. On the other side of the road are two farm gates and between them both is a track leading down between two hedges. This is the path I take down towards a footbridge over Littleham Brook. It’s worth however, taking a look over the gate to the left first as there are nice views of the sea and Exmouth town over the fields here.

As I reach the footbridge, I notice there’s hardly any water under it at the moment due to the dry weather we’ve been having. In the past when I’ve walked this route, its been a lot higher and flowing fairly fast under the bridge. After crossing this bridge, I soon pass through two metal kissing gates ahead of me, this is the part of the path that can get very muddy after wet weather, but luckily for me, due to the warmer weather, its nice and dry! I’m soon met with a metal gate on my right, I don’t take this path (which would have met up with the footpath earlier on, that is cut off, next to the farmhouse) instead I walk round to the left and take the metal gate leading into a field. From here I take the path round and up through a kissing gate, but first I look back at the countryside views over this field.

Views of the countryside from the footpath.

After leaving this field, I walk up a path that leads me onto Douglas Avenue. Now I turn right and walk down the road, where I have views of a big grass hill ahead with houses surrounding it. This is known as ‘Donkey Hill’ and although a housing development is now being built around it, it’s still accessible through Buckingham Close. It is worth the walk to the top for the views of the sea, estuary, farmland and Exmouth town. This is local to me, it’s a great spot to sit and watch the sun set. After passing Buckingham Close on my right, I come to the junction of Douglas Avenue, from here I turn right where I soon see Littleham Cross shops and car park where I started the walk, just ahead of me.

South West Coast Path towards Sandy Bay.

Although this walk does involve some roads and being close to the coast path it’s still a great walk for families and dog walkers. Please also remember the beach at Sandy Bay only allows dogs from November until April. There’s also plenty of caches along the cycle trail and coast path for all you geocachers out there. As I said previously, walking boots (or shoes you don’t mind getting muddy) would be ideal if you’re planning on doing this walk after wet weather as the footpaths can get very muddy sometimes. There’s plenty of places to stop for refreshments in the holiday park, Littleham Village and Littleham Cross shops by the car park. I prefer to do this walk on a clear, sunny day as you’ll then be treated to spectacular views on the coast path.

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