I love this walk for many reasons, one being that I hardly see anyone on it. From leaving the cycle trail to arriving at East Budleigh I didn’t see a single person on the walk; Perfect right now when social distancing is a priority! It also brings happy memories of walking around Hayes woods and Hayes Lane with a good friend of mine and our dogs. I also just love East Budleigh and all it has to offer in its little chocolate box village! I did end up up walking quite a few miles in the end, but that’s also due to doing a detour to Hayes Barton, but if you like a quiet walk with equal views of countryside and coast then this one is for you.

Views of East Devon villages and coastline from the footpath.

I started this walk at the Castle lane section of the Old Railway line between Exmouth and Budleigh. To get here you just turn right after the recycling centre along Salterton Road, if you’re coming from Exmouth towards Budleigh, or if you’re arriving from the opposite direction, then its the first turning on the left after the main Budleigh roundabout into Exmouth. There’s normally plenty of parking available on the roadside and the entrance to the Old Railway line is obvious to see from the road.

Once you spot the entrance to the railway line, you’ll see a map showing you where this trail leads, if you aren’t familiar with it then I definitely recommend walking along here, it’s a popular walk amongst cyclists, walkers and horse riders. It’s also worth looking back at old photos of the railway line and stations that used to be here before Dr Beeching closed them in the 60s. After you’ve had a look at the map, walk down the path infront of you and then turn right, where you’ll spot the bridge you were just on, which I’ll now be walking underneath.

This trail is always a peaceful walk, hearing the birds singing above and squirrels scurrying about, the light glistening through the blanket of trees onto the path. I also find it especially beautiful in Autumn, which I’m sure I’ll post about in a few months. When walking this path you can almost forget you’re walking alongside a fairly busy road. I carried on walking this path and soon saw a footpath to my left, this leads to Knowle and East Budleigh common. The local forest school is also situated in this woodland, it’s a lovely area to explore, especially the lane into Knowle with the stream flowing alongside you. I’m not going that way today though, instead I walk straight ahead, up a slope, until I reach the end of the trail.

As I exit the cycle trail, I then turn left up Bear Lane where I soon spot a figure of Winnie the Pooh to my left. Sadly this isn’t where he lives, but it is home to ‘Pooh Cottage’, a holiday park that I find aptly named due to the lane it is situated on. I carry on up this lane which boasts beautiful views of fields and the sea to my right, tall pine trees towering over me and a beautiful thatched cottage to my left, before I reach the end and then turn right down a dusty track.

Once I get to the bottom of this trail, there is a path going off to the left… don’t go this way. Instead, I carried on ahead where I pass a farm gate on my right and then another one round the corner to my left. These fields are home to dairy cows owned by Dalditch Farm. From here, I look back over to my right and catch a glimpse of the rooftops of Budleigh Salterton and the vibrant blue sea in the distance. I make my way up between the foxgloves decorating both sides of the track which takes me towards a path sheltered by woodland. As I carry on straight ahead, I spot a rope swing hanging from one of the trees on my right.

I continue on ahead until I reach two public footpath signs to my right, then take the path of the sign pointing to the left and follow it all the way, where it opens out onto Shortwood Common and eventually leads to a stile with a field on the other side. Once over the stile, I keep to the right as I walk along the outside of the field until I reach a metal gate with a public footpath sign directing me straight ahead.

I pass through the metal kissing gate ahead and take in the stunning views on offer along this track. From here I can see the beautiful rolling hills of the East Devon Countryside, with the sea on the horizon. Today was a fairly clear day so i was able to see the coast line, Peak Hill and Otterton Village. As I walked further up this path I could also make out East Budleigh village, which was where I was heading.

I can imagine the sun rising and setting would look stunning from this viewpoint, on a day like today I could make out the white cliffs of Beer and Branscombe. See if you can spot Bicton Obelisk from the top of this hill, it stands out to the left of East Budleigh.

I follow this track all the way round where I now have beautiful views to my left of farmland and a glimpse of East Budleigh down the hill. I eventually meet a stile where I then turned left up a country lane which leads to Hayes lane with an electricity substation right infront of me. From here I stopped to greet some friendly cows in a field and spotted a buzzard circling above, I then turned right down Hayes Lane. As I walked down this lane I could just make out All Saint’s church poking through the hedgerows ahead. From here I enter East Budleigh over a stream where I’m greeted with plenty of thatched buildings adding the character to this village. The first one I spot is Vicar’s Mead (photographed below) which is the old Vicarage. It was also a school for boys taught by the local Vicar. Sir Walter Raleigh was one of the boys educated here.

Plenty of thatched buildings adding character to East Budleigh.

I followed Hayes Lane to the end where I spot the Sir Walter Raleigh pub ahead. From here I turned left, up the hill and past the church to sit on a bench next to the statue of Sir Walter Raleigh before I headed home. If you don’t know East Budleigh well, then it is worth exploring this little village; It boasts so much character with its thatched cottages, Budleigh Brook running through it, plenty of flower boxes bursting with colour and the local roots of Sir Walter Raleigh born and raised in Hayes Barton just up the road.

Houses selling eggs and marmalade with All Saint’s church in the background.

I headed back home the way I came, but first I took a detour 15 minutes up the other end of Hayes Lane (past the electricity substation) to see Hayes Barton. It’s been a few years since I’ve walked this way and had a glimpse of the home where Sir Walter Raleigh and his family lived. It’s worth a walk up if you haven’t been before but bear in mind it will add time onto this walk (I ended up walking about 7.5 miles today). From here I then walked back via Hayes woods and rejoined the field with the stile.

Hayes Barton, birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh.

A glimpse of Hayes Barton in the background.

As I headed back to Castle lane the sun was getting lower, which then lights up the trees along the Old Railway line as I walked under the bridge, and back to my parking spot. The Old Railway is a lovely walk in its own right even if you don’t want to walk all the way to East Budleigh.

I took quite a few photos (as usual) of my surroundings on my walk today and also of the beautiful village, so I’ll add more photos to my instagram account which is linked on here if you don’t know it already. (Or you can click here)