The weather seems to be warming up slightly, and now the wind and rain have left us, I decided to take the dog on another coast path walk today. The best thing about living in a beautiful County like Devon, is that we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to where to walk. Today I decided on the West Down Beacon walk.

This walk is linked to the South West coast path between Budleigh Salterton and Exmouth. I decided to start the walk in the middle of both, at Castle lane. There is plenty of parking along Castle lane, it’s a popular dog walking area, as it also joins onto the the old railway line footpath between Littleham and Budleigh. (Another favourite walk of ours)

Once parked, I got the dog out, put my walking boots on, and headed towards the golf course. There’s clear public footpath signage throughout the walk, which is helpful, as you really don’t want to be walking in the way of any golfers! Although, at one point the footpath does go through the golf course, with warning signs to look out for incoming golf balls!

On this walk, every direction you look, there are beautiful views. Whilst walking through the golf course, there are views of Budleigh and Peak hill, as well as the blue sea in the direction we are walking…heading towards Exmouth. Once you leave the golf course, you can walk towards Exmouth, or Budleigh. I chose to do a bit of both today!

From this spot. We could see Exmouth, Devon cliffs holiday park, and of course the sea

First, we walked towards Exmouth. Amber enjoyed being off lead for most of the walk. She tends to walk fairly close to me, but if you have a dog that likes to run ahead or chase rabbits, I wouldn’t advise they go off lead, as the cliff drops are quite steep, and it’s happened a few times in the past, where dogs have gone running off, not realising they have ran towards the cliff edge. We walked towards Devon Cliff holiday park. It’s clear to see the holiday park, the town of Exmouth and the River Exe from this part of the walk. On a clear day like today, the views were gorgeous!

Quite a clear day, from one side you could see Budleigh, Ladram, Peak hill and the white cliffs of Beer. On the other side you can see the beautiful East Devon countryside

We then turned back the way we came, but then headed towards Budleigh Salterton. The views from this part of the walk are again beautiful. Today I could see the country side of East Devon (Newton pop, Yettington, Bicton area) as well as the Coast of Budleigh, Ladram bay, Sidmouth and Beer. This walk is fairly hard going in places, and can get quite muddy. Fortunately today, it wasn’t too bad, and there are plenty of benches along the path if you feel the need to rest, and they all have beautiful views of the coast!

We walked towards Budleigh for about half a mile before deciding to turn back. I’ve done the whole walk before in the past, and it is well worth it! I was just short of time today. For those of you that geocache out there, this walk has quite a few caches dotted around the area, some really clever ones too! And some have great viewpoints. There is a multi cache based on the West Down Beacon, which is what this walk is named after. The beacon is now a trig point that stands on the edge of the golf course next to the coast path, you can easily access it, and it stands out quite clearly on the walk.

It’s worth standing up next to the trig point, as the views from here of the coast path are beautiful! You can get a clear view of Exmouth, Sandy Bay and Dawlish Warren from here. As well as Budleigh and the rest of East Devon from the other direction.

Beautiful Jurassic coast. You can see Budleigh in the background.

On the way back to the car, we were treated to the beautiful colours of Autumn in the woodland that runs through the golf course. There are other routes you can take from the golf course, towards Exmouth and Budleigh, other than the coast path, but this route is my favourite, especially on a clear day like today!

One thing I do love about Devon is the beautiful coastal walks. The South West Coast path offers breathtaking views of Devon and Dorset. One of my favourite walks is along the Jurassic Coast from Exmouth to Sidmouth.

I’ve walked the coast path in places from Exmouth to Sidmouth, Branscombe to Beer and Beer to Seaton. On a cold and windy Wednesday in November, I decided to take the dog out for a walk along the coast path from Otterton to Peak hill, Sidmouth. One of my favourite walks of the coast path, due to the stunning views across the bay, and how high up you can reach on the walk!

I started the walk in the quiet village of Otterton. There’s something about Otterton that I love, its a charming little village that has a mill (Otterton Mill) beside the River Otter. It is also the gateway to Ladram Bay, a popular holiday park, which the coast path passes through.

I walked up from Otterton School where I parked, towards the public footpaths that lead to Ladram Bay. For those of you, like myself, that enjoy a bit of geocaching, there are lots of caches dotted around Otterton and the surrounding footpaths to do. Some of these geocaches are circular walks, which can help you explore the area whilst caching.

I walked up through Otterton’s sports ground, towards public footpaths that then join a field full of cattle. From here you then get treated to the breathtaking views of Ladram Bay, famous for its rocks and stacks by the pebble beach. Heading towards Ladram Bay, on a clear day you can see Sidmouth, Branscombe, Beer and beyond to Dorset, including the highest point of the south west coast path: Golden Cap!

Once I reached Ladram bay, I followed the signs for the coastal path, going through another field, which then leads you into some woodland. Careful if you do this path on a wet day, as it can get very muddy! Looking back behind me, I took one last look at Ladram Bay, before climbing further into the woods.

Doing this walk in Autumn, treated me to a blanket of colourful trees in the woods of Peak hill, reminding me of why I love this season so much!

From here you can carry on to Sidmouth, but first, if you feel fit enough, I would highly recommend you climb up the hill and steep steps to High Peak. At the top there is a beacon with an information board next to it, about the history and archaeology of this area. From here, you can see panoramic views across East Devon and Dorset. Be sure to take time to look in all directions! One way shows the coast, the other shows beautiful countryside views!

Once I had stopped to take in all the stunning views, I continued on for a bit longer towards Sidmouth. With the rain clouds approaching from above, I decided not to continue all the way to Sidmouth, but I made sure to walk far enough to a view point that showed off the Jurassic Coast at its best, as well as getting a good view of Jacob’s ladder standing out on Sidmouth’s pebble beach.

I was glad we turned back towards Otterton when we did, as soon as we got to the car, the heavens opened! And it didn’t stop raining all day after that! One thing I do need to add about this walk, is that there are quite a few steep inclines throughout the coastal path. You can make the walk as long or as short as you want, if you’re feeling fit enough, you can start at Exmouth and walk to Sidmouth. This is a tiring, but very enjoyable walk along the Jurassic coastline. Some days I do park up at Ladram Bay and walk to Sidmouth from there, this is a shorter, quicker, but just as enjoyable walk. It’s also handy to note that parking at Ladram Bay holiday park is free during the winter months.

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