The western edge of the Jurassic Coast

Distance: 30 miles.   Difficulty: Easy

This section takes in part of the Jurassic Coast, England’s first UNESCO designated natural World Heritage Site. It begins in Exmouth with the oldest red Triassic rocks and travels the length of the East Devon coast to Lyme Regis in Dorset. Along the way it’s fairly easy walking past Budleigh Salterton and across the River Otter before becoming more strenuous as you reach the regal town of Sidmouth and beyond to its final destination.

Highlights

The first leg of the route from Exmouth and Orcombe Point, which marks the official start of the Jurassic Coast, is typified by the red sandstone cliffs that are 250 million years old. Further along the Coast Path at Ladram Bay, the impressive sandstone stacks just offshore reveal the transient nature of this coastline.

An easy walk along the promenade of Budleigh Salterton leads you on to the Otter Estuary Nature Reserve and a great place for bird watching. This is followed by a steep descent to Sidmouth, which offers a great variety of shops, parks and gardens as well as places to eat.

There’s an extraordinary change in geology as the Coast Path continues past the quaint fishing village of Beer with its exposed white chalk cliffs. It then descends into the dense woodland of the Undercliff National Nature Reserve around Axmouth, the closest thing to the Amazon in England.

As you emerge from the Undercliff into light, open fields you cross the Devon Dorset boundary. This is the start of the Jurassic period, which leads on to the world famous fossil sites at Lyme Regis where you’re sure to find yourself a prehistoric souvenir.

To help you plan your trip, click on the Section guide links (to the right)  or the diamonds on the map to link to a page of further information about each day's walk.

Suggested Itinerary

  • Day 1 - Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton (5.4 miles)
  • Day 2 - Budleigh Salterton to Sidmouth (7.1 miles)
  • Day 3 - Sidmouth to Beer (8.8 miles)
  • Day 4 - Beer to Lyme Regis (8.5 miles)

 

Relevant section guides

We have split the path into 52 sections, and for each one have produced a section guide. These pages do not aim to replace the guidebooks, but aim to give a flavour of what each section is like, and show you about the highlights and places of interest along the route, along with links to accommodation information and much more. The relevant section guides for this walk are:

Travel

There is a mainline train station in the cathedral city of Exeter. From here you can catch the Jurassic Coast x53 bus service to Exmouth, Sidmouth, Beer and Lyme Regis. The winter table is a minimised service. There is also a train service to Exmouth. Look out for the large Jurassic Coast signs to the bus from the station at Exmouth. For further details visit Traveline or phone 0870 6082608.

 

Short breaks

Accommodation Finder